History Main / KidDetective

* ''The Baker Street Irregulars'' by Creator/TerranceDicks is about a Literature/SherlockHolmes fan who ([[YouMeddlingKids with the help of his school friends]]) solvew crimes. The first mystery he only takes on after the school bully dares him to, but he finds that he's actually quite good at it.

* Brains Benton and Jimmy Carson from the ''Brains Benton Mysteries'' series from the late 50s and early 60s solve six cases (preserved by Whitman Publishing) in their hometown of Crestwood, [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America]]. Brains himself is a strong SherlockHomage, and possibly (for his age) even a better scientific detective. Jimmy is his Watson both as a sidekick and, unusually for these types of stories, as the POV chronicler of the cases.

%%** The same author has a boy character named Jeffery Bones with his own series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
%%* ''Capitol Mysteries''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)

* A group of four young carnival freaks, [[GoodWithNumbers Thomas]] the {{contortionist}}, [[DefrostingIceQueen Max]] the [[ImprobableAimingSkills knife thrower]], [[GentleGiant Sam]] the [[SuperStrength world's strongest boy]], and [[OracularUrchin Pippa]] the [[{{Telepathy}} mentalist]], solving the occasional murder mystery is the basis of the ''Curiosity House'' series. Even if the PoliceAreUseless, the kids will try to let the authorities do their job unless a friend or the tourist trap where they live and work hangs in the balance.

* Jill Pinkwater's ''The Disappearance of Sister Perfect'' has [[MeaningfulName Sherelee Holmes]], who, after deducing that her runaway sister has joined a cult, poses as a rich teenager several years older than herself and infiltrates the organization.

* Played with in an ''Esp Mcgee'' book where the book's kid [[TheWatson Watson]] decides to personally visit the home when the kid suspect is out to get some information. As it happens, he barely manages to excuse himself when the suspect and his menacing father arrive home early. Afterward, the terrifying experience weighs so much on him that he confesses to his parents what he was up to. His alarmed parents give him a firm lecture about taking such risks, but playfully then suggest that since he's done it, he might as well contact Mcgee to give his report, which proves to crack the case.

* ''Inspector Tearle'' appears in five books from the late '60s and early '70s. He and his sidekicks, his athletic sister Shirley and his best friend "Thumbs" Thorndyke, solve cases from a treehouse headquarters in East Widmarsh, [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America]].

* Justin Richards's ''The Invisible Detective'' novels are about a group of kids who claim to be "Baker Street Irregulars" to the non-existent Brandon Lake, because no-one would take them seriously as detectives themselves.

%%* ''Marco Fennerty, Jr.'' had three adventures chronicled in the late 60s and early 70s. Like Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardys, Marco is the son of a police officer. Unlike those worthies, he operates not in FlyoverCountry, but in TheBigEasy and its southern Louisiana environs, the atmosphere of which is evoked quite vividly (though appropriately for the age group) in the stories. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what sort of detective work does he do, specifically?)
* The ten-year-old members of the [=McGurk=] Detective Agency from ''The [=McGurk=] Mysteries'', led by the clever if perhaps overly-impetuous Jack P. [=McGurk=].

%%* Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's ''Nate the Great''. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)

* The ''Shirley Holmes'' stories depict the exploits of [[Literature/SherlockHolmes a certain detective's]] sleuthing teenaged sister.
%%* Paul-Jacques Bonzon's ''Les Six Compagnons'', the French counterparts of Enid Blyton's Kid Detective series. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; describe the series on its own terms)

%%* The ''Three Cousins Detective Club'' series is one of these with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin three cousins]]. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)

* The premise of the ''Ulysses Moore'' adventure series. Jason, Julia, and Rick solve mysteries of the seaside village Kilmore Cove, with an occasional TimeTravel to various historical epochs and places and solving mysteries ''there''.

* ''Film/EnolaHolmes'' adapts the eponymous books and follows Sherlock Holmes' 16 year old sister Enola as she investigates the disappearance of their mother Eudoria and a political conspiracy.

* The Blyton Hills Summer Detective Club, from ''Literature/MeddlingKids''. [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo They're a vaguely familiar group: One's the "good ol' boy" leader, one's the scared nerd, one's the brains of the outfit, one's the tomboy action girl, and one's their dog sidekick.]] Their last case was [[ScoobyDooHoax unmasking a crook dressed as a giant salamander menacing a lakeside mansion]]; however, the novel revolves them coming back years later and uncovering the very real supernatural monsters behind it. [[DeconReconSwitch And though things are played a lot more realistically than your typical example... they actually do a pretty good job.]]

If the Kid Detective comes from a detecting family, odds are they are a BornDetective. One who regularly wears a fedora and trenchcoat is probably trying to be a HardboiledDetective.

* ''literature/MoonBaseAlpha'': Dashiell Gibson is the tween son of two scientists assigned to the eponymous moon base, which is about the size of a soccer field. Despite the SmallSecludedWorld nature of their home, the base hosts a murder, a disappearance, and an attempted murder, all of which Dash and his friend, newcomer Kira, must solve.

* Alan Coren's ''Arthur the Boy Detective'', who lives at 221A Baker Street and constantly shows up his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes downstairs neighbour]].

%%* The title character in Joe Meno's book ''The Boy Detective Fails'' is a deconstruction of what this trope might become when they enter adulthood. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; what does he become?)

%%* ''The Dana Girls''.

