Way back in 2010, I created a theme (with your help!) that covered sleuths who are private investigators. After just discussing Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint series (click here for that entry), I checked to see if I had remembered to include this series on that list. Yikes! I’m glad I checked!
Hmmm… Finding that I had forgotten to include this series on the list, I wondered what other series/sleuths were missing from the list. What better time than now >>> to update that list!
I think we should include sleuths who were former private investigators, also. In the Mainely Needlepoint series, the sleuth formerly worked for a private investigator, and she uses skills she learned as a private investigator to work on and solve the mysteries.
(I know there are authors from the 2010 list who are not Cozy Mystery authors. In 2010 we listed only the authors who could be found on the Cozy Mystery Site. However, this method sometimes meant that non Cozy authors were included in entries and Cozy authors who weren’t on the site were not included on the lists.)
So, here is the list of sleuths who are private investigators (as updated). Do you see any who are missing? Please leave a comment below so that I can add them to the list. Thank you!
Private Investigator Sleuths:
Cathy Ace: WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery Series – 4 Women PIs
Conrad Allen (aka Edward Marston & Keith Miles): Dillman Mystery Series – Transatlantic Cruise Ship Detective
Lori Avocato: Pauline Sokol Mystery Series – Medical Fraud Investigator
Julian Barnes – (not Cozy)
Linda Barnes: Carlotta Carlyle Mystery Series – Boston PI AND Michael Spraggue Mystery Series… PI Actor
M. C. Beaton: Agatha Raisin Mystery Series – Owner of PI Agency
Carol Lea Benjamin: Rachel Alexander Mystery Series – PI Dog Trainer
Ruth Birmingham (aka Walter Sorrells & Lynn Abercrombie) – Sunny Childs Mystery Series – Georgia PI
Nero Blanc (aka Cordelia Frances Biddle & Steve Zettler) – Crossword Puzzle Mystery Series – PI and Crossword Puzzle Editor
Lawrence Block: Matt Scudder Mystery Series – not Cozy
D.B. Borton (aka Della Borton): Cat Caliban Mystery Series – Sexagenarian PI
Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series – Irish PI in New York
Susan M. Boyer: Liz Talbot Mystery Series – Paranormal PI series
Susan Breen: Maggie Dove Mystery Series – a Sunday school teacher who opens a private detective agency
Kate Bryan: Maggie Maguire Mystery Series – Pinkerton PI
Carole Buggé: Sherlock Holmes Mystery Series – British PI
Nancy Bush: Jane Kelly Mystery Series – PI & Pug
Dorothy Cannell: Ellie Haskell Mystery Series – Flower Sisters PIs
Sally Chapman (aka Annie Griffin): Silicon Valley Mystery Series – Computer Fraud PI
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot Mystery Series – PI with a whole lot of the little Gray Cells
Carole Higgins Clark: Regan Reilly Mystery Series – California PI
Bill Crider: Truman Smith Mystery Series – Texas PI
Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes Series – London PI
E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series – PI & a PI Ghost
Waverly Curtis: Barking Detective Mystery Series – Investigator and her “Chihuahua extraordinaire”
Lindsey Davis: Marcus Didius Falco Series – Ancient Roman PI (not Cozy)
Sharon Duncan: Scotia MacKinnon Mystery Series – Washington (State) PI
Susan Dunlap: Kiernan O’Shaughnessy Mystery Sereis – Ex Medical Examiner, Current PI (not Cozy)
Selma Eichler: Desiree Shapiro Mystery Series – “Murder Can…” PI
P.N. Elrod: Jack Fleming Mysteries – Chicago PI in 1930s (not Cozy)
Charles Finch: Charles Lenox Mystery Series – PI in 1860s London
Dick Francis: Sid Halley – not Cozy
Christy Tillery French: Natasha Chamberlain Mystery Series – Bodyguard PI
Lee Goldberg: Mr. Monk Mystery Series – Idiosyncratic PI
Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series – Alphabetical PI
Ann Granger: Fran Varady Mystery Series – British PI
Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series – Owners of Detective Agency
