This is a list of fictional male detective characters from novels, short stories, radio, television, and films.

A

*Detective Chief-Inspector

Roderick Alleyn Roderick Alleyn (pronounced "Allen") is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, ...

, by Ngaio Marsh *Jonathan Ames, '' Bored to Death: A Noir-otic Story'' by Jonathan Ames * Arjun, by Samaresh Majumdar

B

* Byomkesh Bakshi, by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay *

Goenda Baradacharan Goenda Baradacharan is a Bengali fictional detective character created by novelist Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. The character first appeared in the novel ''Monojder Advut Bari''. Thereafter, a short story ''Goenda Baradacharan'' was published in Anand ...

, by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay *Cyrus Barker by Will Thomas *

Parashor Barma Parashor Barma is a fictional detective character made by Bengali writer Premendra Mitra. First Parashor story is ''Goyenda Kobi Parashor'' (Parashor, the Poet-Detective) and was published in 1932. Character Although Parashor is a detective, h ...

, by

Premendra Mitra Premendra Mitra (4 September 1904 – 3 May 1988)Samsad Bengali Charitabhidhan Vol.II edited Anjali Bose, Published by Sagitta Samsad, Kolkata, Edition January,2019,Page-240 was an Indian poet, writer and film director in the Bengali language. ...

* John Barnaby, ''

Midsummer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' *

Tom Barnaby Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Barnaby (born 20 April 1943) is a fictional detective created by English writer Caroline Graham as the protagonist in her ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' novel series and adapted into one of the main ...

, ''

'' *Red Barry, ''

Red Barry Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

'' *

P. K. Basu P. K. Basu is a fictional detective character created by Bengali writer Narayan Sanyal. These detective stories are popularly known as the ''Kanta'' (Thorn) series. Some of the stories were inspired from the novels of Erle Stanley Gardner and Aga ...

, by Narayan Sanyal *

Martin Beck Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been ada ...

, by Sjöwall and Wahlöö * Ambrose Bierce, by Oakley Hall *

Blacksad ''Blacksad'' is a noir comic series created by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist), and published by French publisher Dargaud in album format. Though both authors are Spanish, their main target audience f ...

, by Juan Díaz Canales and

Juanjo Guarnido Juanjo Guarnido (born 1967) is a Spanish illustrator and the co-author of the comic book series ''Blacksad''. Early life Guarnido was born in Granada, Spain. He studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Granada. Career G ...

*Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte, by Arthur Upfield *FBI Agent Seeley Booth, '' Bones'', by Kathy Reichs * Harry Bosch, by Michael Connelly * Slam Bradley, '' Slam Bradley'' *

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...

, by

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Of his writing style, ''Time'' observed: "Wh ...

* Romeo Brown, '' Romeo Brown'' *Detective Sammy Bryant,'' Southland''

C

* Brother Cadfael, '' The Cadfael Chronicles'' by Ellis Peters *Rick Cahill, ''Yesterday's Echo'' by

Matt Coyle Matt Coyle (born 1971) is an Australian artist and graphic novelist living in Hobart, Tasmania. Born in Nantwich, United Kingdom, Coyle has created two graphic novels, '' Registry of Death'' (1996), co-authored with Peter Lamb and published by ...

*Lieutenant Horatio Caine, '' CSI: Miami'' *

Slim Callaghan Slim Callaghan is a fictional London-based private detective created by the writer Peter Cheyney. Like another of Cheyney's characters, the FBI agent Lemmy Caution, he was constructed as a British response to the more hardboiled detectives of Ameri ...

, by Peter Cheyney *

Vincent Calvino Vincent Calvino is a fictional Bangkok-based private eye created by Christopher G. Moore in the Vincent Calvino Private Eye series. Vincent Calvino first appeared in 1992 in ''Spirit House'', the first novel in the series. His latest appearance is ...

, by

Christopher G. Moore Christopher G. Moore (born 8 July 1952) is a Canadian writer of twenty-seven novels, six works of non-fiction, editor of three anthologies, and author of four radio dramas. He is best known for his trilogy ''A Killing Smile'' (1991), ''A Bewitch ...

