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Billy Jensen's Favorite Fictional Citizen Detectives
Billy Jensen is an investigative journalist who focuses squarely on unsolved murders and missing persons. He helped finish Michelle McNamara’s 2018 New York Times bestseller, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, after her untimely death.
His new book, Chase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders, is both a memoir and a how-to-guide for solving cases using social media, crowdsourcing, and shoe leather.
Here he shares some of his favorite fictional counterparts in the war against crime.
His new book, Chase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders, is both a memoir and a how-to-guide for solving cases using social media, crowdsourcing, and shoe leather.
Here he shares some of his favorite fictional counterparts in the war against crime.
True crime as a genre has always had one major flaw: It is a universe with a thousand supervillains but very few superheroes.
Bundy, Gacy, Manson, Dahmer, Zodiac, BTK, Jack the Ripper—the rogues' gallery goes on and on. But ask the average true-crime reader to name a superhero. You might hear John Walsh, maybe Elizabeth Smart or John Douglas. But the heroes of these tales are often in the shadows, working as a team to bring the villains to justice.
Imagine Harry Potter with Voldemort, Lestrange, and Umbridge up against a faceless army of justice instead of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We need heroes. Real heroes. More than ever before. I am trying to change that narrative in true crime and bring the heroes to the forefront, telling the stories of the crime analysts, the detectives, the prosecutors, the survivors, and, yes, the citizen detectives.
Some of the greatest and most revered characters in all of fiction have taken the form of the citizen detective, the amateur sleuth. An ordinary person who has taken upon themselves to right a wrong, to set order out of chaos. To make everything right.
Here are my four favorites:
Isaiah Quintabe
Sherlock Holmes
Batman
Nancy Drew
Bundy, Gacy, Manson, Dahmer, Zodiac, BTK, Jack the Ripper—the rogues' gallery goes on and on. But ask the average true-crime reader to name a superhero. You might hear John Walsh, maybe Elizabeth Smart or John Douglas. But the heroes of these tales are often in the shadows, working as a team to bring the villains to justice.
Imagine Harry Potter with Voldemort, Lestrange, and Umbridge up against a faceless army of justice instead of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We need heroes. Real heroes. More than ever before. I am trying to change that narrative in true crime and bring the heroes to the forefront, telling the stories of the crime analysts, the detectives, the prosecutors, the survivors, and, yes, the citizen detectives.
Some of the greatest and most revered characters in all of fiction have taken the form of the citizen detective, the amateur sleuth. An ordinary person who has taken upon themselves to right a wrong, to set order out of chaos. To make everything right.
Here are my four favorites:
This is 2000s Los Angeles noir. Your protagonist isn’t a down-on-his-luck old white guy with a drinking problem. Isaiah Quintabe (IQ) is a hardscrabble African American high school dropout genius who solves neighborhood mysteries for whatever payment he can get. He’s quiet, super observant, flawed, angry, and darkly witty. He’s got a sidekick named Dodson who is less a Watson and more a Walter Sobchak to his Sherlock, bringing him cases but also a lot of trouble. The first book has a real Hound of the Baskervilles angle, but the new take on the consulting detective is so damn cool, you embrace the hounds. Out of all these citizen detectives, I want to be friends with IQ the most—just to be able to text him at 2 a.m. about a real case I’m working on.
Notable Effort: No gadgets like Batman. No experiments like Sherlock. IQ just observes and deduces. He’s had to survive on his own on the streets, so he uses everything at his disposal.
Favorite Quote: I love this put-down of a bully IQ encounters: “Isaiah looked at him like he’d come to the door selling five-dollar candy bars you could buy at the store for a dollar. He hated threats.”
Notable Effort: No gadgets like Batman. No experiments like Sherlock. IQ just observes and deduces. He’s had to survive on his own on the streets, so he uses everything at his disposal.
Favorite Quote: I love this put-down of a bully IQ encounters: “Isaiah looked at him like he’d come to the door selling five-dollar candy bars you could buy at the store for a dollar. He hated threats.”
One of my favorite parlor games to play at the bar: Who was a better detective, Sherlock Holmes or Batman? You will immediately drive away most other patrons and have both the bartender and the jukebox to yourself.
Sherlock is the alpha. But he’s miserable and has a drug habit. Batman has the tragic backstory, but also an unlimited bankroll and wonderful toys. Holmes' deduction powers are second to none. As are his experiments (tobacco ash, anyone?).
