History Main / PrivateDetective

* Trent Malloy of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' is this, wanting a profession that involved helping people after his honorable discharge from the army to mourn the recent death of his father, Thunder Malloy. Along with opening a karate school named after his father, Trent opted for this profession instead of becoming the new pastor of the church his father started and joining a law enforcement agency where handling firearms is mandated [[DoesntLikeGuns after an incident with a gun as a child]].

* Trent Malloy of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' is this, wanting a profession that involved helping people after his honorable discharge from the army to mourn the recent death of his father, Thunder Malloy. Along with opening a karate school named after his father, Trent opted for this profession instead of becoming the new pastor of the church his father started and joining a law enforcement agency where handling a gun is mandated [[DoesNotLikeGuns after an incident with a gun as a child]].

* Trent Malloy of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' is this, wanting a profession that involved helping people after his honorable discharge from the army to mourn the recent death of his father, Thunder Malloy. Along with opening a karate school named after his father, Trent opted for this profession instead of joining a law enforcement agency where handling a gun is mandated [[DoesNotLikeGuns after an incident with a gun as a child]], as well as becoming the new pastor of the church his father started.

* Trent Malloy of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' is this, wanting a profession that involved helping people after his honorable discharge from the army to mourn the recent death of his father, Thunder Malloy. Along with opening a karate school named after his father so he can display his hand-to-hand combat skills, Trent opted for this profession instead of joining a law enforcement agency where handling a gun is mandated [[DoesNotLikeGuns after an incident with a gun as a child]], as well as becoming the new pastor of the church his father started.

* Trent Malloy of ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* Snoopy becomes a detective in the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' special "It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown." He's on the case of who stole Woodstock's nest. After falsely accusing Lucy and forced into play-acting with Peppermint Patty, Snoopy and Woodstock find the nest at school where Charlie Brown's sister Sally appropriated it for a science project.

-->-- [[http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/chandlerart.html "The Simple Art of Murder,"]] '''Creator/RaymondChandler'''

* The 2011 ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife'' episode "[[https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/447/the-incredible-case-of-the-pi-moms The Incredible Case of the P.I. Moms]]" is about a private-detective agency in Contra Costa County, California (in the Bay Area) whose whole M.O. is that the detectives are all [[{{Suburbia}} suburban]] [[{{Housewife}} soccer moms]]. Then the plot thickens...

* ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'': Players can create a character using this as a role. The type is meant to evoke ones common to [[TheSeventies 1970's]] TV series and exploitation films, such as ''Shaft'' or ''The Rockford Files''.

In RealLife, some private investigators may also function as a BountyHunter, as the two professions are incredibly similar (although a BountyHunter will usually confront the individual he or she is tracking directly - a Private Investigator typically will ''not'' if he or she can help it). Private investigators are more likely to get hired for skip traces (tracking down bail jumpers, people evading service, people hiding from warrants, and similar parties so that the police and courts can do their thing), and that part of the job is typically nowhere near as exciting and involves lots of social media hunts and public record searches. The rest of their jobs are usually insurance investigations (usually for worker's comp cases, plus the occasional personal injury case when fraud or misrepresentation is suspected), as well as the occasional divorce case (typically investigating suspected parental unfitness, adultery, or concealment of assets), or (for investigators who specialize in it) bankruptcy proceedings or due diligence for investors seeking risky investments. Like with skip traces, a lot of these typically involve social media and public records searches, and active tailing or in-person surveillance only occurs when necessary (someone is suspected of fabricating or exaggerating a work-related injury, someone in a divorce is suspected to have a new significant other that they haven't disclosed, a bankruptcy petitioner is suspected of concealing or surreptitiously selling off assets, etc.)

Although it's more common for a Private Detective these days to be treated as just one step away from the AmateurSleuth (or often, particularly if seen from the point of view of the police, as rather sleazy bottom-feeders usually involved in some kind of criminal activity and frequently ex-cops kicked off the force for some kind of corruption), the classic {{Archetype}} of the Private Detective - and the one that has generally stuck in the mind of people when they think of the profession - is either the GreatDetective or the HardboiledDetective. In RealLife, the Private Detective is often viewed as a PunchClockVillain for his or her use of SinisterSurveillance. The fact that they are officially licensed to go on a StalkingMission to track whoever they are hired to investigate (often for non-criminal activity like adultery) puts them firmly in the camp of SociopathicHero, or a PsychoForHire with no respect for other individuals' privacy, depending on who you ask. In RealLife, some private investigators may also function as a BountyHunter, as the two professions are incredibly similar (although a BountyHunter will usually confront the individual he or she is tracking directly - a Private Investigator typically will ''not'' if he or she can help it). Private investigators are more likely to get hired for skip traces (tracking down bail jumpers, people evading service, people hiding from warrants, and similar parties so that the police and courts can do their thing), and that part of the job is typically nowhere near as exciting and involves lots of social media hunts and public record searches. The rest of their jobs are usually insurance investigations (usually for worker's comp cases, plus the occasional personal injury case when fraud or misrepresentation is suspected), as well as the occasional divorce case (typically investigating suspected parental unfitness, adultery, or concealment of assets), or (for investigators who specialize in it) bankruptcy proceedings or due diligence for investors seeking risky investments. Like with skip traces, a lot of these typically involve social media and public records searches, and active tailing or in-person surveillance only occurs when necessary (someone is suspected of fabricating or exaggerating a work-related injury, someone in a divorce is suspected to have a new significant other that they haven't disclosed, a bankruptcy petitioner is suspected of concealing or surreptitiously selling off assets, etc.)

[[folder:Film]]

* Rin Asougi of ''Anime/{{Mnemosyne}}'' is an ''[[{{Immortality}} immortal]]'' private detective who [[KnifeNut chucks knives at people]], knows WaifFu, and [[GoodThingYouCanHeal has a tendency to get mutilated/killed... a lot]].

%%* Douglas in ''Videogame/SilentHill3''. He even has a NiceHat!

* The titular characters of ''Snooper and Blabber'', a segment on ''WesternAnimation/QuickDrawMcGraw''.

[[/folder]]

* Ace Harding in ''VideoGames/DejaVu'', although the games involve getting yourself out of trouble, and not solving any cases for profit.

[[caption-width-right:250:Will the real Sam Spade please stand up?]]

-->-- "[[http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/chandlerart.html The Simple Art of Murder]]", '''Creator/RaymondChandler'''