* Albert Campion, by Margery Allingham * Inspector Canardo, ''Canardo'' *Frank Cannon, '' Cannon'' *Nick Carter, ''

Nick Carter Nick or Nicholas Carter may refer to: Athletes * Nick Carter (athlete) (1902–1997), track and field athlete from United States, who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics * Nick Carter (baseball) (1879–1961), Major League Baseball pitcher for t ...

'' *Henri Cassin, '' So Dark the Night'' * Charlie Chan, by Earl Derr Biggers * Nick Charles, '' The Thin Man'' by Dashiell Hammett *

Dipak Chatterjee Dipak Chatterjee is a fictional detective character created by Bengali writer Samarendranath Pandey under his pen name Swapan Kumar. The series of his stories were well known in the sub altern culture of Kolkata and most popular pulp fiction to ...

, by Samarendranath Pandey *

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, by Raymond Macherot and later authors * Inspector Clouseau, '' The Pink Panther'' * Rustin Cohle, '' True Detective'' by Nic Pizzolatto *Elvis Cole, by

Robert Crais Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as '' Hill Street Blues'', '' Cagney & Lacey'', '' Quincy'', '' Miami Vice'' and '' L.A. ...

*Lieutenant Columbo, ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'' *FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, '' Twin Peaks'' *Michael Cordero, '' Jane the Virgin'' * Carland Cross, ''Carland Cross''. *Mateo Cruz, BAU Section Chief, '' Criminal Minds''

D

* Dr. Phil D'Amato, by Paul Levinson *

Harry D'Amour Harry D'Amour is a fictional occult detective created by author, filmmaker, and artist Clive Barker. He originally appeared in the short story "The Last Illusion" in '' Books of Blood Volume 6'', an anthology written by Barker and published in 198 ...

, by Clive Barker * Adam Dalgliesh, by P. D. James *Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel, '' Dalziel and Pascoe'' by Reginald Hill *Lieutenant Cedric Daniels, '' The Wire'' * Shabor Dasgupta, by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay *Lucas Davenport, by John Sandford *

Peter Decker Peter Decker is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels by Faye Kellerman. A lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Decker is assisted in solving crimes by his Orthodox Jewish wife Rina Lazarus. When he meets Rina, a ...

, by

Faye Kellerman Faye Marder Kellerman (born July 31, 1952) is an American writer of mystery novels, in particular the " Peter Decker/ Rina Lazarus" series, as well as three nonseries books, ''The Quality of Mercy'', ''Moon Music'', and ''Straight into Darkness ...

* Judge Dee, by

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

* Alex Delaware, by Jonathan Kellerman *

Harry Devlin Harry Devlin (March 22, 1918 – November 25, 2001) was an artist and a painter who also worked as a cartoonist for magazines such as '' Collier's''. His work won him the National Cartoonist Society Advertising and Illustration Award for ...

, by

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...

*Mike Dime, by

Barry Fantoni Barry Ernest Fantoni (born 28 February 1940) is a British author, cartoonist and jazz musician of Italian and Jewish descent, most famous for his work with the magazine ''Private Eye'', for whom he also created Neasden F.C. He has also published ...

* Dylan Dog, by

Tiziano Sclavi Tiziano Sclavi (born 3 April 1953 in Broni) is an Italian comic book author, journalist and writer of several novels. Sclavi is most famous as creator of the comic book ''Dylan Dog'' in 1986, for Italian publishing house Sergio Bonelli Editore. M ...

* Harry Dresden, '' The Dresden Files'' by Jim Butcher * Dan Dunn, by

Norman W. Marsh Norman Winfield Marsh Gives dates February 25, 1898 - February 10, 1980. (February 25, 1898 or 1899 ources differ– February 10, 1980) was an American cartoonist and comic strip creator known for his character Dan Dunn, a hardboiled detective ...

Nathaniel Dusk Nathaniel Dusk, a private investigator, is the titular protagonist of two four-issue-long comic-book miniseries by DC Comics. They appeared in 1984 and 1985 respectively. Creation Don McGregor wrote and Gene Colan provided pencils for both series. ...

, ( DC Comics)

E

Eken Babu ''Eken Babu'' is a Bengali web series streaming on Hoichoi. The web series is based on Ekenbabu detective story which is written by Sujan Dasgupta. It's quite hard to believe Eken Babu as detective who actually looks like an ordinary Bengali man ...