Holmes would have surely weighed in on the debate, as he showed disdain for other fictional detectives: "Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour's silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine." BURN.
Of course, Holmes performs this very trick on Watson from time to time, most notably after Watson slams down the newspaper in The Adventure of the Resident Patient. So I like to think Arthur Conan Doyle was just being cheeky about Mr. Poe, the originator and patron saint of the detective genre.
Notable Effort: His fieldwork in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). Picking a favorite Holmes deduction is like picking a favorite Beatles song, but his willingness to get dirty while attempting to solve the murder of a local landowner always sticks out for me. His efforts showed he wasn’t just a city-dwelling fancy lad but was willing to get dirty. As Watson wrote, “To Holmes, as I could see by his eager face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking up a scent.” He picks up all manner of twigs and bark, before he deduces that the killer is a tall, left-handed, cigar-smoking man with a limp.
Favorite Quote: “I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.” I quoted this one, from The Adventure of the Three Gables, in Chase Darkness with Me and will get it tattooed on my body at some point.
Sherlock is the alpha. But he’s miserable and has a drug habit. Batman has the tragic backstory, but also an unlimited bankroll and wonderful toys. Holmes' deduction powers are second to none. As are his experiments (tobacco ash, anyone?).
Holmes would have surely weighed in on the debate, as he showed disdain for other fictional detectives: "Now, in my opinion, Dupin was a very inferior fellow. That trick of his of breaking in on his friends' thoughts with an apropos remark after a quarter of an hour's silence is really very showy and superficial. He had some analytical genius, no doubt; but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine." BURN.
Of course, Holmes performs this very trick on Watson from time to time, most notably after Watson slams down the newspaper in The Adventure of the Resident Patient. So I like to think Arthur Conan Doyle was just being cheeky about Mr. Poe, the originator and patron saint of the detective genre.
Notable Effort: His fieldwork in "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). Picking a favorite Holmes deduction is like picking a favorite Beatles song, but his willingness to get dirty while attempting to solve the murder of a local landowner always sticks out for me. His efforts showed he wasn’t just a city-dwelling fancy lad but was willing to get dirty. As Watson wrote, “To Holmes, as I could see by his eager face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking up a scent.” He picks up all manner of twigs and bark, before he deduces that the killer is a tall, left-handed, cigar-smoking man with a limp.
Favorite Quote: “I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.” I quoted this one, from The Adventure of the Three Gables, in Chase Darkness with Me and will get it tattooed on my body at some point.
There are so many great Batman graphic novels. Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns are both classics. But Scott Snyder’s The Court of Owls, Geoff Johns’ Batman: Earth One, and Neil Gaiman’s Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? are all stellar examples of the character referred to as the World’s Greatest Detective. Unlike the others on this list, Batman has to deal with superpowered villains, time travel, aliens, and has a lot more “friends” who he has to team up with from time to time.
I chose Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer for this very reason. The story begins with a murder of one of their own: Sue Dibny, who carried on a wonderful love story as the wife of Elongated Man. The killing sets off a chain of reactions that bubble up narratives of memory, trauma, abuse of power, and Batman fighting the very heroes he once fought beside.
Notable Effort: At first glance, Sue Dibny looks as if she was burned to death. But Batman, looking at autopsy pics, realizes that she actually died from an infarction in her brain. In a moment of clarity he realizes what occurred and races to save the others.
Favorite Quote: “People think it's an obsession. A compulsion. As if there were an irresistible impulse to act. It's never been like that. I chose this life. I know what I'm doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either."
I chose Identity Crisis by Brad Meltzer for this very reason. The story begins with a murder of one of their own: Sue Dibny, who carried on a wonderful love story as the wife of Elongated Man. The killing sets off a chain of reactions that bubble up narratives of memory, trauma, abuse of power, and Batman fighting the very heroes he once fought beside.
Notable Effort: At first glance, Sue Dibny looks as if she was burned to death. But Batman, looking at autopsy pics, realizes that she actually died from an infarction in her brain. In a moment of clarity he realizes what occurred and races to save the others.
Favorite Quote: “People think it's an obsession. A compulsion. As if there were an irresistible impulse to act. It's never been like that. I chose this life. I know what I'm doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either."
