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J. L. Abramo, Catching Water in a Net.
A private eye investigates the murder of his mentor and ends up on the lam suspected of murder. First in a series.

Linda Barnes, A Trouble of Fools.
Boston P.I. Carlotta Carlyle is hired to find an old woman’s brother, who is missing along with $13,000. First in a series.

Richard Barre, The Innocents.
Wil Hardesty, a California P.I. bereaved by his son’s death, investigates the discovery of the 20-year-old skeletal remains of seven children. First in a series.

Carol Lea Benjamin, This Dog For Hire.
Rachel Alexander, a private eye and dog trainer, is hired to locate the only witness to a murder — the victim’s missing dog. First in a series.

Lawrence Block, When the Sacred Ginmill Closes.
New York private eye Matt Scudder gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to help his friends out of a fix. Chronological first in a series.

Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep.
Philip Marlowe explores the seamy side of Los Angeles as he investigates a case involving a paralyzed California millionaire, his two psychotic daughters, blackmail, and murder. First in a series.

Robert Crais, The Monkey’s Raincoat. Paperback Mystery
When he’s hired to find a woman’s missing husband & son, L.A. private eye Elvis Cole links their disappearance to a drug theft. First in a series.

Earl Emerson, Yellow Dog Party.
Seattle P.I. Thomas Black is hired by four unhappy middle-aged men to track down their dream girls, but the trail soon turns deadly. Part of a series.

Loren Estelman, Motor City Blue.
Detroit P.I. Amos Walker can’t say no when a mobster wants him to track his missing teenage ward. First in a series.

G.M. Ford, Who in Hell Is Wanda Fuca?
Seattle private eye Leo Waterman is hired to track down a woman who’s involved with a fanatical environmentalist group. First in a series.

Jim Fusilli, Closing Time.
A man who became a P.I. when the NYPD failed to solve the murder of his wife and child continues to hunt for the killer while investigating other cases. First in a series.

Caroline Garcia-Aguilera, Bloody Waters.
While seeking a baby’s birthmother for a bone marrow transplant, Miami P.I. Lupe Solano uncovers a lucrative baby-selling racket. First in a series.

Joe Gores, 32 Cadillacs.
When Cadillacs begin disappearing from a San Francisco Bay dealership, the DKA private-eye firm goes after a group of Gypsies bent on giving one of their own a flashy funeral. Part of a series.

Sue Grafton, ‘A’ Is for Alibi.
A woman who is on parole for the murder of her husband hires California P.I. Kinsey Millhone to prove she is innocent. First in a series.

Stephen Greenleaf, Grave Error.
When a detective is murdered while on a case, P.I. John Marshall Tanner drops his own case & finds that the two are somehow connected. First in a series.

Parnell Hall, Detective.
Stanley Hastings, an actor turned private eye, turns down a case but feels compelled to investigate when he finds the client dead. First in a series.

Steve Hamilton, A Cold Day in Paradise.
After his partner’s murder, Detroit cop Alex McKnight becomes a P.I. in Michigan, but it appears an old nemesis has followed him there. First in a series.

Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon.
When a beautiful redhead with a heartbreaking story walks into San Francisco P.I. Sam Spade’s office, he is drawn into a scheme revolving around the much sought-after and fabulously valuable Maltese Falcon.

Gar Anthony Haywood, Fear of the Dark.
Convinced at gunpoint to investigate the shooting of two black men by a white kid, L.A. P.I. Aaron Gunner finds a link to an election campaign. First in a series.

Jeremiah Healy, Blunt Darts.
Boston P.I. John Cuddy, fired by his employer for inappropriate honesty, is hired to locate a wealthy woman’s runaway grandson. First in a series.

Martin Hegwood, Big Easy Backroad.
When New Orleans P.I. Jack Delmas offers to help a pretty bartender find a missing trucker, he opens a can of worms that leads to murder. First in a series.

Reginald Hill, Blood Sympathy.
British P.I. Joe Sixsmith finds himself in trouble when he is hired by a voodoo maven, approached by a man who’s dreamed of killing his family, stalked by thugs, and set up by his matchmaking aunt. First in a series.