* Partially deconstructed with Nickel of ''Nickel Plated''. He's a MinorLivingAlone who has a DarkAndTroubledPast involving child pornography (and it's implied that [[spoiler:he may have killed the people responsible]]). He {{catfish|ing}}es pedophiles and sends their info to the FBI, and also grows and sells marijuana through a high-school middleman (who has never physically met him) for extra cash. The plot of the novel kicks off when a girl hires him to find her missing sister, and he uncovers a child trafficking ring.

* ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency'' series is set in an AlternateHistory where [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace Ada Lovelace]] and Creator/MaryShelley become friends as tweens and form the titular agency. It is [[ChildProdigy Ada]]'s idea, because she compares solving crimes to solving fun puzzles.

%%* ''Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs'' is a series where the kids are African-American. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)

** Naoto Shirogane of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', who's known all across Japan as the "Detective Prince". Dissected, as well: The police force ''hates'' having to call Naoto in on the serial murder case, and [[spoiler:she's passed herself off as a boy for years because of how male-dominated the police are. Her Shadow taunts her over how mature she tries to act to get past the "young detective" bit -- it's worth noting that her Shadow flip-flops between overly mature dialog and crying like a baby.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Madeline}}'', the title character plays this role now and then, usually with Pepito as her helper: for example, in ''Madeline and the Forty Thieves'', ''Madeline and the Lost Crown'', and ''[[WholePlotReference Madeline on the Orient Express]]''. In ''Madeline's Detective School'', she teaches child [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of Literature/HerculePoirot, ''[[Literature/TheMalteseFalcon Sam Spade'' and Literature/MissMarple how to solve mysteries too

[[folder: Puppet Shows]]

* Lily from ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten}}'' becomes this in ''VideoGame/Kindergarten2''. While she does do some snooping in the first game, it's for personal reasons, namely to find her missing brother Billy. In the second game though, despite not having any personal stakes anymore, she still stakes out her new school for secrets along with [[spoiler:the now-rescued Billy]]. They find out that [[spoiler:the kids that were "rezoned" to make room for the first game's cast in the new school were actually kidnapped by the principal to be turned into mutant monsters for use in her evil plans]]. To really drive home the point, her [[AndYourRewardIsClothes unlockable outfit]] is called the "Sleuth's Dress".

* Dipper and Mabel became these in the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Headhunters", when they set out to solve the mystery of who beheaded a wax sculpture of their Grunkle Stan. Over the broader MythArc of the series, Dipper's efforts to crack the secret of the Journal and the weirdness of the town itself also count.
* ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' featured a short about a child detective entitled "Peter Patrick, P.I.: What About Lunch?"
* Darby from ''WesternAnimation/MyFriendsTiggerAndPooh''. The series is all about six-year-old Darby leading the Super Sleuths on their sleuthing adventures. They don't investigate any actual crimes, though, focusing more on everyday "mysteries" a child might realistically encounter.
* Mitchell from ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' might as well be one of the prime examples of the trope. He not only looks a typical detective, but he also idolizes Sherlock Holmes and has his own noir-esque {{Leitmotif}}. Mitchell is always trying to be a detective and find proof that the Propulsions are aliens, but to no avail.
* ''WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'': In the episode "Punky P.I.", Punky opens a detective office from her school locker as she and her friends try to solve an in-school mystery involving a classmate's sabotaged project.
* From the same creators as ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' was ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', about four "daring teenagers" - one of whom is a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] - who drive around in a convertible solving mysteries.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraRoyalDetective'' follows a young girl who gets appointed as a detective.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/NoddysToylandAdventures Noddy, Toyland Detective]]'' focuses around the child character Noddy solving mysteries in Toytown.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* While nowhere near as common as in fiction, you do get [[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-two-on-bicycles-help-foil-an-iphone-robbery-20140620-story.html occasional cases]] of children and (more often) teenagers who have gone "above and beyond" to save the lives of bystanders and help apprehend criminals. Needless to say, they don't typically end up making a habit of it.
* As always, [[Website/{{Cracked}} Cracked.com]] is ready to provide [[http://www.cracked.com/article_21055_6-shockingly-brave-kids-who-make-you-look-like-coward.html entire]] [[http://www.cracked.com/pictofacts-236-16-badass-acts-heroism-done-by-children/ lists]] of children who have helped foil criminals.
[[/folder]]

