History Main / AmateurSleuth

** The series actually has several of those, starting with Shinichi's father Yusaku who used to be sleuth and then became a mystery novelist. The one we see the most is Shinichi/Conan's friend Heiji Hattori, the son of a high-ranked policeman who often helps his dad as well as Conan himself. And in fact, there's a short arc named ''Detectives Koshien'' which gathers Conan, Heiji, and other ''three'' school-aged sleuths (Saaaguru Hakuba, Junya Tokitsu, and Natsuki Koshimizu) for a TV competition between them. [[spoiler: Which actually was a trap, since one of the detectives had greatly wronged another... and ended up dead for his trouble.]]

** And in ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' Prosecutor Edgeworth does no prosecuting but a lot of detective work. In fact, [[CloudCuckooLander the Judge]] lampshades this at the end of the game.

* In the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS2E09ConspiracyTheoriesAndInteriorDesignConspiracy Theories and Interior Design]]" Annie becomes one, drawing a very reluctant Jeff into her investigation of Professor Professorson.

* The ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series runs on this; both Phoenix and Apollo tend to do most of the detective work for their clients despite being defense attorneys with no police training. The games don't seem to be sure if this is legal or not within the game world.
** And in ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' Prosecutor Edgeworth does no prosecuting but a lot of detective work. In fact, [[spoiler: [[CloudCuckooLander the Judge]]]] lampshades this at the end of the game.
-->[[spoiler: Judge:]] A prosecutor joined forces with a thief and became a detective. Maybe I should join forces with a bailiff and become a lawyer!

In literature, amateur sleuths are very frequently EveryMan (or more often Every Woman) characters who are neverthless, regarded as very intelligent and charismatic. They are not heroic in the IWasBornReady sense but are still courageous and prefer brains to brawn (which they are unsuited for anyway). They are very much MarySue in that they can somehow inexplicably take center stage in solving the mystery. Often it occurs without the character actually stepping forward and assertively taking charge, but only because others simply defer to her because of her natural intelligence and intuition. The amateur sleuth genre is especially known for having a built in readership. One of the things often said about such readers is that they consider themselves more intelligent than the general public at large, and are typically not two-fisted alpha types such as those who commonly become heroes in fiction. There is the expectation from the readers that the protagonist be the type of character that they can see themselves as. Also, a good number of self published and small press mystery authors give their protagonists the same daytime profession as themselves.

Very susceptible to a BusmansHoliday. If female, they also frequently have a CopBoyfriend. StockCostumeTraits are a [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes pipe and deerstalker]].

* The ElongatedMan, Ralph Dibney, also emphasizes detection in most of his stories (his name being a play on "The Thin Man"), separating him from the wackiness of Plastic Man (who he started as an {{Captain Ersatz}} of) and the grim, Goddamn-Batmanitude of Batman.

* Creator/AgathaChristie's MissMarple, an elderly woman.
* Margery Allingham's Literature/AlbertCampion.

* The McGurk Organization in the ''McGurkMysteries'' series of children's books.

* Rorschach from ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}''. Other superheroes were deputized by the US government eventually but once they were outlawed, they were retired.

* Series/PerryMason and [[{{Matlock}} Ben Matlock]], attorneys for the defence; famous for ThePerryMasonMethod of sleuthing.

* Mystery writer [[{{Castle}} Richard Castle]]. (He's very good at it.)
* Shawn Spencer on ''{{Psych}}'' originally just used the deduction skills his father taught him since childhood to simply call in tips for the reward money. The police, however, believed from the amount of good info he provided, that he was involved in the majority of crimes he helped solved. Before Shawn can be arrested as an accomplice, he fools them by proclaiming he has psychic abilities. Now to keep the ruse going, Shawn with the help of his best friend Gus must continue aiding the police in various investigations as a paid "psychic consultant". They also accept jobs from private citizens, though usually those tie into police investigations anyway.

* Father Dowling of the ''FatherDowlin Mysteries''.

* The UCOS squad of ''NewTricks'' is composed of retired detectives who, although they investigate unsolved crimes, are not actually official police officers. They actually use this, though, in order to bend the rules that would otherwise constrain serving officers (much to the displeasure of [[DaChief their boss]], who ''is'' a serving officer).

* Shawn Spencer on ''{{Psych}}'' originally just used the deduction skills his father taught him since childhood to simply call in tips for the reward money. The police, however, believed from the amount of good info he provided, that he was involved in the majority of crimes he helped solved. Before Shawn can be arrested as an accomplice, he fools them by proclaiming he has psychic abilities. Now to keep the ruse going, Shawn with the help of his best friend Gus must continue aiding the police in various investigations as a paid "psychic consultant".

* John Smith, the hero of the TV version of ''TheDeadZone'', is just a retired schoolteacher (with lots of money) who's driven to solve crimes and prevent disasters because of the visions he starts getting after waking up from a six-year coma. In the pilot, however, he develops an extremely useful law enforcement connection in the form of his ex-fiancee's new husband, who also happens to be the local sheriff. Throughout the series [[spoiler:(until Sheriff Bannerman dies)]] they constantly trade favors and help each other with their cases.

** [[TheCape Capes]] especially oscillate on this status. {{Superman}} is often stated to be specifically deputized by the Metropolis Police Department and the JusticeLeague and ComicBook/TheAvengers have at times had official status with the United States or the United Nations, or both but are often independent.
** Likewise, {{Batman}} has been deputized by the Gotham police department. Depending on the version, either it's official or unofficial. In either case, he has received first-rate detective training, making him a professional in all but title.

* Lori Shepherd in the ''AuntDimity'' series, and in some repsects, Dimity herself. Lori has some knowledge of old books and manuscripts (which does come in handy from time to time), but she inherited a fortune from Dimity and so no longer must work for a living. When not sleuthing, she oversees a charitable foundation and keeps house for her husband and sons. In life, Dimity wasn't a sleuth either.

* Firestar from ''Literature/WarriorCats'' went out of his way to solve several crimes in the OriginalSeries, such as Redtail's death and some kit-killings in [=ShadowClan=]. Minor character Shrewtooth later tries his paws at it by solving the mystery of Leafstar's [[spoiler:lost kits]] in the ''[=SkyClan=] and the Stranger'' manga minutes before Leafstar herself worked it out.

* Irwin Maurice "Fletch" Fletcher, from Gregory [=McDonald's=] series of {{Fletch}} novels. As far as I can remember, he was only ever suspected in ''Confess, Fletch'', and even then not seriously; for five of the books he's a an IntrepidReporter but about halfway through the series goes into semiretirement and is just the guy who happens to be there.

* MickeyMouse, believe it or not. Building on traditions from the newspaper strip by FloydGottfredson, and the later Mickey/Goofy adventure comics by PaulMurry, Mickey often appears as an AmateurSleuth in comics, in some stories even being presented as a liscenced private eye.

** Likewise, {{Batman}} has been deputized by the Gotham police department. Depending on the version, either it's official or unoficial. In either case, he has recieved first-rate detective training, making him a professional in all but title.

* The four kids in ''TheClueFinders'' EdutainmentGame series in a couple of the games.

* Laura Thyme and Rosemary Boxer of ''RosemaryAndThyme''.