Linda Hall: Teri Blake-Addison Mystery Series AND Fog Point Mystery Series – both Maine PIs
Tarquin Hall: Vish Puri Mystery Series – PI in Delhi, India
C.S. Harris: Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Series – (not Cozy)
Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series – Book Store Owner & PI
Betty Hechtman: Yarn Retreat Mystery Series – Ex-PI
Veronica Heley: Abbot Agency Mystery Series – British PI
Gabriella Herkert: Animal Instincts Mystery Series – Washington (State) PI
Kaye C. Hill: Lexy Lomax Mystery Series – PI and her Chihuahua
P.D. James: Cordelia Gray Mystery Series – Inheritor of PI Business
Jon Katz: Suburban Detective Mystery Series – New Jersey PI
Marne Davis Kellogg: Lilly Bennett Mystery Series – Wyoming PI
Karen Kijewski: Kat Colorado Mystery Series – Sacramento PI
Alice Kimberly (aka Cleo Coyle): Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series – Ghostly PI
Laurie R. King: Mary Russell Mystery Series – Sherlock Holmes’ Wife PI
Mary Kruger: Gilded Age Mystery Series – 1890s PI
Hilda Lawrence: Mark East Mystery Series – New England PIs
Martha C. Lawrence: Elizabeth Chase Mystery Series – Parapsychologist / Psychic PI
Laura Lippman: Tess Monaghan Mystery Series – Baltimore PI
Lisa Lutz: Izzy Spellman Mystery Series – San Francisco PI
Karen MacInerney: Margie Peterson Mystery Series – PI Mom
Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mystery Series – Art Security PI
Taylor McCafferty (aka Barbara Taylor McCafferty & Tierney McClellan): Haskell Blevins, PI Mystery Series – Kentucky PI
Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series – Botswana PIs
Val McDermid: Kate Brannigan Mystery Series (not Cozy)
Ralph McInerny (aka Monica Quill): Notre Dame Mystery Series – Indiana PI
G.A. McKevett: Savannah Reid Mystery Series – California PI
Lorena McCourtney: Cate Kinkaid Files Mystery Series – Assistant PI
Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series
Marcia Muller: Sharon McCone Mystery Series – San Francisco PI
Katy Munger (aka Gallagher Gray): Casey Jones Mystery Series – North Carolina PI
Shirley Rousseu Murphy: Joe Grey Cat Mystery Series – California PI & Kit, the Cat
Lynne Murray: Josephine Fuller Mystery Series – Seattle PI
Diana Orgain: Maternal Instincts Mystery Series – New Mom PI
Sara Paretsky: V. I. Warshawski Mystery Series – ex-lawyer PI in Chicago (not Cozy)
Anne Perry: William Monk Mystery Series – Ex-PI
Maggie Pill: Sleuth Sisters – Michigan PIs
Rose Pressey: Maggie, PI Mystery Series – Florida PI
Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series – PI & His Narrator Dog
Misa Ramirez (Melissa Bourbon): Lola Cruz Mystery Series – Sacramento PI
Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series – English PI
Sandra Scoppettone: Faye Quick Mystery Series AND Lauren Laurano Mystery Series – New York PIs
Connie Shelton: Charlie Parker Mysteries (Charlie is an accountant, her brother is the PI in a small PI firm)
Dana Stabenow: Kate Shugak Mystery Series – Alaska PI
Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe Mystery Series – Orchid Lover PI
Winona Sullivan: Sister Cecile Mystery Series – Boston PI
Leann Sweeney: Yellow Rose Mystery Series – Houston PI
Elizabeth Atwood Taylor: Maggie Elliott Mystery Series – California PI
Will Thomas: Cyrus Barker and Llewelyn Mystery Series – not Cozy
Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series – Police Sergeant turned PI
Elaine Viets: Dead End Job Mystery Series – Florida PI
Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series – former PI
Edgar Wallace: ‘The Black’ series of short stories – Blackmail PI
Betty Webb: Lena Jones Mystery Series – Arizona PI (not Cozy)
Patricia Wentworth: Miss Maud Silver Mystery Series – British Ex-Governess PI
Valerie Wilson Wesley: Tamara Hayle Mystery Series – New Jersey PI
Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series – Early 20th Century London PI
Sharon Zukowski: Blaine Stewart Mystery Series – not Cozy
P.S. If you’d like to see lots and lots of themes, be sure to take a look at the Cozy Mysteries by Themes page on my site.
