The Best Literary Detectives According To This Rando On The Internet

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

Welcome back to Mystery March! A whole month dedicated to talking about one of my favorite literary genres: mystery!

I don’t have a new review for you this fine Wednesday. Today on Mystery March we are talking the best literary detectives of all time. I am ranking my favorites and objectively the GOATs. Not gonna lie, my personal opinion is definitely going to out way the objectivity of this list. Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot aren’t going to be at the top simply because they’re arguably the greatest fictional detectives ever created.

Now let’s crack in!

5. I gotta give it to the OG. Sherlock Holmes is kicking off today’s list. While he’s technically not the first literary detective, he is the most well-known and arguably one of, if not the best literary detectives. Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in 1887 with the publication of A Study in Scarlet. Holmes is known for his mind palace and is an expert in many scientific fields. He’s also a boxer and a coke addict. Much like Shrek, he's got layers.

4. Coming in at number four is Auguste Dupin! Created by Our Lord and Savior Edgar Allan Poe, August Dupin has only ever appeared in three short stories; the first being “Murders in the Rue Morgue” which was published in 1841. And! Dupin is the first fictional detective! Dupin walked so detectives like Holmes and Hercule Poirot could run! Give this man some respect.

3. In the highly respectable third spot is the newest literary detective to appear on this list. Please give a round of applause to Phryne Fisher! Phryne Fisher appeared for the first time in 1989 with the publication of Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood. Phryne’s stories are set in the late 1920s and she’s a true Modern woman who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty; figuratively and literally. I did mourn when her show was taken off of Netflix.

2. Next up is my favored of the two GOATs, it’s Hercule Poirot! His first appearance came in 1920 when Agatha Christie published The Mysterious Affair at Styles. He’s also the hero of many of her most famous works such as Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders, Hallowe’en Party, and Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case. With 40 novels under his belt and at least 85 cases solved, Poirot is one of the best. And he has a very nice mustache; so bonus points for that.

1. There was no one else I could give the top spot to other than Nancy Drew. I will fight anyone who says she doesn’t deserve to be number one! She first hit the scene in April of 1930 and has captured the hearts and minds of children and adults everywhere to this day. Nancy is the girl next story who can do it all. Model, dance, act, pick locks, she has an insane intuition, and can interrogate criminals without breaking a sweat. According to Google, she has solved 175 cases. She is the GOAT.

Thus endeth our list! Thank you for joining me today, I do hope you enjoyed your time here this fine Wednesday. I had a lovely time picking my favorite fictional detectives and talking about one of my favorite genres. Mystery March will end next week with one final review. It will be sad to say goodbye to Mystery March, but we shall cross that bridge when we get there. With that, I bid you all adieu. If you can’t wait till next week to hear from me again, then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. Me and two of my dearest friends talk everything from Disney to Scooby-Doo, awesome women of history to weird moments of history, and so much more; there is bound to be something that strikes your fancy.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!