Fictional Detectives Worth Reading

I'm a big fan of private eye novels, and they don’t even have to be PI’s. I once referred to Davenport as a favorite PI on Twitter, and I was corrected by none other than author John Sandford himself, who told me his character wasn’t a PI. He’s a cop. I just lumped them together because I sometimes see all guys who solve mysteries and crimes as PI’s, even when they aren’t. However, they are all detectives, whether they are PI’s or not because they all are solving cases. So here are detectives I think are really worth reading.

The “Davenport” Series by John Sandford

John Sandford is one of my long time favorite authors. He has written multiple thrillers, including another favorite detective, Lucas Flowers, but his most famous series is his novels concerning his character, Lucas Davenport. Davenport is an interesting guy. A cranky, old fashioned detective, who ends up making a side fortune creating a computer game based on being a cop. He’s an imperfect hero. One novel opens with him being accused of picking up a prostitute, but he’s also very smart. He always gets his man. One novel I read ended with him feeding the bad guy to a lion. That’s some crazy stuff. The “Davenport” novels are also famous for the word “Prey” being in every single title, which Sandford claimed was a gimmick invented by his publisher.

The “Alex Cross” Series by James Patterson

Alex Cross is one of the most famous PI novel series ever written, and the author being James Patterson, you can see why. An African American detective, Cross is also a widower, a dad, a devoted grandson to his grandmother who lives with him,  and a brilliant psychologist. Along with his partner, John Sampson, who is long overdue for a spin off series of his own adventures, in my opinion, Cross goes on action packed adventures through Patterson’s famous short chapters and page turning reads. 

The “Spencer” Series by Robert B. Parker

Spencer is one of the greatest PI series of all times. The wise cracking PI from Boston, is in every sense of the word, a PI. The late Robert B. Parker was such a student of old world PI novel authors like Raymond Chandler, he still, even into the 90s, and 2000s, had the classic set up of a woman walking into a PI’s office to ask for help. With a side cast of great characters Spencer comes in contact with, like his best friend simply known as Hawk and his girlfriend, Susan, Spencer wise cracks through many mysteries with twists and turns, and trademark snappy dialogue.

These are some great starter detectives to get to know. So grab your detective glass and start reading them today.