Cathy Ace says
Hello there -I’m giving a shout-out for my women of the WISE Enquiries Agency – four female private investigators who run their business out of a converted barn on the Estate of a Welsh stately home. They are professional investigators, “helped” (or not!) by an elderly, sleuthing dowager duchess. 😉
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cathy, I try to add each new series that I post to its corresponding theme pages, but sometimes I forget. Thanks for the reminder.
Sheila in CT says
E.J. Copperman: Haunted Guesthouse Mystery. The Ghost Paul is a PI who can’t leave the house. Alison also got here PI license so she could investigate (unwillingly) for Paul.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila in CT, E.J. Copperman’s Haunted Guesthouse is perfect for this list. Thanks!
Sheila in CT says
Just thought of another book series. Sara Paretsky
V. I. Warshawski. V. I. is an ex-attorney, now a PI in Chicago. I’ve got this series on my TBR list.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila in CT, thanks, again!
Marja says
Anne Perry’s William Monk began as a private enquiry agent.
Will Thomas’ s Cyrus Barker series
Julian Barnes’ s wonderful series set in Georgian England
Valentine St. Cyr mysteries (don’t recall author)
I hope I remember some more. I don’t have many books on my shelves nowadays.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, thanks!
Marie says
How about Charles Finch’s Charles Lenox mysteries? I’ve been listening to audiobooks of this series–they’re very good. Yes, I’m partial to English accents :-).
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, I just added Charles Finch and off to see who does the narration.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, I just listened to a sample on audible . com, and at first I thought it was Alan Davies – from Jonathan Creek fame. A narrator can make or break a book >>> and James Langton sounds like someone who would make it!
MJ says
Karen MacInerney’s Margie Peterson Mysteries
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, this is yet another series that I missed when she started this series in 2013. Thank you!
Tracie says
In the newer books of the Gaslight series Frank Malloy is now a PI. Not sure if you would list it here since this a recent career change for Frank but thought I would mention.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tracie, thank you. I’ve just added it to the list.
Ingrid says
I believe that Casey, the sleuth in Betty Hechtman’s Yarn Retreat Series, used to work for a PI and still calls him for occasional advice.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ingrid, I thought Casey was a dessert chef…
Ingrid says
Danna,
Casey IS a dessert chef who runs the yarn retreats, but you said, “I think we should include sleuths who were former private investigators, also” and, as I recall, before Casey moved to Monterey, she worked for a PI and uses that experience to help her solve crimes. She calls her former boss/mentor to get his perspective on her current case. But I may be remembering that incorrectly or the situation may not fit your parameters.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ingrid, thanks for the clarification. I’ll go add her to the list. (I got it confused with Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint series.) Thanks, again!
Ingrid says
And… I seem to remember that Carolyn Haines duo of Sarah Booth Delaney and her best friend, Tinkie Richmond, are now officially in the detective for hire business.
Jeanne says
I know Carolyn Haines Sarah Booth Delaney series has been added but I just wanted to comment that these books are wonderful. I have read all 25 books in this series…twice. And enjoyed them and can’t wait for her new book in October to come out. These books are never the same and never boring.
dragons3 says
Betty Webb — Lena Jones, a PI in Scottsdale, Arizona
Sharon Zukowski — Blaine Stewart, an ex cop now a PI in NYC
Susan Dunlap — Kiernan O’Shaughnessy, a former Medical Examiner turned PI in California
Dick Francis — Sid Halley, a jockey turned PI in England
Lawrence Block — Matt Scudder, a PI in NYC
You may not want to include this one, because he’s decidedly not cozy — Mickey Spillane — Mike Hammer, PI in NYC
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Dragons3, I’ve added these to the list. Thanks.
