English professor Frannie Thorstin gets tangled in a sticky web of male attention in the novel and film versions of In the Cut as she tries to sort the bad guys from the good.
Articles on My favourite detective
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Created in response to Sherlock Holmes, detective Martin Hewitt is less operatic and more pragmatic.
Just when you think you’ve had enough of detectives behaving badly, along comes Claire DeWitt. She is, frankly, a beautifully written mess.
Created by a prolific French author, Inspector Jules Maigret observes without judgement and moves like a chameleon between social classes.
While other superheroes draw on past trauma for strength, super-detective Jessica Jones wryly bares her wounds and questions the whole hero gig.
Sure, she has quirks. But TV detective Vera is no amateur. And Brenda Blethyn’s embodiment of her evokes a strong sense of place.
The Inspector Morse prequel series reveals a less certain younger detective, finding his feet but not yet set in his ways.
Sam Spade only appeared in one novel. But he left his mark, with the help of the Hollywood legend who portrayed him.
Trixie Belden wasn’t as pretty as her best friend, or a cool as Nancy Drew. But she had a ‘mental computer’ for solving mysteries and a non-judgmental moral core.
Kevin Brophy’s favourite detective — Kurt Wallander — has aged just ahead of him, made mistakes and lived vividly.
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Associate Professor of Media, Macquarie University
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Honorary Professor of Communication and Media Studies, University of Wollongong
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Associate Professor in Creative Writing, Griffith University
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Senior Lecturer, Media Studies and Production, University of Southern Queensland
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Professor, English and Literary Studies, The University of Western Australia
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Honorary Research Professor, The University of Melbourne
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A.R. Chisholm Professor of French, The University of Melbourne
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Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing, The University of Melbourne
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Lecturer, UNSW
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Distinguished Professor Emerita of Creative Practice, Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra