Books in the Crime Uncovered series

There are few figures as captivating as the antihero: the character we can't help but root for, even as we turn away in revulsion from many of the things they do. What is it that draws us to characters like Breaking Bad's Walter White, Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley, and Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander even as we decry the trail of destruction they leave in their wake?

This book is an examination and celebration of iconic police detectives in the long and bloody history of crime fiction, film and television, identifying the individual characteristics that define these much-loved figures and discussing how they relate to their surroundings, country and class and the criminals they relentlessly pursue.

The private investigator is one of the most enduring characters within crime fiction. From Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade - the hard-boiled loner trawling the mean streets - to Agatha Christie's Captain Hastings - the genteel companion in greener surrounds - the P. I. has taken on any number of guises. In Crime Uncovered: Private Investigator, edi.