, by Sujan Dasgupta

F

* Marcus Didius Falco, by Lindsey Davis * Erast Fandorin, by Boris Akunin * Dr. Gideon Fell, by John Dickson Carr * Feluda, by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

*Detective Don Flack, '' CSI: NY'' *Detective Inspector Malcolm Fox, by Ian Rankin

G

*Detective Sergeant

David Gabriel Detective Sergeant David Gabriel is a fictional character featured in TNT's ''The Closer'', portrayed by Corey Reynolds. Gabriel was a Sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department's ( LAPD) Priority Homicide Division. He was promoted to Detecti ...

, '' The Closer'' *Inspector Gadget, '' Inspector Gadget'' *Commander

George Gideon Superintendent/Commander George Gideon of Scotland Yard is a fictional policeman who appeared in 26 police procedural novels, 21 of which were written by John Creasey under the pseudonym J.J. Marric, and published between 1955 and 1976. Portray ...

, by John Creasey *

Pandab Goenda Pandab Goenda is a fictional detective novel series created by Bengali novelist Sasthipada Chattopadhyay. The stories of Pandab Goenda are well known and popular in Bengali Children's literature. Characters Pandab Goenda is a detective gang of f ...

, by

Sasthipada Chattopadhyay Sasthipada Chattopadhyay (born 9 March 1941) is an Indian novelist and short story writer in Bengali language, Bengali. He is well known in Bengali literature for the series stories of Pandab Goenda. Career Chattopadhyay was born in 1941 in Khur ...

* Gogol, by Samaresh Basu * Gordianus the Finder, by Steven Saylor *Detective Inspector Alan Grant, by Josephine Tey * Inspector Gregson, by Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

H

Healer Healer may refer to: Conventional medicine *Doctor of Medicine *Health professional Alternative medicine * Faith healer * Folk healer * Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health * Spiritual healer F ...

, played by Ji Chang-wook * Mike Hammer, by Mickey Spillane *Hanpei Hattori, '' Kikaider'', by Shotaro Ishinomori *

Heiji Hattori The manga series ''Case Closed'', known as in Japan, features a large number of recurring fictional characters created by Gosho Aoyama. The series takes place in modern-day Japan and follows an amateur detective Jimmy Kudo (Japanese name: Shini ...

, by Gosho Aoyama *Hawkshaw, ''

Hawkshaw the Detective Hawkshaw the Detective was a comic strip character featured in an eponymous cartoon serial by Gus Mager from February 23, 1913, to November 12, 1922, and again from December 13, 1931, to 1952. (The revival was a topper to ''The Captain and the ...

'' * Wayne Hays, '' True Detective'', by Nic Pizzolato *Shotaro Hidari, '' Kamen Rider W'' *Ric Hochet, '' Ric Hochet'' * Harry Hole, by Jo Nesbø *

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, by Sir

*Somerset Holmes, ''

Somerset Holmes ''Somerset Holmes'' is a creator-owned American comic book series created by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. It was initially published as a six-issue limited series by Pacific Comics and then Eclipse Comics between 1983 and 1984. Creation ''So ...

'' * Aaron Hotchner, BAU unit chief, '' Criminal Minds''

J

*Barnaby Jones, '' Barnaby Jones'' *Gil Jourdan, '' Gil Jourdan'' * Athelney Jones, by Sir

*Jack Brady, by Danielle Ramsay *James Bond, Ian Flemming

K

Kakababu Kakababu (alias Raja Roy Chowdhury) is a fictional character created by Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay. The series, falling under the adventure genre of literature, targeted at children and teenagers, started in the autumn of 1979 with the ...

, by

Sunil Gangopadhyay Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was an Indian poet, historian and novelist in the Bengali language based in the city of Kolkata. He is a former Sheriff of Calcutta. Gangopadhyay obtained his ma ...

*Martin Kane, '' Martin Kane, Private Eye'' *

Julian Kestrel Julian Kestrel is a fictional character in a four-book mystery series by Kate Ross. Overview The series is set in the English Regency era in Great Britain. Kestrel is a trend-setting dandy, similar in influence to Beau Brummel, who takes up det ...

, by

Kate Ross Katherine Jean "Kate" Ross (June 21, 1956 – March 12, 1998) was an American mystery author who wrote four books set in Regency-era England about the dandy Julian Kestrel. Works The novels are: * ''Cut to the Quick'' (1994), which won the 1 ...

*Rip Kirby, '' Rip Kirby'' * Nick Knatterton, ''Nick Knatterton''. *Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak, '' Kojak'' *Detective Vince Korsak, ''

Rizzoli & Isles ''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide polic ...

'' * Shinichi Kudo,

Case Closed ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...

L

L Lawliet , known mononymously as L, is a fictional character in the manga series ''Death Note'', created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. He is an enigmatic, mysterious, and highly-esteemed international consulting detective whose true identity and back ...

, ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...

'' *

Thomas Lynley ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' is a British crime drama television series that aired on BBC One from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, consisting of six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl o ...

, by Elizabeth George * Inspector Lestrade, by Sir

M

*Constable Hamish Macbeth, by Marion Chesney *Detective Vic Mackey, '' The Shield'' * Thomas Magnum, '' Magnum, P.I.'' * Jules Maigret, by Georges Simenon *Joe Mannix, ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'' * Philip Marlowe, by

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

* Perry Mason, by Erle Stanley Gardner *Angus McDonald, ''

The Adventure Zone ''The Adventure Zone'' is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast based loosely upon the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' game series, along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by bro ...

'' * Travis McGee, by

John D. MacDonald John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida. On ...

*Detective Jimmy McNulty, '' The Wire'' * Sir Henry Merrivale, by Carter Dickson * Prodosh C. Mitter, (aka Feluda) by ''

'' * Adrian Monk, '' Monk'' * Richard Moore/Kogoro Mori, by Gosho Aoyama * Derek Morgan, '' Criminal Minds'' * Inspector Morse, by Colin Dexter * Bhaduri Moshai, by

Nirendranath Chakraborty Nirendranath Chakravarty (19 October 1924 – 25 December 2018) was a contemporary Bengali poet, Translator, Novelist. He lived in Bangur Avenue, Kolkata. Biography He was born in Faridpur district of undivided Bengal in 1924. After graduati ...

*FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, '' The X-Files'' *Bangladesh Counter Intelligence

Masud Rana Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by the writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in 469 books (321 novels and 6 short stories). Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, bu ...

, ''

'' * Mouri Kogorou,

* Inspector Juzo Megure,

* Detective William Murdoch,

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

Inspectore Montalbano

N

*Sokichi Narumi, '' Kamen Rider W'' * Detective Zack Nichols, '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * Bogey Nicholson, '' Bogey''

P

*Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe, '' Dalziel and Pascoe'' by Reginald Hill * Hercule Poirot, by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

Bernard Prince ''Bernard Prince'' is a Franco-Belgian comics series, featuring an eponymous character and his sailor-adventurer companions. The series was created by Belgian cartoonists Greg and Hermann for the Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''Tintin'', first ...

, ''

'' *Detective Lieutenant

Louie Provenza Detective Lieutenant II Louie Provenza is a fictional character from TNT's television crime drama franchise '' The Closer''/'' Major Crimes.'' He appeared on all seven seasons of ''The Closer'' and all six seasons of ''Major Crimes''. The char ...

, '' The Closer'' * Jake Peralta (

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

) *Problem Sleuth ( Problem Sleuth)

Q

* Ellery Queen, '' The Adventures of Ellery Queen''

R

* Jack Reacher, by Lee Child *Detective Danny Reagan, '' Blue Bloods'' *Detective Inspector John Rebus, by Ian Rankin *

Spencer Reid Dr. Spencer Reid is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler. Reid is a genius with an IQ of 187 and can read 20,000 words per minute with an eidetic memory. He is the youngest member of th ...

, '' Criminal Minds'' * Arkady Renko, of the Moscow Militsya, by Martin Cruz Smith * Dave Robicheaux, by James Lee Burke * Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, ''

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' is an Australian drama television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger. ...

'' * Jim Rockford, '' The Rockford Files'' *

Lincoln Rhyme Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He late ...

, by Jeffery Deaver *

David Rossi David Stephen Rossi is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by Joe Mantegna. He is a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and has appeared from the episode "About Face", which was o ...