** Naoto Shirogane of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', who's known all across Japan as the "Detective Prince". Dissected, as well: the police force ''hates'' having to call Naoto in on the serial murder case, and [[spoiler:she's passed herself off as a boy for years because of how male-dominated the police are. Her Shadow taunts her over how mature she tries to act to get past the "young detective" bit - it's worth noting that her Shadow flip-flops between overly mature dialog and crying like a baby.]]
** Goro Akechi from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' appears to be a Naoto-like KidDetective, to the point where he's known as "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince", but since the heroes are on the [[PhantomThief other side of the law]], he has a [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist more antagonistic]] relationship to them at first. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's a [[FakeUltimateHero fraud]] who's the true culprit behind all of the cases he "solved"]].
* Mackenzie from ''VideoGame/TouchDetective'' is a BornDetective in the Kid Detective phase of her life.
* Jake and Jennifer Eagle in the 1993-94 ''VideoGame/EagleEyeMysteries'' PC game series.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' has a Kid Detective named, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin wait for it]], Kidd. His look also seems to be heavily inspired by Conan Edogawa from ''Manga/CaseClosed''.
* ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'' has Sarya, a young female apprentice of [[GreatDetective Barawa]]. But when it comes to some DetectiveDrama events, she can prove that she a better one then her employer, as she focuses on clues and facts, while Barawa relies on his physical strength and determination to chase the culprit for most of the time.
* As each of the characters in ''VideoGame/GuiltyParty'' is based on a classic detective archetype, Rudy (AKA Kid Riddles) represents this particular trope. His cousin Ling-Ling is one too, but she's a teenager and skews more towards being a ''Franchise/NancyDrew''-alike.
* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
** Kyoko Kirigiri of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' may be the most extreme application of this trope: as the Ultimate Detective, she's essentially the best in the world for her age-group, and as a requirement of that title, is a professional in her daily life (which can be seen in her [[LightNovel/DanganronpaKirigiri prequel novels]] where she's taking on cases while still in junior high). She also comes from an entire family of lifelong detectives, with her father being the black sheep of the family simply for leaving the business to be Headmaster of Hope’s Peak, the school at the center of the franchise. How competent he was at his job is... debatable. [[spoiler:With the world outside the academy [[ApocalypseHow/Class0 gone to hell with so few people left alive]], she may actually be the best in general by default, although that depends on if her grandfather was killed [[VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls in Towa City]], which is never resolved]].
** Shuichi Saihara from ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' is also an Ultimate Detective, and in his case received it for solving a murder before the police department could. He is however far more insecure about his skills than her. And unlike Kyoko, who stayed as a sidekick, [[spoiler:he eventually becomes the protagonist in his own right. But the end of the game suggests that he [[AmbiguousSituation might not have been a detective at all]].]]
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora takes on a detective role in Timeless River to figure out who has been attacking Disney Castle, using the windows as clues. It was obviously Pete, but [[spoiler:there are two versions of him here]]. In the Japanese version, the cutscene where Pete reappears to [[spoiler:steal the Cornerstone of Light]] is even called "Detective Sora".
** The second trip to Halloween Town also has a mystery as its theme; this time, on who stole the Christmas presents from Santa Claus. However, Sora doesn't play the detective role this time; Jack Skellington does.
* True to her literary counterpart, ''VideoGame/NancyDrew'' is one in the series of games.
* Johnny in ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts From The New World'' runs a detective agency despite looking like he might be at most 14-16 years old. [[spoiler: He's actually much older than he looks]].
* ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch3'' introduces Hailey Anne, an elementary schooler who runs the Hapyon Detective Agency alongside her yokai friend Usapyon.
* Pip Whipple of ''VideoGame/MaxGentlemenSexyBusiness'' was one in her youth, though in her twenties she still shows great enthusiasm and excitement at the prospect of solving another "whodunnit". It should be noted she's more an AffectionateParody, showing just how stressful and dangerous this job can be.
* Walnut Cookie from ''VideoGame/CookieRun''. She is shown to be worthy enough to solve mysteries and crimes. Even her skill has portraits to suspect which one of them is guilty.

** Sonoko Sakanoue, the final rival of [[{{Prequel}} 1980s Mode]], was a former student of Akademi who made a name for herself solving a murder mystery that had stumped police, and left Akademi early to pursue a career as a detective. She returns to Akademi in the final week of 1980s mode, ostensibly to finish her schooling and graduate, but really as the Journalist's eyes and ears to find clues that prove that Ryoba Aishi murdered Sumire Saitozaki. [[spoiler:The 'canon' means of eliminating her as a rival is to gain her trust by burning compromising photos of her a pervert took, which convinces her that Ryoba couldn't have killed Sumire. This, of course, was Ryoba's plan all along to get away with murder.]]
** If School Atmosphere gets low enough, the Photography Club will start investigating the strange circumstances on their own to try to find a murderer. This makes them a difficult obstacle for the Yanderes, as if one of them catches her committing murder, they'll snap a picture for proof, forcing her to kill them before they can show someone.

* Parodied with the Mystery Solving Teens from ''Webcomic/HarkAVagrant'' - unlike most teenage detectives, they act like typical teenagers, meaning they rarely ''do'' anything relevant to the case.
* The kids from ''Webcomic/BadMachinery'' regularly deal with crimes and mysteries, mostly with a supernatural spin.
** This trope is somewhat subverted in "The Case Of The Forked Road", where [[spoiler:after the kids consider all sorts of devious ways to fool railway men into pulling the levers to switch a train to a different track to prevent a crash, or to get the men out of the way so they can pull the levers themselves, Shauna finally takes the direct, straightforward approach as an adult investigator might, and tells the men that the track has been sabotaged and they need to flip the switch; and they believe her and take immediate action.]]

[[folder: Web Original]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Spoofed in the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "high school", where Strong Bad claims that he, Marzipan, Homestar, and Strong Mad were "a team of super sleuths" in high school, and that they spent their time either "debating the existence of mysterious", playing in a band, or trying to get Homestar out of these "ridiculous stripéd pants" he used to wear.

* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' was on the older end of this trope, since the members of Mystery Incorporated are supposed to be in their teens, but they were constantly called "[[YouMeddlingKids meddling kids]]" and variants thereof by the various villains of the week. ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' leaned into this trope with [[SpinoffBabies child versions of the characters]].
** From the same creators, ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', about another gang of teenagers who solve mysteries. The big twist here is that one of them is a werewolf.
* Penny, the niece of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', is well-known for her snooping, her being captured, and her ability to stop the bad guys singlehandedly [[OnceAnEpisode every single episode]].
* This is what Hank and Dean, ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', ''want'' to be. This is what the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Giant Boy Detective]] is.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has done this numerous times with Bart and/or Lisa. The first such instance is when Krusty gets arrested for armed robbery but some sleuthing discovers that it was actually Sideshow Bob trying to frame Krusty. Nelson also takes it up later on, with Bart and Lisa being the suspects.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan''. The youngest four fit the role perfectly, especially Flip, but the others are teens.
* Timmy Turner from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ventured into this trope in the episode ''Where's Wanda'' when he wished to become a full, typical private investigator; trench coat and all.

* Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'' are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews, stars of a long-running multinational book series. Unusual in that it features a real-life individual, Mr. Hitchcock himself, as an introductory narrator for the first thirty books.

* Brains Benton and Jimmy Carson, solved six cases (preserved by Whitman Publishing) in the late 50s and early 60s in their hometown of Crestwood, also [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America]]. Brains himself was a strong SherlockHomage, and possibly (for his age) even a better scientific detective. Jimmy was his Watson both as a sidekick and, unusually for these types of stories, as the POV chronicler of the cases.
* Also in the late 50s and early 60s, Andy Blair and Willie Perkins appeared in several stories in ''Creator/ElleryQueen 's Mystery Magazine,'' later collected in the Weekly Reader Book Club volume ''Andy & Willie: Super Sleuths.'' Unlike some of their contemporaries, their hometown of Wakanda is located in a specific state -- Indiana -- and, also unlike most contemporaries, their stories work both as mysteries for kids and as sly humor for adults.
* Marco Fennerty, Jr. had three adventures chronicled in the late 60s and early 70s. Like Encyclopedia Brown and the Hardys, Marco was the son of a police officer. Unlike those worthies, he operated not in FlyoverCountry, but in TheBigEasy and its southern Louisiana environs; the atmosphere of which was evoked quite vividly (though appropriately for the age group) in the stories.
* Max the Wolf from ''Literature/DownTheMysterlyRiver'' is this.
* Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose in the ''Literature/AToZMysteries'' series.
** ''Capitol Mysteries'' and ''Literature/CalendarMysteries'' are by the same author with different kids.
* The ''Three Cousins Detective Club'' series was one of these with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin three cousins]].
* ''Literature/ZiggyAndTheBlackDinosaurs'' is a series where the kids are African-American.

* Dwight of the [[Literature/OrigamiYoda Origami Yoda series]] carries around an origami finger puppet of [[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] and [[ConsultingMisterPuppet gives people advice with it]]. Occasionally, he tries to help people without Origami Yoda, and when doing so, goes into Kid Detective mode. He imitates Literature/SherlockHolmes and speaks ''in a British accent''.
* The Detective Team KZ in ''Literature/TanteiTeamKZJikenNote'' is a group of seventh-grade AmateurSleuth.
* Some of the ''Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure'' books feature kid detectives and their adventures, e.g., ''Mystery of Ura Senke'' features an American pre-teen who has solved cases in the past; he/she moves to Japan with his/her family and is contacted by their best friend Kenichi, whose brother is a student in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urasenke Ura Senke tea ceremony school]], to find [[MacGuffin the school's most valious tea bowl]], which has been stolen ''and'' is worth millions of yen.
* A group of four young carnival freaks, [[GoodWithNumbers Thomas]] the {{Contortionist}}, [[DefrostingIceQueen Max]] the [[ImprobableAimingSkills Knife thrower]], [[GentleGiant Sam]] the [[SuperStrength World's strongest boy]], and [[OracularUrchin Pippa]] the [[{{Telepathy}} Mentalist]], solving the occasional murder mystery is the basis of the ''Curiosity House'' series. Even if the PoliceAreUseless, the kids will try to let the authorities do their job unless a friend or the tourist trap where they live and work hangs in the balance.
* Creator/TerranceDicks wrote a children's series called ''The Baker Street Irregulars'' about a Literature/SherlockHolmes fan who ([[YouMeddlingKids with the help of his school friends]]) would solve crimes. The first mystery he only takes on after the school bully dares him to, but he finds that he's actually quite good at it.
* The premise of the ''Literature/UlyssesMoore'' adventure series. Jason, Julia and Rick solve mysteries of the seaside village Kilmore Cove, with an occassional TimeTravel to various historical epochs and places and solving mysteries ''there''.
* The ''Literature/YoungSherlockHolmes'' feature a teenaged Holmes who is still developing his deductive genius while getting involved in adventures that are a lot more action-oriented than his later ones will be.
* ''Literature/NinaTanleven'': Nine and Chris, who are eleven years old. However, they only get involved in cases that also include ghosts.
* Towards the end of ''Literature/DisgustingMcGrossface'', the boy holds up a magnifying glass and declares he's going to look for clues. [[spoiler: Subverted, in that he was just lying]].
* Parodied in the ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' novel ''Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau''. The titular club consists of two 18-year-old boys who go by the names of J.J. and Valentine "Val" Watts. These are not their real names, and it is heavily implied that the two of them aren't even related. Also, the two are implied to have been heavily involved with criminal activity in their youth. Their third recruit, an 18-year-old girl named Trudi de la Rosa, is a straighter example.
* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': a number of students at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] are either aspiring detectives (most notably Reach and Spade in Gen 1, and Osmic Ace, Deduce, and Trace of the 'Card Sharps Detective Agency' training team in Gen 2) or spend their time snooping into unusual events for their own reasons (such as the [[Characters/WhateleyUniverseSchoolClubsAndCliques Lit Chix]]). A number of students also end up in situations which call for them to do some investigating, either with or without adult assistance.
** It seems that would-be detectives - and other students such as Hardsell who simply want to join the police force after they graduate - are common enough that the school has multiple classes in criminology, though students looking to be superheroes - or supervillains - make good use of them as well.
* Partially deconstructed with Nickel of ''Literature/NickelPlated''. He's a MinorLivingAlone who has a DarkAndTroubledPast involving child pornography (and it's implied [[spoiler:he may have killed the people responsible]]). He {{catfish|ing}}es pedophiles and sends their info to the FBI, and also grows and sells marijuana through a high-school middleman (who has never physically met him) for extra cash. The plot of the novel kicks off when a girl hires him to find her missing sister, and he uncovers a child trafficking ring.

