The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion

22. An Unlikely Detective


An unlikely or unconventional detective is a character who isn’t a trained professional. They may be accidentally mixed up in a mystery or crime and feel compelled to solve it. The character could be an elderly aunt who never leaves her armchair, or a young child who can’t help but get into trouble. Perhaps it’s a cozy mystery about a baker or a florist, or a mystery solved by the Queen of England herself! For non-fiction examples, this could be a true crime novel with the author or a podcaster trying to uncover the truth.

Check out our Goodreads List for examples

I like the Maisie Dobbs series for this prompt. Unlikely due to being a woman in the time period.

Agree with the Maisie Dobbs series. Also Molly Murphy for same reason - a woman during that time period

The cackleberry club mysteries by Laura Childs is really good!

The Law and the Lady

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I am going to read The Maidens by Alex Michealides

I can also highly recommend the Mrs Pollifax series

Dragonbreath and the Case of the Toxic Mutants. Danny Dragonbreath isn't what you would call bright. However when his best friend's retainer goes missing he is on the case.

Miss Treadway & the Field of Stars

Groucho Marx, Master Detective, by Ron Goulart

Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton is good.

Cormoran Strike

Death In Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh- A 72-year-old, widow begins to investigate a possible murder. However, by the end you (the reader) become the unlikely detective trying to determine what crime/s actually were committed.

I chose to read The Invited by Jennifer McMahon.

It Takes Two to Mango by Carrie Doyle

Girl Waits With Gun (Kopp Sisters series) by Amy Stewart

I finished The Mitford Murders today. Two nosy girls become detectives.

The Maid by Nita Prose

What about any book from Agatha Christie with Miss Marple? Linked with the The Agatha Christie Mystery Challenge :)

Holly Jackson "Good girl's guide to murder" (incl. 2 sequels) or Alan Bradley's Flavia De Luce-series

Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton is there start to a new and humorous series. I really liked it.

I'm going to pick up Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman.

Gyles Brandreth's Oscar Wilde mysteries seem to fit the bill.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Mimi Lee reads Between the Lines

Her two cats help her solve a murder.

I'm using P.D. James' An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. Not because I think Cordelia Grey makes an unlikely detective, but as a nod at the irony of the title and how many times it's referenced in the novel.

I went with The Dead and the Dark

Two teens get pulled together to figure out why kids are disappearing in their town.

I read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

a good girl's guide to murder by Holly Jackson

I chose Killers of the Flower Moon for this prompt. For one, the author was still trying to unravel unsolved mysteries surrounding the murders AND the FBI team that infiltrated the area was also considered unlikely (insurance agent, cattle rancher, Native American, etc.)

I read The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden by Kate Saunders, where the unlikely detective is the widow of a church pastor and the sister of a barrister. Set in 1853.

I read A Bone to Pick for this one, the second Aurora Teagarden book.

I read Seven Deadly Zins by Nancy J. Parra. This Cozy Mystery MC is a winery tour guide, until a dead body in a wine vat sets her on a mission to prove her friends innocence.

For this one I read Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby.

Two fathers start searching for the criminal of their 2 sons because the police stopped searching and the dads want to make justice.

Such a great story!

I read Doctor Who: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston, 3 Stars

I read Nemesis (Miss Marple, #11) by Agatha Christie.

Really enjoyed reading Fletch for this prompt.

The Adventurer's Son: A Memoir by Roman Dial

I read The Book of Cold Cases for this prompt.

the woman in cabin 10

I read The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie, which is the first in the Miss Marple.

I read Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions for this one.

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Lisa Marie wrote: "I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
"

I'm reading it now. Not sure I'll finish it. I'm finding Flavia very annoying!

I read Honey Roasted by Cleo Coyle. The main character runs a coffee shop in NYC. I imagine a lot of cozy mystery series would supply an unlikely detective for this prompt.

The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver. A reformed thief as “detective” in WWII London.

A Good Girls Guide to Murder
*(of course)

I read "An Equal Opportunity Death" by Susan Dunlap.