, Unit Senior Agent, '' Criminal Minds'' * Kiriti Roy, by '' Dr. Nihar Ranjan Gupta''

S

* Sakkarbaar by Gunvantrai Acharya *Colonel

Niladri Sarkar Niladri Sarkar or Colonel Niladri Sarkar is a fictional detective character created by Bengali novelist Syed Mustafa Siraj. Some of the Colonel stories written for children were translated into English. Character Niladri Sarkar is a retired Col ...

by Syed Mustafa Siraj *

Michael Shayne Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fo ...

, by Brett Halliday *Dan Shepherd, by

Stephen Leather Stephen Leather (born 25 October 1956) is a British Thriller (genre), thriller author whose works are published by Hodder & Stoughton. He has written for television shows such as ''London's Burning (TV series), London's Burning'', ''The Knock'', ...

*Sergeant Andy Sipowicz, ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' *

Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp ...

, by Dashiell Hammett *

Lance Spearman ''Lance Spearman'' (aka "The Spear") is a fictional character created in the mid-60s by '' Drum Publications''. The adventures of Lance Spearman was published in a weekly photo comic that went by the title '' African Film'' in East and West Afri ...

, in ''African Film'' magazine * Doctor Spektor, '' Doctor Spektor'' * Shawn Spencer, ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...

'' * Spenser, by

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. AB ...

*Detective Elliot Stabler, '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' *

Nigel Strangeways Nigel Strangeways is a fictional British private detective created by Cecil Day-Lewis, writing under the pen name of Nicholas Blake. He was one of the prominent detectives of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, appearing in sixteen novels betwee ...

, by

Cecil Day-Lewis Cecil Day-Lewis (or Day Lewis; 27 April 1904 – 22 May 1972), often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Irish-born British poet and Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym of Nicholas Bla ...

* Professor John Stubbs, by

Ruthven Todd Ruthven Campbell Todd (pronounced 'riven') (14 June 1914 – 11 October 1978) was a Scottish poet, artist and novelist, best known as an editor of the works of William Blake, and expert on his printing techniques. During the 1940s he also wrote d ...

*Detective Matthew Scudder, by Lawrence Block *Shuichi Saihara, '' Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony''

T

Goenda Tatar Goenda Tatar is a fictional detective character created by Bengali novelist Sasthipada Chattopadhyay. Chattopadhyay wrote a number of stories of ''Goenda Tatar'' series. Characters Tatar is an adventurous school going kid who love to solve mysteri ...

, by

*Tif, '' Tif et Tondu'' *Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, by Mark Billingham *Tondu, '' Tif et Tondu'' *

Philip Trent ''Trent's Last Case'' is a detective novel written by E. C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character, the artist and amateur detective Philip Trent, reappeared subsequently in the novel ''Trent's Own Case'' (1936), and the sho ...

, by

E. C. Bentley Edmund Clerihew Bentley (10 July 1875 – 30 March 1956), who generally published under the names E. C. Bentley or E. Clerihew Bentley, was a popular English novelist and humorist, and inventor of the clerihew, an irregular form of humorous verse ...

'' *Detective David Tapp, by James Wan and Leigh Whannell

V

Detective Van Zwam Detective Van Zwam is a Flemish comics character in the Belgian comics series ''The Adventures of Nero'' by Marc Sleen. He is a brilliant detective and able to find clues from even the tiniest of evidence. Van Zwam was originally the main protag ...

, '' The Adventures of Nero'' *

Philo Vance Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish— ...

, by

S. S. Van Dine S. S. Van Dine (also styled S.S. Van Dine) is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was active in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-Worl ...

*Nick Valentine, '' Fallout 4''

W

*Inspector Kurt Wallander, by Henning Mankell *

Dr. John Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...

, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle *Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford, by Ruth Rendell * Lord Peter Wimsey, by Dorothy L. Sayers * Nero Wolfe, by Rex Stout

Y

* Inspector Jugo Yokomizo, Detective Conan * Inspector Sango Yokomizo, Detective Conan * Inspector

Misao Yamamura The manga series ''Case Closed'', known as in Japan, features a large number of recurring fictional characters created by Gosho Aoyama. The series takes place in modern-day Japan and follows an amateur detective Jimmy Kudo (Japanese name: Shini ...

, Detective Conan

Z

* Inspector Koichi Zenigata, '' Lupin III'', by Monkey Punch

External links

"Top 10 Fictional Detectives"

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Male Detective Characters Male Detectives

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External links