She was born out of necessity—and as a cash grab. Edward Stratemeyer, creator of The Hardy Boys, began to realize that girls were reading his books about the boy amateur detectives. So he created Nancy, who quickly eclipsed the boys in both influence and popularity. When Oprah, Hillary, Babs, and RBG all cite you as an inspiration, you are doing something right.
The stories were all written by ghostwriters under the pen name Carolyn Keene, but credit for the character’s development needs to go to Mildred Wirt, who wrote 23 of the first 30 books. Nancy has evolved with time, utilizing new investigative techniques, but always with a go-bag with everything she needs to jump right into an adventure. The stories have been updated throughout the years to remove some of the awful language and xenophobic cultural representations and stereotypes, but Nancy’s core character has remained. And she is the clear predecessor to Veronica Mars, one of my favorite TV citizen sleuths.
Notable Effort: In The Hidden Staircase, Nancy faces two problems: Someone is sending threatening messages to her lawyer dad, and there is a ghost stealing things in an old mansion. She solves her father’s kidnapping and then uses her knowledge of secret passages to discover the first rule of mysteries: It’s never a ghost.
Favorite Quote: “One thing is for sure, she thought. Work is the best antidote for worry. I'll get back to Twin Elms and do some more sleuthing there."
The stories were all written by ghostwriters under the pen name Carolyn Keene, but credit for the character’s development needs to go to Mildred Wirt, who wrote 23 of the first 30 books. Nancy has evolved with time, utilizing new investigative techniques, but always with a go-bag with everything she needs to jump right into an adventure. The stories have been updated throughout the years to remove some of the awful language and xenophobic cultural representations and stereotypes, but Nancy’s core character has remained. And she is the clear predecessor to Veronica Mars, one of my favorite TV citizen sleuths.
Notable Effort: In The Hidden Staircase, Nancy faces two problems: Someone is sending threatening messages to her lawyer dad, and there is a ghost stealing things in an old mansion. She solves her father’s kidnapping and then uses her knowledge of secret passages to discover the first rule of mysteries: It’s never a ghost.
Favorite Quote: “One thing is for sure, she thought. Work is the best antidote for worry. I'll get back to Twin Elms and do some more sleuthing there."
Who are some of your favorite fictional detectives? Share your recommendations in the comments!
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Hi Philip. Looks like that flagging worked. Those posts are gone.
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I always preferred Poirot to Marple. I never even thought about the connection to/similarities between Holmes and Poirot. I can still read the stories and see them as separate detectives or entities. As long as the stories are written well and are entertaining. I haven't read all of the Poirot books, however. I also never knew that Christie hated Poirot. Hmm. I can't really understand an author hating their own creation. I do believe that Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, wanted to escape from him (writing wise), etc. In any case, Dang, y'all are brutal. :>)
You almost make me want to cringe and run hide under a bed for having written a Holmes-like novella. I did it on a whim, just to try my hand at it. My main (Holmes-ish) character isn't as good as Holmes. I did veer into the Watson character traits, mannerisms, etc. with the other (narrator character) I found that I couldn't help it. I couldn't seem to pull away . . .
My characters are American, and the setting, of course, is America (1870s). And there were supernatural incidents in the book. My intention for the book was for it to be a one-off, though I keep feeling hints and sketches of ideas skirting around in my mind for a possible second book; Mainly because I enjoyed the characters (and not just the two main ones). They were comfortable; very similar to the comfortable feeling I get by reading a cozy mystery, or a Holmes story. I enjoyed spending time with them. Please don't hate me for writing it. Lol.
I will say, there are a whole slew of Holmes and Watson books out now, where authors have taken liberties with the characters, etc.
One of my favorite detectives (to answer the main question) is Maigret. And I do love Nero Wolfe. And Travis McGee. Bernie Rhodenbar, and Matthew Scudder.
If none of you have read them, I have a few more suggestions to try:
Inspector Ghote series, by H.R.F. Keating
Detective Hanaud series, by A.E.W. Mason
Fred Carver series, by John Lutz (Tropical Heat, Kiss, . . .)
Alo Nudger series, also by John Lutz (The Right to Sing the Blues is my favorite of the A.N. series)
Aimee Leduc series, by Cara Black (I've only read the first book in series, Murder in the Marais, but enjoyed it)
The Kidd and LuEllen series, by John Sandford (The Fool's Run, The Empress File, . . .)