* PBS's ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'' involves kids and a ghost who solve mysteries. The ghost communicates only by typing, as it cannot speak.
* The title character in ''{{Letty}}'', a popular UK children's series during the 1980s.
* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes'', starring Sherlock's teenaged great grand-niece.
* Subverted in the 1970s TV version of ''Series/TheHardyBoys'' where the Boys are allowed to grow up in the final season and become professional detectives for the US Department of Justice.
* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' Has an investigative journalist and three teens investigate and fight aliens.
* ''StickWithMeKid'' was a British series where the kid detective got around his age by using an out of work actor to pose as a detective while the kid did all the actual detective work.
* ''TheBakerStreetBoys'': A gang of street urchins living in Victorian London assist Sherlock Holmes in solving crimes and find themselves tackling cases of their own.
* Flavia Gemini and friends in ''[[Series/TheRomanMysteries Roman Mysteries]]'', the Creator/{{CBBC}} live-action adaptation of ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'' books.
* ''Series/EugenieSandlerPI.'' was an Australian TV series about a teenage girl whose father is private investigator. When he disappears, she is forced to turn detective in order to find him.
* Ted Mosby of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' claimed to have been one in his youth, teaming with his sister as "The Mosby Boys". His friends don't think much of his detective skills, but they are portrayed inconsistently throughout the series and there were cases where he was quite insightful in putting clues together such as in "Blitzgiving".
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' casts a younger Bruce Wayne as this, investigating a possible conspiracy involving corruption in his parents' company following their death.
* ''Series/{{The InBESTigators}}'' is an ABC Me series distributed by {{Creator/Netflix}} featuring four elementary school classmates who form a detective agency.

* Ten-year-old Angus Mcdonald of ''Podcast/{{The Adventure Zone}}'' is this to a tee. In Angus's introduction, Merle cites this trope almost by name.
-->'''Angus:''' My name's Angus Mcdonald, that part you already know. I am, and I'm not being braggy, 'cause my grandpa says not to do that, but I am the world's greatest detective!
-->'''Travis (narrating for Magnus):''' I roll my eyes.
-->'''Angus:''' Okay. I mean, I did detective good enough to see through your horseshit, so I can't be too bad.
-->'''Merle:''' Are you saying you're a boy detective?
-->'''Angus:''' If you want to be reductive.