Marne Davis Kellogg, Bad Manners.
After being caught in a compromising position with a politician, Lilly Bennett resigns as Chief of Detectives and starts her own private investigations firm in a small Wyoming town. First in a series.

Lynda LaPlante, Cold Shoulder. Fiction
After the death of her partner, Lorraine Page loses everything when she seeks refuge in the bottle, but she must struggle to rebuild her life in the face of threats by a serial killer. First in a series.

Dennis Lehane, A Drink before the War. Fiction
Two U.S. Senators hire Boston private eyes Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro to recover sensitive documents stolen by a cleaning woman who has since disappeared. First in a series.

Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn. Fiction
A detective with Tourette Syndrome seeks his mentor’s killer.

Laura Lippman, Baltimore Blues. Paperback Mystery
Tess Monaghan is hired by a friend who fears his girlfriend is cheating on him; but when the woman’s lover turns up dead, Tess fears her friend may be the killer. First in a series.

John MacDonald, The Deep Blue Good-By.
Beach bum Travis McGee agrees to help a woman who learns that someone may know the whereabouts of her imprisoned father’s fortune. First in a series.

Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.
A Botswana woman opens a detective agency to help people solve a variety of mysteries. First in a series.

Val McDermid, Kickback.
Manchester detective Kate Brannigan investigates a case involving missing buildings and uncovers fraud and corruption. First in a series.

James Mitchell, Lovers Crossing.
A border guard who was shot on duty becomes a P.I. in Tucson and investigates a murder that may lead to a smuggling operation. First in a series.

Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress.
In 1940s L.A., Easy Rawlins takes a job tracking down a mysterious Frenchwoman last seen in the company of a gangster. First in a series.

Marcia Muller, Edwin of the Iron Shoes.
When an elderly antiques dealer is murdered, P.I. Sharon McCone follows a killer's trail to a museum where San Francisco's most elegant socialites gather. First in a series.

Sara Paretsky, Indemnity Only.
Chicago private eye V.I. Warshawski is hired to find a missing girl but soon begins to suspect her client’s motives. First in a series.

Robert Parker, The Godwulf Manuscript.
When P.I. Spenser is hired by Boston University to find a stolen manuscript, his only clue is the bullet-riddled corpse of a radical student. First in a series.

George Pelecanos, Right as Rain. Fiction
A private detective is asked to look into the shooting of a black cop by a white cop and uncovers a web of corruption. First in a series.

Michael Raleigh, Death in Uptown.
P.I. Paul Whelan investigates the murder of a friend who was writing a book about the street people of Chicago’s Uptown. First in a series.

Les Roberts, Pepper Pike.
Cleveland P.I. Milan Jacovich seeks a missing ad exec. First in a series.

S. J. Rozan, China Trade. Paperback Mystery
New York P.I. Lydia Chin finds herself drawn into the world of Chinatown’s gangs when she’s hired to find missing porcelain antiques. First in a series.

Greg Rucka, Shooting at Midnight. Fiction
A recovering addict trying to make it as a private eye, Bridgett Logan is pulled back into her old life when a fellow patient from rehab asks for her help.

John Shannon, The Concrete River. Paperback Mystery
A P.I. whose specialty is finding missing children is asked by a Mexican woman to find her daughter in Los Angeles. First in a series.

Mickey Spillane, I, the Jury.
Hard-boiled P.I. Mike Hammer investigates the brutal murder of a friend. First in a series.

Dana Stabenow, Cold Day for Murder. Paperback Mystery
When a National Park ranger is reported missing and the man sent to find him disappears as well, Kate Shugak decides to brave the cold wilderness of north Alaska to crack the case. First in a series.

Valerie W. Wesley, When Death Comes Stealing.
Newark cop-turned-P.I. Tamara Hayle learns that her ex-husband’s children have been targeted for murder. First in a series.

Dale Whisman, Friends and Other Perishables.
A Tulsa P.I. is shot by an informant who was a childhood friend and learns that another P.I. was killed with the same weapon. First in a series.

Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs.
A woman who was a nurse during World War I opens a private investigations agency a takes on a case that uncovers a tragedy from the war. First in a series.