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{{trope}}
'''The Exotic Detective''' is a detective who has some unusual quality that is important to their personality. While being a private detective is an unusual profession to most people, an Exotic Detective is one that has some very exotic trait that almost defines them. This will often take the form of a [[Defective Detective|major character flaw]] of some kind.
This falls into two broad subtypes:
# The detective has an odd trait (such as a strange sickness or an unusual profession or background) that is "exotic" both to readers and to other characters. (For example, TV's [[Monk]], who [[Defective Detective|has OCD and multiple phobias]].) Sometimes their background will be used to justify their crimefighting skills(as with Chesterton's, Father Brown who noted that priests had a lot of experience with sin from hearing confessions all day).
# The detective is seen as ordinary by other characters; their "exotic" trait is that they exist in a setting that is unfamiliar to readers or regarded as an unusual setting for a detective story. (For example, [[
== Common Types ==▼
* [[Kid Detective]]
* [[Magician Detective]]
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* [[Little Old Lady Investigates]]
* [[Defective Detective]]
See also [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]], [[Amateur Sleuth]], and [[Interdisciplinary Sleuth]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== Anime ==▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Detective Conan]]'': Conan is a a [[Teen Genius]]-turned-pre-[[Teen Genius]].
* L from ''[[
== Comic Books ==
* ''[[Batman]]''
** the [[The DCU|DC Verse]] has a lot of these, eg [[The Question]], [[Constantine
** More in line with the general idea of the trope, back when mystery comics enjoyed some modest popularity DC published stories featuring Detective Chimp, scientific investigator Darwin Jones, Roy Raymond: TV Detective, nautical detective Captain Compass, and occult debunker Dr. Thirteen.
* A fair number of superheroes also like to have detectives as their alter ego, e.g. [[Martian Manhunter]], [[The Spectre]], etc.
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* ''[[The Great Mouse Detective]]''.
* ''[[
== Literature ==
* ''[[Hercule Poirot]]'', an extremely eccentric [[Funny Foreigner]]. Also within the books, Ariadne Oliver's [[Show Within a Show|Finnish detective]]. She then loudly complains to Hercule that [[Leaning
* The protagonists of ''[[
* ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'', especially if you consider what he's like when he isn't a detective.
* The Persian in ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' is so defined by his nationality that he has no other name given.
* [[Lord Peter Wimsey]], who is an English aristocrat who detects for a hobby.
* ''[[
* Lord Meren is the Eyes of Pharaoh, a nobleman and royal spymaster in the court of Tutanhkamun.
* [[Amelia Peabody]] and Radcliffe Emerson, Egyptologists who detect because their path is littered with the bodies of murdered tomb robbers, spies, etc.
* ''The Jane Austen Mysteries'', which
* [[Charlie Chan]]
* ''The Howling Detective'' written by Gate Dragon for 2008's NaNoWriMo. A werewolf private investigator operating in a [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink]] version of Detroit, MI and taking jobs from both [[Muggles]] and other "mythical" folk.
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* Boris Akunin's ''Sister Pelagia'' one-ups all your clerical detectives by being a late 19th century Russian Orthodox ''nun'' (and a church school teacher to boot). Did I mention that she is assisted and supervised by a ''[[Da Chief|bishop]]''?
* Sister Fidelma in the books by Peter Tremayne is a 7th century Celtic Church nun, who is also a lawyer of the Irish courts. Oh, and she's a member of the Munster royal family, and married (the Celtic Church allowed this) to her [[The Watson|Watson]], who's a Saxon.
* [[
* Glen Cook's Garrett, whose name is almost certainly a [[Shout
* ''[[Erast Fandorin]]'': Erast, especially after his first three books, fulfills ''both'' types of this trope. From the point of view of a modern reader he's in an alien setting (nineteenth-century Russia), and from the point of view of his contemporaries he's unusual because of the time he spent in Japan and the way it influenced him.
* Thomas Carnacki of ''[[Carnacki, the Ghost
* Alan Gordon's "Fools Guild" mysteries, beginning with "The Thirteenth Night", feature Theopolis, a jester during the 12th century. Theopolis was in fact Feste, the fool from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] "The Twelfth Night".
* [[
* [[Marcus Didius Falco]], a detective in [[Ancient Rome]].
* ''The Hangman's Daughter'' by Oliver Potzch about a detective who is the [[Exactly What It Says
== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[
* ''Ironside'': A detective in a wheelchair.
* ''[[Life]]'': The main character, Charlie Crews, went to jail for murder, but was recently acquitted. He's also a millionaire. And he's Zen (or at least Zen-ish).
* ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]'': There is definitely ''something'' different about Detective Goren. That ''something'' being, probably, a mental problem that should be treated. It is partially an act. When asking questions he uses his size to control the space in the room and seem as intimidating as possible without seeming overtly hostile. Outside of interrogations he's a bit off but not quite crazy.
* ''[[
** For that matter, there's a whole sub-genre of [[Vampire Detective Series]]. Probably the best known is ''[[
* The short-lived ''Blind Justice'' featured a detective who was blind, as did the '70s series ''Longstreet''.
* Many '70s detective shows had this, including ''Barnaby Jones'' (he's old!), ''Cannon'' (he's fat!), and ''McCloud'' (he's a cowboy!).
** Others were marked as "exotic" by their ethnicity, including ''[[
* Philip of ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' has the semimagical ability to access all of the world's information. A rather useful skill for detective work. His partner Shotaro might apply as well, considering that the two of them can become a [[Kamen Rider]].
* Spoofed on [[Boy Meets World]] when Eric notices the popularity of this type of character and pitches a detective show called ''[[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[Pie in
* [[House (TV series)|Gregory House]], arguably a "medical detective".
* ''[[The Mentalist]]'''s Patrick Jane, while technically merely a 'consultant', probably qualifies as a 'consulting detective' in real terms. And is more than a slight bit odd. At least when you consider he's a little bit sociopathic and has apparently decided that being nice to other people unnecessarily (by his standards) is a waste of his time.
* The main character of ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' is an [[Amateur Sleuth]] who can [[Necromancy|raise the dead]].
* Odo from ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' is the only [[Shape Shifter]] in the quadrant, making his job quite a bit easier.
* Carrie Wells of ''[[
* Walter Sherman and his compulsion to find in ''[[
== Radio ==
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== Western Animation ==
* [[Hanna
** The Scooby Gang of ''[[Scooby Doo]]''
** ''Inch High Private Eye''
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** ''Hong Kong Phooey''
** ''Clue Club''
* [[Properly Paranoid|The Question]] on [[Justice League (animation)|Justice League]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Cops and Detectives]]
[[Category:Crime and Punishment Tropes]]
[[Category:
[[Category:The Exotic Detective]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exotic Detective, The}}
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