[Glossary given at the end of the chart!]
| Detective [Year] | Work | Writer [Nationality] | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. Auguste Dupin [1841] | The Murders in the Rue Morgue [Detective Fiction] | Edgar Allan Poe [American] | – Short Story – First literary detective – Analytical reasoning |
| Sherlock Holmes [1887] | A Study in Scarlet [Detective Fiction] | Arthur Conan Doyle [British] | – Novel – Classic Whodunit – Master of deduction, forensic science – Accompanied by: Dr. Watson – Address: 221B Baker Street, London |
| Father Brown [1910] | The Innocence of Father Brown [Mystery] | G.K. Chesterton [British] | – Roman Catholic Priest – Amateur sleuth – Philosophical approach to crime – Appearance in 53 short stories |
| Hercule Poirot [1920] | The Mysterious Affair at Styles [Cozy Mystery] | Agatha Christie [British] | – Golden Age detective – Logical and methodical – Last appeared in “Curtain” |
| Miss Marple [1930] | The Tuesday Night Club | Agatha Christie [British] | – Village-based sleuth – Feminine intuition – Last appeared in “Sleeping Murder“ |
| Sam Spade [1930] | The Maltese Falcon [Hardboiled] | Dashiell Hammett [American] | – Cynical, tough detective – Introduced noir elements |
| Nero Wolfe [1934] | Fer-de-Lance [Traditional Detective] | Rex Stout [American] | – Eccentric genius detective – Classic American sleuth |
| Byomkesh Bakshi [1932] | Satyanweshi [Detective Fiction] | Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay [Indian] | – Indian ‘truth-seeker’ – Inspired by Holmes |
| Feluda [1965] | Feludar Goendagiri [Detective Fiction] | Satyajit Ray [Indian] | – Bengali detective – Analytical, intellectual style – First appeared in “Sandesh” (A Bengali Children’s magazine) |
| Lew Archer [1949] | The Moving Target [Hardboiled] | Ross Macdonald [American] | – Psychological depth – Influence of Chandler – Based in LA |
| Columbo [1960] | Prescription: Murder [Police Procedural] | William Link & Richard Levinson [American] | – Popularized Reverse Whodunit – Focus on the psychological battle |
| Hajime Kindaichi [1977] | The Honjin Murders [Locked-Room Mystery] | Seishi Yokomizo [Japanese] | – High-School student – Golden Age-style – locked-room mystery |
| Harry Bosch [1992] | The Black Echo [Police Procedural] | Michael Connelly [American] | – Gritty realism – Corrupt police system |
| Lisbeth Salander [2005] | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [Nordic Noir] | Stieg Larsson [Swedish] | – Hacker-detective – Feminist undertones |
| Cormoran Strike [2013] | The Cuckoo’s Calling [Modern PI Fiction] | Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) [British] | – Contemporary private investigator fiction |
GLOSSARY
Whodunit –
Have you ever read a story where some crime/murder has been committed and until the end you keep guessing “Who did it?,” that’s a Whodunit!
A mystery story where the main focus is on solving a crime, usually a murder.
Sleuth –
Sleuth is just another term for a Detective / Private Investigator… or anyone who is carrying out a careful investigation to solve a mystery. It can be a professional detective or an amateur who solves crimes.
Hard-boiled detective –
A tough, street-smart, no-nonsense detective who often works in a dangerous world full of crime and corruption. This character is usually cynical, has a strong sense of justice, and doesn’t always play by the rules.
Noir –
Noir (meaning “Black” in French) is a type of crime stories.
A dark and moody genre that often has cynical detectives, femme fatales (mysterious, dangerous women), and corrupt societies.
These stories usually have a pessimistic or tragic ending.
