History Main / PhoneInDetective

* Victorique from ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' isn't allowed to leave the Academy until later in the story, so she often solves cries based on descriptions of the circumstances given to her by witnesses.

* The Argentine detective Don Isidro Parodi, created by JorgeLuisBorges and Adolfo Bioy Casares under the pen name H. Bustos Domecq, is a man unjustly imprisioned to whom friends (and friends of friends) come visit at his cell with stories about mysteries and crimes, which he never fails to solve just by listening to their reports.

* The title character of the {{ITV}} series ''{{The Man in Room 17}}'' was a sociologist who consulted on difficult police cases and solved them without ever leaving his office.

*** And remember that Holmes could still manage a lot of those cases in his career,[[LiteraryAgentHypothesis but given Watson is the guy who publishes Holmes cases]], [[FridgeBrilliance it only makes sense that he publishes the most interesting cases (when Holmes does something) rather than those that could be solved by phone, or telegraph or consult or whatever]].

** Parodied in ''TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' with a detective who never leaves his bathtub.

* Henry, of IsaacAsimov's ''Black Widowers'' mysteries, can solve any mystery after hearing it described over dinner.

* Shinchi from DetectiveConan pretends to be this sometimes when Conan reveals the answer to a case, but is actually there at the crime scene himself (as Conan).

* AgathaChristie had Literature/TommyAndTuppence solve one case in the style of the Old Man In The Corner in ''Partners In Crime''.

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* ''The Old Man in the Corner'' stories by the Baroness Orczy, creator of TheScarletPimpernel. A classic armchair detective, the Old Man relies mostly upon sensationalistic "penny dreadful" newspaper accounts, with the occasional courtroom visit. He narrates all this information, while tying complicated knots in a piece of string, to a female Journalist who frequents the same tea-shop (the ABC Teashop on the corner of Norfolk Street and the Strand). They enjoy an antagonistic relationship, as the Journalist attempts to cut the Old Man's ego down to size and the Old Man trumps her every time.

* ''DeathNote'': L has been in hiding his entire career, and communicates via phone, computer and his intermediary Watari, emerging only on special occasions for particularly complex crimes [[spoiler: or particularly helpful assistants]].

* Victorique from {{Gosick}} isn't allowed to leave the Academy until later in the story, so she often solves cries based on descriptions of the circumstances given to her by witnesses.

* {{House}}, the medical detective, once had to solve a case through the phone while at the airport. Another case was solved over a webcam since the patient was stuck in Antarctica. Even in normal circumstances, he often can't be bothered to talk to the patient, and phones in a diagnosis via his underlings.

* AgathaChristie had Tommy and Tuppence solve one case in the style of the Old Man In The Corner in ''Partners In Crime''.

* EncyclopediaBrown sometimes, especially when solving cases for his father over dinner.

* HerculePoirot once solved a crime without leaving his room for a bet. No phone was involved though, he just asked for police reports (and used his friend Hastings to run errands).

*** And remember that Holmes could still manage a lot of those cases in his career,[[ LiteraryAgentHypothesis but given Watson is the guy who publishes Holmes cases]], [[FridgeBrilliance it only makes sense that he publishes the most interesting cases (when Holmes does something) rather than those that could be solved by phone, or telegraph or consult or whatever]].

* Arkady Balagan in ''{{Endgame}}'' suffers from agoraphobia, and refuses to leave his hotel. So he has Sam, and various hotel staff members, do his legwork for him.

** And Nero Wolfe had an {{Expy}} in the LordDarcy stories: Darcy's cousin the Marquis of London. As brilliant a mind as Darcy, but lazy (and cheap). So much so that he once had Darcy's assistant Master Sean arrested for murder so Darcy would be forced to solve the crime in order to prove his innocence.

** Also Sherlock's primary MO for the majority of his 'Consulting Detective' comissions: the reader generally only hears about the ones interesting enough for him to bestir himself, but many stories open with Holmes ranting about how the lack of decent crime has once again reduced him to pathetic challenges he can resolve from his armchair.

* {{House}}, the medical detective, once had to solve a case through the phone while at the airport.

** And Nero Wolfe had an {{Expy}} in the LordDarcy stories: Darcy's cousin the Marquis of London. As brilliant a mind as darcy, but lazy (and cheap). So much so that he once had Darcy arrested for murder so Darcy would be forced to solve the crime in order to prove his innocence.

* The title character of the {{ITV}} series ''The Man in Room 17'' was a sociologist who consulted on difficult police cases and solved them without ever leaving his office.

* EdgarAllanPoe's C. August Dupin solved "The Murder of Marie Roget" by reading newspaper accounts.

* Henry, of IsaacAsimov's "Black Widowers" mysteries, can solve any mystery after hearing it described over dinner.