100 Great Detectives: Or the Detective Directory [Paperback]

Maxim Jakubowski (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Julian Symons on Sam Spade, Paula Gosling on Rex Stout, Loren D. Estleman on Philip Marlowe, Anne Hart on Hercule Poirot--and 96 other mystery writers on favorite literary detectives, each limned in a short essay appended by a bibliography and edited by Jakubowski (ed., New Crimes, 1990). Mystery lovers will enjoy these generous, generally upbeat homages--many written with appropriate stylistic flourish (e.g., Linda Semple presents her essay on V.I. Warshawski as a ``Surveillance Report'')--and, no doubt, will discover new detectives to pursue, such as Ed Lacy's 1950's black private eye, Toussaint Marcus Moore, profiled here by John Williams. Could Jakubowski find no writer, however, whose favorite detectives were Dashiell Hammett's Nick and Nora Charles, Stephen Greenleaf's John Marshall Tanner, or--the most glaring omission here--the most popular fictional detective of the past 50 years, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer? -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881849200
• ISBN-13: 978-0881849202
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,024,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No 'red herrings' in this index to the great detectives!, May 7, 2000

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Great Detectives: Or the Detective Directory (Paperback)

I can't imagine anyone being more qualified to put together this compendium of the great detectives of the world than Maxim Jakubowski! Maxim runs the Murder One bookstore in London which houses perhaps the greatest collection of whodunits in England. Right on Charing Cross Road it is, too. (Drop in if you're ever in the area! And he's usually right there at his desk, working on one of his books or answering questions about other writers!) In "100 Great Detectives," he presents 100 essays on various characters (detectives) of the genre. Short, they read quite well. Undoubtedly, you will find your own favorite detectives listed.

Among my favorites were the essays: John Malcolm on Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe; Deborah Valentine on P.D. James' Cordelia Grey; Bob Biderman on Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee; Peter Robinson on Simenon's Inspector Maigret; Loren Estleman on Chandler's Philip Marlowe; Wendy Grossman on Christie's Miss Marple; Simon Brett on Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone; Ralph Spurrier on Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse; Robert Wallace on John LeCarre's George Smiley.

Other essays include V.I. Warshawski, Lord Peter Wimsey, Nero Wolfe, and Aurelio Zen, to name a few others.

What this collection does is to give our favorite characters even more meaning. Of course, as in any literary interpretation, it is just that--an interpretation--and the writers' views may be different from yours; no matter, it still provides plenty of insight into these unforgettable detectives!

Billyjhobbs@ tyler.net