Wilton McCleary series, by Mark Graham (The Resurrectionist, "A Mystery of Old Philadelphia" series . . .)
If you like Russian detectives (for something different):
Porfiry Rostnikov series, by Stuart Kaminsky (I love this series)
Erast Fandorin series, by Boris Akunin (The Winter Queen)
____
The Alex Grecian books (The Yard, The Black Country). I can't remember the name of the characters at the moment, but Scotland yard detectives.
Finally, a very good book that doesn't exactly fit the detective category is Paris Requiem, by Lisa Appignanesi. It is a very good mystery, suspense, history, art, psychological, sex, murder and madness type fiction book. Just a Good read!
Hi Mark!
First of all, bravo for trying your hand at Holme-ish fiction. Hey! Make it yours.
On the issue of Holmes, the story goes (and I could be wrong) that AC Doyle created Sherlock Holmes because he needed quick money to help support his wife and new baby on the way and his medical practice wasn't as busy as he would have liked.
Doyle wanted to focus on real stories and saw Holmes as pulp fiction stuff. Beneath him. As the stories got more popular, fans saw Holmes as so real that poor Mr. Doyle wanted to escape to get his own identity back. After trying, unsuccessfully, to kill Holmes off, he let his great detective become a bee-keeper.
As to christie, her motivation for 'creating' Poirot was WRONG from day one. She didn't do it for the love of telling stories as much as for the fame that A.C. Doyle had in Sherlock Holmes. The character came second to what SHE could get from him. I've also heard that she modeled Poirot after her ex husband who ended up walking out on her. So the poor detective bore the brunt of her hostility. Assuming that's true to begin with.
Whatever the reason, if you're going to create a series character, then be in that character's corner from day one or don't waste your time or the readers' .
In the perfect feat of vendictive plagiarism, I've taken Poirot, wrote stories that give him love and family christie did not believe he was entitled to. I could kick myself sideways for NOT saving a site for evidence, but apparently, christie had a legal condition in any Poirot movie / t.v. contract that he was NOT permitted a love story. Writers of the series skated CLOSE to that line without going over because, unlike christie, they DID believe Poirot was entitled to love and friendship. They even paired him, work wise, with Japp in episodes where Japp isn't involved in the book.
The word DETESTABLE means DESERVING of HATE. . For betraying the trust of readers, Detestable is a word I connect much closer to christie than I EVER will to Poirot.
P.S. Never read the Maigret books but there are audiobooks on Youtube that are good. I like him. Rumpole of the Bailey is another great character.
First of all, bravo for trying your hand at Holme-ish fiction. Hey! Make it yours.
On the issue of Holmes, the story goes (and I could be wrong) that AC Doyle created Sherlock Holmes because he needed quick money to help support his wife and new baby on the way and his medical practice wasn't as busy as he would have liked.
Doyle wanted to focus on real stories and saw Holmes as pulp fiction stuff. Beneath him. As the stories got more popular, fans saw Holmes as so real that poor Mr. Doyle wanted to escape to get his own identity back. After trying, unsuccessfully, to kill Holmes off, he let his great detective become a bee-keeper.
As to christie, her motivation for 'creating' Poirot was WRONG from day one. She didn't do it for the love of telling stories as much as for the fame that A.C. Doyle had in Sherlock Holmes. The character came second to what SHE could get from him. I've also heard that she modeled Poirot after her ex husband who ended up walking out on her. So the poor detective bore the brunt of her hostility. Assuming that's true to begin with.
Whatever the reason, if you're going to create a series character, then be in that character's corner from day one or don't waste your time or the readers' .
In the perfect feat of vendictive plagiarism, I've taken Poirot, wrote stories that give him love and family christie did not believe he was entitled to. I could kick myself sideways for NOT saving a site for evidence, but apparently, christie had a legal condition in any Poirot movie / t.v. contract that he was NOT permitted a love story. Writers of the series skated CLOSE to that line without going over because, unlike christie, they DID believe Poirot was entitled to love and friendship. They even paired him, work wise, with Japp in episodes where Japp isn't involved in the book.
The word DETESTABLE means DESERVING of HATE. . For betraying the trust of readers, Detestable is a word I connect much closer to christie than I EVER will to Poirot.
P.S. Never read the Maigret books but there are audiobooks on Youtube that are good. I like him. Rumpole of the Bailey is another great character.
