Everybody loves a good detective story.  I think it’s because we ourselves like searching out and finding the answers to things that puzzle us.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out any of the way out cases that these detectives have to deal with here’s your chance.

Rick Deckard

It’s 2021 and artificial life is plentiful.  Sometimes that life goes rogue.  Rick Deckard is officially sanctioned to “retire” them.  You can follow the adventures of Rick Deckard in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? written by Philip K. Dick.  Or maybe you’ve seen the movie starring Harrison Ford…Blade Runner.

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Elijah Baley

Future earth is teeming with agoraphobic citizens in it’s planet encompassing building compounds.  But New York detective Elijah Baley has been chosen to go off world to track down a killer.  The catch?  Being outdoors.  Can he control his fear of wide open spaces?  He also gets a robotic partner, one who was made in the image of the scientist whose murder they are going to try and solve.  Start by reading The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov.  If you like it you can follow up with more Elijah Baley adventures in The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn.

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Dirk Gently

If you prefer a little more relaxed mystery to solve with a touch of humor, follow Dirk Gently as he solves the mysteries of the universe and human spirituality.  Start with Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams of Hitch-Hiker fame.  Follow that up with the sequel The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

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Private Investigator Garrett

If you prefer a trip into the fantastic then follow P.I. Garrett when he gets on the trail of a missing fortune.  Don’t let weird religions, magic, elves, or vampires throw you off the trail.  You can follow the first adventure in Sweet Silver Blues by Glen Cook.  If you like it, follow it up with Bitter Gold Hearts.  Don’t worry if you find yourself craving for more, there are ten more in the series just waiting to be read.

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Harry Dresden

Keeping with the fantastic theme, meet wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden.  Sometimes he even makes money consulting for the Chicago PD.  Join Harry in Storm Front by Jim Butcher as he trys to find the answers behind two people who were murdered.  Murdered by magic.  But watch out as a rogue wizard is stalking Harry with intent to kill.  Follow that up with Fool Moon the next adventure with Harry.  There are nine more after that so prepare to keep him company.

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John Taylor

Continuing with our supernatural bent we find detective John Taylor prowling around the Nightside, the secret dark heart of London.  A place where reality and time lose meaning.  Where it’s always the witching hour of 3AM. Where the dead walk, and angels tread.  And watch out for that dark car, get too close and it might eat you.  Start with Something From the Nightside by Simon Green.  Get more of John Taylor with the next book in the series Agents of Light and Darkness.  There are currently 8 more in the series.

Hawk & Fisher

Since we’re talking about detectives created by Simon Green, we simply cannot forget the husband and wife team of Hawk & Fisher.  A husband wife team who are members of the Guard in the city of Haven.  Magicians, thieves, assasins, and Gods are just another day in their duties as Guardsmen when it comes to solving mysteries.  Start with Swords of Haven and if you like it you can continue on with the rest.  Dig deep, several novels in his Forest Kingdom series also follow the exploits of Hawk and Fisher.  Or should I say Rupert and Isabelle…?

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Vicki Nelson

Vicki Nelson is an ex-cop. She solves mysteries along with her former partner and an author of steamy romance  novels,  who also just happens to be a vampire.  Whether it’s werewolves or demons this trio will find a way.  Start with Blood Price by Tanya Huff.  There are six so far in the Blood series.

Liam Rhenford

Scholar and detective Liam sets out to solve the murder of a wizard.  To help him he quite unexpectedly bonds with the late wizards familiar, a small dragon.  Can he learn enough magic to figure it out, and save himself from being the murderer’s next victim.  Check it out in the first book Fanuilh by Daniel Hood.  If you like it, follow it up with Wizard’s Heir.  There are three more in the series after that.

Takeshi Kovacs

It’s the 25th century and no one does anything dangerous on purpose.  Especially not when you can just order up a “sleeve” that is a copy of you.  Then it goes and does whatever you wanted to do, comes back and you download the memories.  Assuming your sleeve makes it back.  Follow Takeshi in Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan as he is hired by a “sleeve” of a rich old man who claims he was murdered, but police say it was a suicide.  Follow it up with Broken Angels and Woken Furies to round out the trilogy.

Angel Cardenas

It’s the Los Angeles Police Force in the 21st century and Angel is a detective who has the blessing, or curse, of knowing what other people will do in any given situation.  Join Angel for the murder of a businessman whose money and internal organs have gone missing in The Mocking Program by Alan Dean Foster.

Miles Flint

Earth is only one planet amidst a universe of strange aliens with strange ways and and even stranger laws.  Some of those law allow for assasinations, kidnappings, all kinds of things we of Earth agreed too to be a part of the bigger galactic society.  As usual, some people feel it’s unfair to be killed just for something as simple as spilling a drink so they “disappear”.  They become the disappeared.  Sometimes the statute of limitations runs out, or the aliens decide the debt as has been paid, and these “disappeared” need to be found again.  That’s where Miles Flint comes in, he’s a Retrieval Artist.  He finds the disappeared.  Join him on his amazing adventures in the first novel The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.  There are currently six more novels in this series.

Well that’s it for now.  If you think I’ve forgotten one of the great speculative detectives please comment and add their story for others to enjoy.