I recommend watching Knives Out- Daniel Craig plays the kind of detective you want to see. (It helps that he is not the sole point of view character.)
Re:Columbo: an origin story (2018)
by mrlonglong on Wednesday July 28, 2021 @12:21PM
(#27985627)
Recommendation seconded. Its hilarious and excellent!
I recommend the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon. He is portrayed as a genuinely decent human being, and the stories are interesting.
The BBC drama The Missing and spin off Baptise have a calm and friendly lead detective. Not sure where you are but it you can get them in your country maybe give them a try.
Re:Columbo: an origin story (2018)
by briefcomment on Tuesday July 27, 2021 @10:26PM
(#27979730)
Along those lines, Tintin is the best role model I've ever had
Re:Columbo: an origin story (2018)
by philistine on Wednesday July 28, 2021 @12:32AM
(#27980270)
Me too. You’re making me realize I’ve left my Milou to sleep alone upstairs. Tintin would never do that, unless Milou was drunk.
Me too. And most of the cliffhangers are stupid, you know they were added in just to pad out the episodes.
> Lately everything has to be dark and quirkiness is used to explain how someone is directly rude.
Yeah, I've stopped reading crime fiction (and watching crime drama) for exactly this reason: Every detective *has* to be rude/obnoxious, hate their life, be an alcoholic with marriage problems.
And I'm like, why can't we have a mentally stable detective who solves crime because of duty, and not to excorcise their "inner demons" (or other such psychological BS reason usually given).
For this reason, I love Columbo, Poirot and Midsomer murders: The detectives are honourable people, very polite and respectful, but polite doesnt mean they let people walk over them.
It seems to me most crime writers cannot grasp the fact that one can be polite and ruthless (or relentless) at the same time.