What do you think?
Rate this book
100 Great Detectives, Or, the Detective Directory
A collection of essays offers a celebration of fiction's greatest sleuths, including Julian Symonds writing on Sam Spade and H. R. F. Keating on Sherlock Holmes
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
59 people want to read
About the author
Maxim Jakubowski
271 books160 followersMaxim Jakubowski is a crime, erotic, and science fiction writer and critic.
Jakubowski was born in England by Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has travelled extensively. Jakubowski edited the science fiction anthology Twenty Houses of the Zodiac in 1979 for the 37th World Science Fiction Convention (Seacon '79) in Brighton. He also contributed a short story to that anthology. He has now published almost 100 books in a variety of areas.
He has worked in book publishing for many years, which he left to open the Murder One bookshop[1], the UK's first specialist crime and mystery bookstore. He contributes to a variety of newspapers and magazines, and was for eight years the crime columnist for Time Out and, presently, since 2000, the crime reviewer for The Guardian. He is also the literary director of London's Crime Scene Festival and a consultant for the International Mystery Film Festival, Noir in Fest, held annually in Courmayeur, Italy. He is one the leading editors in the crime and mystery and erotica field, in which he has published many major anthologies.
His novels include "It's You That I Want To Kiss", "Because She Thought She Loved Me", "The State Of Montana", "On Tenderness Express", "Kiss me Sadly" and "Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer". His short story collections are "Life in the World of Women", "Fools for Lust" and the collaborative "American Casanova". He is a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio and was recently voted the 4th Sexiest Writer of 2,007 on a poll on the crimespace website.
Jakubowski was born in England by Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has travelled extensively. Jakubowski edited the science fiction anthology Twenty Houses of the Zodiac in 1979 for the 37th World Science Fiction Convention (Seacon '79) in Brighton. He also contributed a short story to that anthology. He has now published almost 100 books in a variety of areas.
He has worked in book publishing for many years, which he left to open the Murder One bookshop[1], the UK's first specialist crime and mystery bookstore. He contributes to a variety of newspapers and magazines, and was for eight years the crime columnist for Time Out and, presently, since 2000, the crime reviewer for The Guardian. He is also the literary director of London's Crime Scene Festival and a consultant for the International Mystery Film Festival, Noir in Fest, held annually in Courmayeur, Italy. He is one the leading editors in the crime and mystery and erotica field, in which he has published many major anthologies.
His novels include "It's You That I Want To Kiss", "Because She Thought She Loved Me", "The State Of Montana", "On Tenderness Express", "Kiss me Sadly" and "Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer". His short story collections are "Life in the World of Women", "Fools for Lust" and the collaborative "American Casanova". He is a regular broadcaster on British TV and radio and was recently voted the 4th Sexiest Writer of 2,007 on a poll on the crimespace website.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 21, 2021
Ok, I didn't read every single chapter, but it was nice to browse through the book.
March 2, 2017
This book was helpful in highlighting some detective characters I'd yet to learn of; however, some of the essays were more about personal enjoyment rather than actually describing the character they were meant to discuss. I guess I have to go find the other books myself and decide!
June 10, 2014
A simple and seemingly good concept: get 100 people who know something about mystery writers and their books to write a short essay introducing one of their favorites. Problem is, not all the the contributors are good writers. A dull essay makes the subject, however worthy, seem dull. There are a lot of dull essays in this book, several that are too cute, some written in something like the style of writer discussed, and other ineffective approaches. The mystery writers I was drawn to are the subjects of essays written in an informative and engaging style, but there is no guarantee that I would like those books. I only liked the essay written about those books.
I hoped to come away from this with several writers to try. I came away with one I tried and did not like in the past, but was convinced to give him a second chance. While the best essays are fun to read, and those in the middle are alright, the book does not really achieve its intended purpose. The biggest thing I take away from it is that such books can't achieve it because you do not read the writers. You read their filters.
I hoped to come away from this with several writers to try. I came away with one I tried and did not like in the past, but was convinced to give him a second chance. While the best essays are fun to read, and those in the middle are alright, the book does not really achieve its intended purpose. The biggest thing I take away from it is that such books can't achieve it because you do not read the writers. You read their filters.
October 5, 2023
100s of people you do not know give their view on 100s of detectives.
Whether you saw the movies or read the book series it is likely that you will find your favorite detective in this book. While reading this book you may find a new series to add to your repertoire and library.
Each detective is described by a different individual so the quality of the information may vary. Then again you may see a side of your detective that has illuded you.
I have not read all 100 yet but the handful that I read about had a quick overview and some surprises to find that some books did not lose their title on movies and TV programs.
I will not go into detail as that is why you will read this book. However, I will drop a few names for the fun of it:
Albert Campion – named after a flower.
Father Brown – different actors in different series.
Joe Leaphorn – a Navaho with a Greek name
Jim Chee – always crossing paths with Joe Leaphorn
Ellery Queen – easily remembers endings
The is another list of the editor’s favorites on the back cover.
Whether you saw the movies or read the book series it is likely that you will find your favorite detective in this book. While reading this book you may find a new series to add to your repertoire and library.
Each detective is described by a different individual so the quality of the information may vary. Then again you may see a side of your detective that has illuded you.
I have not read all 100 yet but the handful that I read about had a quick overview and some surprises to find that some books did not lose their title on movies and TV programs.
I will not go into detail as that is why you will read this book. However, I will drop a few names for the fun of it:
Albert Campion – named after a flower.
Father Brown – different actors in different series.
Joe Leaphorn – a Navaho with a Greek name
Jim Chee – always crossing paths with Joe Leaphorn
Ellery Queen – easily remembers endings
The is another list of the editor’s favorites on the back cover.
May 21, 2008
Any mystery writer or reader would find this useful and fun. Well-known mystery authors take a look at the many fictional detectives out there. Lesser known characters are included too.
books-i-ve-worked-on
June 24, 2012I contributed an essay about Sarah Caudwell's Julia Larwood.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews