QUIZ: Famous Sleuths

By FPL_Adam

One literary mystery is the history of the detective novel. What was the story that started it all and just who wrote it?

There are those who give Edgar Allen Poe credit with his story Murder in the Rue Morgue in 1841. It is story that begins with a narrator describing meeting an individual when searching for a book at a library in Paris, and from there they begin to converse. It is a tale that many readers will find familiar, will it be the singular analytical sleuth or the municipal police that finally unravel the mystery?

Others give credit for the first detective novel to Wilke Collins and his novel The Moonstone published in 1868.  The novel opens with the theft of the legendary yellow diamond. It is a detective novel that features a large cast of potential suspects, a police force searching to make the clues fit, and singular sleuth who promises to be able to solve the puzzle.

However, there is also The Notting Hill Mystery written in 1862. It is a mystery full of all the essentials including several insurance policies, a dubious baron, and babies switched at birth, and one investigator named Ralph Henderson. It first appeared as serial in the Once a Week magazine and then published as a book later in 1865. 

Since that time the detective mystery novel has taken off with a range of puzzle solving personalities. If you are mystery fan, you just might be familiar with some of the characters in this list. The question is, how well do you know these famous sleuths?

Test your knowledge of these sleuths with the quiz below:

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This private investigator has a wide range of interests from chemistry to boxing and is completely dependent upon Mrs. Hudson for a flat/apartment on Baker Street.*
A master of using his "little grey cells" to unravel the mysteries while keeping his mustache in impeccable condition.*
This detective solves crimes on the Navajo reservation and can not only be a bit cantankerous, but also resistant to change.*
Out in the Minnesota back-country, there are few unsolved cases when this accomplished part-time private investigator begins looking for clues.*
Under the tutelage of her father, this young private investigator who uses both intelligence and resourcefulness to help her friends and the authorities.*
This detective despises leaving the comforts of home and has the uncanny ability to solve a case without ever setting foot out the front door.*
With the ability to converse in both French and English, this inspector keeps Three Pines a place where hope and kindness are still powerful forces.*
A former police officer that is a little less interested in personal appearance (preferring jeans and a comfortable turtleneck sweater to formal wear) and has a strained professional interactions with Don Dolan, the local policeman.*
It is people skills and personality insights that makes this Botswanan detective far more effective than the average sleuth.*
This sleuth who calls New Jersey home is all spunk and formidable bounty hunter.*
With a medical background, this London detective uses her talents as a psychologist to unravel mysteries in London.*
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