Ingrid says
Elaine Viets. Her Dead End Job series sleuth eventually becomes a PI who still works at various jobs to help solve crimes.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ingrid, thank you… again!
Ingrid says
My apologies for not seeing Carolyn Haines and Elaine Viets on the list before I posted. Can I blame it on having a cataract ☺?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ingrid, I added both Elaine Viets and Carolyn Haines to the list after I read your comments. (Definitely no apologies needed!) Thanks!
Lillie says
Rhys Bowen-Molly Murphy is the greatest PI.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lillie, thank you. I appreciate your help.
drcmg says
Maggie Pill’s Sleuth Sisters are PIs in Michigan. Barb is a former assistant DA who retired and came home. She and her sisters, Faye and Rhetta, are the Sleuth Sisters. Each one narrates chapters so you see the entire investigation from three different perspectives. The fourth book of this series is due to be released on June 30.
Susan* says
Val McDermid’s Kate Brannigan. Most of Ms McDermid’s books are not cozy, but this (Too short!!) series is.
P.N. Elrod’s Jack Fleming Mysteries (The first seven-book story arc, anyway. After that they start to get dark and weird) are definitely cozy. Jack is a PI in 1930’s Chicago. I highly recommend them.
Edgar Wallace’s ‘The Black’ is an excellent series of short stories featuring a PI who specializes in blackmail cases. (One book, just every chapter a different story.)
Btw, Conrad Allen’s series is technically, the Dillman and Masefield series. Genevieve Masefield is a full partner with George Porter Dillman. Both of them are PI’s, and share main character status in the series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, I’ve been hesitant about changing Conrad Allen’s series name since she’s a suspect in the first book of the series. (I believe that when I added him to the site it was the Dillman series…)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan *, also, thank you for letting me know if they’re Cozy or not.
Julie says
I believe Waverly Curtis their series The Barking Detective Agency. I believe Geri becomes a private detective. Not sure been awhile since I read Dial C For Chihuahua.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julie, this is a perfect example of me forgetting to add a series when I added the author’s page to the site. Thank you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Yikes! I should have said Cozy Private Investigator Sleuths in the entry! If you’re suggesting a mystery author/series that you believe isn’t Cozy, please let me know and I’ll mark it that way. Thanks!
KG says
What about The Lola Cruz Mystery series by Misa Ramirez?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
KG, perfect! I just added her to the list. Thanks!
Sheila UK says
How about Lindsay Davis? Falco describes himself as a PI.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila UK, thank you. I’ll go add her series to the list.
Lenora says
Lorena McCourtney’s series featuring Assistant Private Investigator Cate Kinkaid is always good fun!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lenora, thanks!
Lenora says
Does anyone recall an older, less-cozy series of 2 or 3 books with a former homeless young woman opening a private detective office in an old downtown building? Have been puzzling over this for several years and it is driving me crazy! Would like to reread the series.
She was a tough, independent loner-type. I believe she rode a bike when she wasn’t borrowing her friend’s car for stakeouts and visited Goodwill for clothing disguises. I remember one particular book she was pursued along beach and boardwalk and through an abandoned hotel.
Lawsons Consultancy Detective Agency says
Very nice.
Thank you.
Kelly says
I’m looking for a book/series I read about a decade (give or take) ago. A model hired a PI because she thought someone was trying to harm/kill her. I think her name was Jane, and the guy she hired had a name that started with a W. It was the first book of at least 2 that featured the both of them. I believe the cover was teal-ish, and had hand-drawn/cartoon art.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kelly, I’m afraid this doesn’t ring any bells, but I’m going to include it in a questions post so hopefully someone else will be able to come up with a solution for you!