* Paul-Jacques Bonzon's ''Les Six Compagnons'', the French counterparts of Enid Blyton's Kid Detective series.
* Parodied with Malicia in Terry Pratchett's ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents]]'', who likes to think of herself as one of these, but is really just an obnoxious know-it-all who's not quite GenreSavvy enough.
* Marjorie Weinman Sharmat's ''Nate the Great''.
* Alan Coren's ''Arthur The Boy Detective'', who lives at 221A Baker Street, and constantly shows up his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes downstairs neighbour]].
* Justin Richards' ''The Invisible Detective'' novels are about a group of kids who claim to be "Baker Street Irregulars" to the non-existent Brandon Lake, because no-one would take them seriously as detectives themselves.
* Creator/KimNewman's ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' stories:
** Richard Riddle, Boy Detective, who features in "The Gypsies in the Wood" and "The Case of the French Spy", is along the Enid Blyton model, starting out by solving mysteries for the neighbours and then levelling up to foiling kidnappers and murderers with his chums on their summer holidays. A surprisingly non-deconstructed example by Newman's standards, apart from the inevitable discovery that he's in a CosmicHorrorStory, and his sudden realisation that he's not sure what smugglers are actually ''smuggling''.
** A darker, deconstructed version appears in "Literature/ClublandHeroes" with Richard "Clever Dick" Cleaver; he's an off-the-scale detective genius who, unlike the more pleasant and engaging Richard Riddle (who, ironically, his parents named him after), is also a snide, stuck-up and humourless little snot. [[spoiler:And then when he appears in "Literature/ColdSnap" following the ignominious end of his child-detecting career, he's let bitterness warp him into a genocidal maniac.]]
* ''Literature/TheBoxcarChildren'': The titular siblings, Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny.
* ''The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency'' series is set in an AlternateHistory, where [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace Ada Lovelace]] and Creator/MaryShelley become friends as tweens and form the titular agency. It is [[ChildProdigy Ada]]'s idea, because she compares solving crimes to solving fun puzzles.
* Jill Pinkwater's ''The Disappearance of Sister Perfect'' has [[MeaningfulName Sherelee Holmes]], who, after deducing that her runaway sister has joined a cult, poses as a rich teenager several years older than herself and infiltrates the organization.
* Walter "Ramses" Emerson was an example (a master of disguise among other things) until, over the course of the series, he grew up. He is the child of Literature/AmeliaPeabody and Radcliffe Emerson, a BattleCouple pair of Egyptologists and incidental detectives in a series by Elizabeth Peters. Ramses has since grown up, gotten married, and produced his own frighteningly precocious children. His mother feels it serves him right.
** Note that in the following passage, rescuing his parents, Ramses is about eight or nine:
-->"Now, Mama, Papa, and sir," said Ramses, "please withdraw to the farthest corner and crouch down with your backs turned. It is as I feared: we will never break through by this method. The walls are eight feet thick. Fortunately I brought along a little nitroglycerine--"\\
"Oh, good Gad," shrieked Inspector Cuff.
* ''Literature/EmilAndTheDetectives'' has about 50 kid detectives.
* Played with in an ''Esp Mcgee'' book where the book's kid [[TheWatson Watson]] decides to personally visit the home when the kid suspect is out to get some information. As it happens, he barely manages to excuse himself when the suspect and his menacing father arrive home early. Afterward, the terrifying experience weighs so much on him that he confesses to his parents what he was up to. His alarmed parents give him a firm lecture about taking such risks, but playfully then suggest that since he's done it, he might as well contact Mcgee to give his report, which proves to crack the case.
* Ten-year-old [[CreepyChild Esmine]] plays this role in ''Literature/InTheSnowsOfHaz''. He's only one of several characters trying to solve the murders, though, and spends decent part of the plot locked in a room or running from bad guys. He does pretty well, all considered.
* Fletcher Moon in Creator/EoinColfer's ''Literature/HalfMoonInvestigations'' (now a Creator/{{CBBC}} series).
* Nick Diamond, brother of the [[LordErrorProne incompetent]] Tim Diamond in the ''Literature/DiamondBrothers'' series by Creator/AnthonyHorowitz.
* The ''Shirley Holmes'' stories depict the exploits of [[Literature/SherlockHolmes a certain detective's]] sleuthing teenaged sister. (Not to be confused with the TV series, which they inspired.)
* Creator/AstridLindgren's ''Kalle Blomkvist'', translated into English as ''Literature/BillBergson''. He's thirteen to fifteen in the books and played quite realistically. He has a hyperactive imagination but enough analytical skills and knowledge of real detective procedures (like taking fingerprints, and even chemically detecting arsenic) to find real evidence against them when he's finally confronted with real criminals. Together with his friends, he's also resourceful enough, and suitably experienced in pretend warfare of sorts against their friendly rivals, to make it through sticky situations involving dangerous adults.
* ''Literature/TheGreatBrain'' series by J.D. Fitzgerald -- the Great Brain Himself, when there's a serious crime to solve. Subverted in that when there ''isn't'', the Great Brain is more likely to be swindling other kids out of their pocket change.
* In the earlier ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, Harry, Ron and Hermione fit this pretty well, and this element runs through all the books.
* ''Literature/ScarlettUndercover'': Scarlett is a fifteen year old PrivateDetective who solves crimes in her hometown.
* ''Literature/SugarCreekGang'': These evangelical Christian-themed books feature kid detectives having wilderness adventures. And a lot of preaching.
* ''Literature/{{TKKG}}'' falls into this category, combining it with a FiveManBand. Also the problem with the authorities is not that big because the father of one of the kids is with the police. And since in later books they also have a reputation for solving crime.
* Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Crooked House'': Twelve-year-old Josephine investigates the murder of her grandfather, using her naturally snoopy nature to provide clues that the outsiders to the family never manage to find. [[spoiler:However, it then turns out she's the ''murderer'', having decided to kill her grandfather over [[DisproportionateRetribution his not getting her ballet lessons.]] She had decided to investigate the murder to get further attention from her family and the police. The subversion naturally comes from the fact that readers had been led to believe she was a genuine Kid Detective, before we find out what was really going on]].
* ''Literature/EnolaHolmes'': Enola is the much younger sister of Literature/SherlockHolmes. At only 14, she is able to live independently, establish a successful detective business through a lot of misdirection and elude her brothers' best efforts to capture her until they wise up about her.
* The Stanley family in Zilpha Keatley Snyder's loose series of books about them. The concept is partly {{deconstruct|ion}}ed with ''Janie's Private Eyes'', where 8-year-old Janie ends up causing nothing but headache and trouble with her investigations.
* ''Literature/FlaviaDeLuce'' is a great example. She also has some MadScientist tendencies that lead to her being an eleven-year-old expert on poisons.
* The Blyton Hills Summer Detective Club, from ''Literature/MeddlingKids.'' [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo They're a vaguely familiar group: one's the 'good ol' boy' leader, one's the scared nerd, one's the brains of the outfit, one's the tomboy action girl and one's their dog sidekick.]] Their last case was [[ScoobyDooHoax unmasking a crook dressed as a giant salamander menacing a lakeside mansion:]] however, the novel revolves them coming back years later and uncovering the very real supernatural monsters behind it. [[DeconReconSwitch And though things are played a lot more realistically than your typical example...they actually do a pretty good job.]]
* Harriet from Donna Tartt's ''The Little Friend'', who plans on solving the decade-old case of her brother's murder. Deconstructed as she has absolutely no bearing on what to do - as nobody wants to discuss the murder as it practically destroyed the family - and is acting like her favorite fictional heroes, getting herself and others into unrelated trouble. She goes entirely on hearsay and jumps to the utterly wrong conclusions while ending up [[spoiler:severely injuring an old woman by throwing a poisonous snake into her car (believing it to be driven by the murderer), accidentally killing one of her brother's friends (believing him to be the murderer with no evidence at all) and causing herself serious bodily harm, while "killing" said friend]]. She did accidentally stop illegal drug dealing without knowing that it was drug dealing.
* Lasse and Maja from Swedish author Martin Widmark's ''[[PunnyName Lasse-Majas]] Detektivbyrå''-stories (20+ books, a TV series, TheMovie...). They have no trouble convincing the local chief of police of their findings - while well-meaning and competent, he is still unable to solve any crime without their help, so...
* Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'' were Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews, stars of a long-running multinational book series. Unusual in that it featured a real-life individual, Mr. Hitchcock himself, as an introductory narrator for the first thirty books.
* Inspector Tearle appeared in five books in the late '60s and early '70s. He and his sidekicks, his athletic sister Shirley and his best friend "Thumbs" Thorndyke, solved cases from a treehouse headquarters in East Widmarsh, [[FlyoverCountry somewhere in Middle America.]]

There are some notable differences between the Kid Detective and adult detectives, however, that make the Kid Detective a unique character. For example, while an adult can go straight to the authorities with evidence, a kid often [[NotNowKiddo has difficulty convincing adults of what s/he experienced]]. Hence the kid often has to let the adults know what's going on in a roundabout way, or expose it somehow. Sometimes the kid is in fact trusted by detectives, and can go to them directly.

Oftentimes the kid snoops and investigates without adults knowing. This presents many obstacles, such as finding out how to investigate not only without getting caught by the criminal, but without getting in trouble with parents or authority figures. If the kid does get in trouble, additional restrictions are placed, meaning the kid now has to sneak outside to do any more investigating.

* Conan Edogawa in ''Manga/CaseClosed'' is a 17-year-old [[FountainOfYouth de-aged down to seven]]. Since everyone thinks he's seven, he has to find ways of cluing adults in disguised as being a nosy seven-year-old. There's also Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, the "Detective Boys" ("Shounen Tantei Dan"). As they're ''actual'' kids themselves, they aren't quite up to snuff as true Kid Detectives yet. They ''do'' try, though.

* ''Manga/FutureDiary'': Aru Akise is introduced as a ''Kid Detective''.

* ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' had Baranco, a one-episode character who was the son of the famous Columbo. The entire police force is willing to follow his plans.

* ''Manga/MythicalDetectiveLokiRagnarok'' has Loki from mythology as an apparent kid detective, though he's ReallySevenHundredYearsOld.
* Fuyuki from ''Manga/SgtFrog'' ends up acting in this capacity in a few episodes of the anime.

* In ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}! Yume Kira Dream'' episode 25, the Dream School students Yumemitchi and Kiraritchi are briefly transformed into detectives by the [[TransformationTrinket Yume Kira bags]] and use their detective skills to help Mametchi and his other friends repair a broken coffee machine. The detective girls find a lightbulb logo in the broken pieces of the machine and trace it to Righttchi's father, Paparighttchi.

* Inaho aka [[DubNameChange Hailey Anne]] from ''Anime/YokaiWatch'' is an eleven year old Yo-kai Watch holder. She runs a {{youkai}}-centric detective agency alongside her SignatureMon Usapyon.

* Samosa, the boy hero of ''Animation/SimpleSamosa'', briefly takes on the job of a detective in the episode "Tutti Frutti" to search for Tutti Frutti. He even wears a detective hat and carries a magnifying glass at first.

* ''ComicBook/TheDeadBoyDetectives'' are ''permanent'' kid detectives for, you know, obvious reasons.

* Tubby from ''ComicStrip/LittleLulu'' occasionally acted as one, whenever Lulu needed his help with a problem at her house.
* Cat Curio in ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' is a deconstruction when she's first introduced, showing what it would really be like for a preteen to stick her nose in murder cases. She's extremely observant and ingenuous, but the police find her anything but helpful, she seems to have no concept of danger, and her snooping almost gets her killed.
** Instead of dying, she was put in a coma for 13 years. When she awakes, she returns to her work as a detective and starts her own agency, but obviously she still has the mind of a 12-year-old autistic girl.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Revolutionaries}}'', Mike Power, the Atomic Man of the G.I. Joe Adventure Team was revealed to have worked as kid detective Mighty Mikey Power with his dog Smarts. In fact, one of his cases was the inciting incident that led to the creation of his atomic limbs.
* Parodied with Young Jack Black in ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'', who is an extreme-right-wing {{Jerkass}} who often inflicts DisproportionateRetribution on people who, in some cases, weren't even doing anything legally or morally wrong.

* The lead characters of ''ComicBook/GothamAcademy'' are a small group of high school freshmen and sophomores who go around investigating mysteries and form a Detective Club.
* Darkly deconstructed in Alan Moore's ''ComicBook/{{Albion}}'', which hints at what happens to your typical kid detective, especially those with adult arch-enemies. Ian Eagleton, the warden of Albion, was once known as "Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy" (a popular British comic strip from the 50's), and far from the light-hearted adventures this trope usually follows, his experiences traumatized him, especially the monstrous Grimly Fiendish. As a result, as an adult, Eagleton turned traitor and helped the British government imprison all superhuman or otherwise extraordinary people, villains or not, to keep them from upsetting the status quo of post-war Britain.

* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': In one arc, Jason and Marcus become kid detectives, using the name 'Encyclopedias Brown and White'. As with most of their schemes, this one goes off the rails.
* In ''ComicStrip/ThisModernWorld'', the RecurringCharacter "Conservative Jones, Internet Detective" is an ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' parody.

* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'': [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Apple Bloom]] tags along Twilight in her investigation at one point. She doesn't do much proper investigation, but she does make Twilight stumble upon several pieces of evidence, and has a moment of useful {{Genre Savvy}}ness. Scootaloo ''tries'' to do this, but she just picks up some random junk as her "evidence", and doesn't show up until after the Judge has handed down his final verdict anyway.
* In Gravity Falls fic ''Fanfic/HomeIsWhereTheHauntIs'', Mr. Mason is quick to make fun of Dipper for trying to be one.

* ''Film/MysteryTeam'' is a {{Parody}} of this character type. The main characters solved minor mysteries around the neighborhood as kids, and even became locally famous after solving a few real mysteries. Now 18-year-olds on the verge of graduating high school, they're immature [[ManChild Man Children]] still stuck in their past as kid detectives. In order to prove that they can be real detectives they take on a little girl's case to solve the double homicide of her parents.
* ''Film/ClubhouseDetectives'', about a group of kids who work together to solve the murder of an opera writer's wife.
* ''Film/YoungSherlockHolmes'' speculates on what might have happened if Holmes and Watson had first encountered each other as schoolboys. A certain amount of schoolboy detective work is unavoidable.

* There was an entire spinoff ''Mystery'' series of ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'' based on this trope.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid:'' Greg's neighbor Pervis Gentry solves neighborhood crimes (most of which are committed by the same delinquent) from his treehouse.
* Flavia Gemini of ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'' is a Kid Detective in UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. She is assisted by three friends and various adults.
* The title character in Joe Meno's book, ''The Boy Detective Fails'', is a deconstruction of what this trope might become when they enter adulthood.
* PK Pinkerton in the ''Literature/TheWesternMysteries''.
* Natalia in the ''Literature/GreyGriffins'' series carries a notebook to write down clues and figure things out. She sometimes snoops around on her own and tries to discover things, separate from her group of friends. Through most of the story, she is more of an adventurer than a snoop, though she still is often the one to piece together clues.
* ''Cam Jansen'' is an elementary schooler who uses her PhotographicMemory to remember exact details and use them to solve crimes.
** The same author has a boy character named Jeffery Bones with his own series.
* ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown''. Notable here is the fact that his father is a police officer who knows of his son's activities, and is somewhat embarrassed that the smartest detective in town is a fifth-grader.
* ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'', who, at 17 and 18, are two of the oldest examples of "kid" detectives out there, though they were originally 15 and 16.
* ''Literature/NancyDrew'': Nancy is a young but brilliant teenage girl solves mysteries with the help of her two best friends and her understanding father.
%%* ''The Dana Girls''.
* Literature/TrixieBelden (and the rest of the Bobwhites) are teen detectives in the Hudson Valley. Thanks to Trixie's rich best friend Honey Wheeler, they frequently go on trips and conveniently solve mysteries wherever they go.
* The ten-year-old members of the [=McGurk=] Detective Agency, led by the clever if perhaps overly-impetuous Jack P. [=McGurk=].
* Creator/EnidBlyton's ''Literature/TheFamousFive''. And ''The Secret Seven''. And ''Literature/FiveFindOuters''. And others.

* Darby from ''[[Franchise/WinnieThePooh My Friends Tigger and Pooh]]''. The series is all about six-year-old Darby leading the Super Sleuths on their sleuthing adventures. They don't investigate any actual crimes, though, focusing more on everyday "mysteries" a child might realistically encounter.

* Sonoko Sakanoue, the final rival of ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'''s [[{{Prequel}} 1980s Mode]], was a former student of Akademi who made a name for herself solving a murder mystery that had stumped police, and left Akademi early to pursue a career as a detective. She returns to Akademi in the final week of 1980s mode, ostensibly to finish her schooling and graduate, but really as the Journalist's eyes and ears to find clues that prove that Ryoba Aishi murdered Sumire Saitozaki. [[spoiler:The 'canon' means of eliminating her as a rival is to gain her trust by burning compromising photos of her a pervert took, which convinces her that Ryoba couldn't have killed Sumire. This, of course, was Ryoba's plan all along to get away with murder.]]

** Richard Riddle, Boy Detective, who features in "The Gypsies in the Wood" and "The Case of the French Spy", is along the Enid Blyton model, starting out by solving mysteries for the neighbours and then levelling up to foiling kidnappers and murderers with his chums on their summer holidays.
** A darker, deconstructed version appears in "Literature/ClublandHeroes" with Richard "Clever Dick" Cleaver; he's an off-the-scale detective genius who, unlike the more pleasant and engaging Richard Riddle, is also a snide, stuck-up and humourless little snot. [[spoiler:And then when he appears in "Literature/ColdSnap" following the ignominious end of his child-detecting career, he's let bitterness warp him into a genocidal maniac.]]

** Goro Akechi from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'' appears to be a Naoto-like KidDetective, to the point where he's known as "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince", but since the heroes are on the [[PhantomThief other side of the law]], he has a [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist more antagonistic]] relationship to them at first. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's a FakeUltimateHero who's the true culprit behind all of the cases he "solved"]].

* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' has a Kid Detective named, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin wait for it]], Kidd. His look also seems to be heavily inspired by Manga/DetectiveConan.

[[quoteright:277:[[Manga/DetectiveConan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conan_hinata.png]]]]

* Conan Edogawa in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' is a 17-year-old [[FountainOfYouth de-aged down to seven]]. Since everyone thinks he's seven, he has to find ways of cluing adults in disguised as being a nosy seven-year-old. There's also Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko, the "Detective Boys" ("Shounen Tantei Dan"). As they're ''actual'' kids themselves, they aren't quite up to snuff as true Kid Detectives yet. They ''do'' try, though.