Mr. Detective: Why are you so sexy, sexy and full of awesome sauce? Are you the hottest hero of all?

#1 Phillip Marlow, Private Eye

If you're a fan of Hollywood Noir films, this one is a classic! It has all the elements of a great romantic suspense novel plus Bogie and Bacall, the Brad and Angelina of their day!

We call him sleuth, detective, investigator, private eye, snoop, gumshoe, dick, P.I. and he just might be our favorite hero!

What is it about these men? Certainly they are wicked smart, and who doesn't find a brilliant mind sexy? They are also Dudley do-righters. Dashing heroes who are maybe a bit...untamed? Men with a dark past, who are softies at heart??? Hmm, there are so many reasons we love them, perhaps we should share our thoughts,

Hi everyone, I'm Jillian Stone and I am co-hosting today with Romantic Suspense writer, Donnell Ann Bell. Donnell's debut novel, THE PAST CAME HUNTING will be available to order through Bell Bridge Books website and her hero Lt. Joe Crandall is the inspiration for today's blog contest. We're wrapping up an exciting week of promotion for Donnell with a lighthearted celebration of famous detectives (novels, film, TV) and I must warn you–reader feedback is required!

All right ladies, besides Lieutenant Joe Crandall, hero of The Past Came Hunting, who is the secret sleuth of your heart? Could it be...?

#2 Rick Deckard, Blade Runner.

The quintessential loner cop from the future, and a favorite book. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick.


Do you go for the independent type, the wisecracking private eye, or the amateur sleuth? Perhaps the brainy scientific type has more appeal, like a forensics investigator or criminologist consultant? Then there is tried and true police detective like, Lt. Joe Crandall!

So here's our wrap-up contest question of the week: Could detectives be the most desirable heroes of all?

Yes, we want to hear from you, our Get Lost in a Story readers! To help you out, we have included film clips, and graphic reminders of some of the most popular sleuths from novels, film, cable and network television. Which one of these fine specimens of deductive reasoning and physical prowess to do you prefer? We've selected seven detectives, chosen from different 'detective subgenres' representing past, present and future. Please take a read through and vote your favorite sleuth!



#3 David Addison the fast-talking, fun-loving private eye from Moonlighting. Who out there old enough to watch this mid-eighties TV show did not appreciate the comedy and the sexual tension between Maddy and David?

#4 Mike Logan, the short-fused Sergeant Detective of Law & Order. Arguably better known as his alter ego, Mr. Big of Sex and the City, Chris Noth played the kind of detective you want to take home, but not necessarily to meet mom and dad!

#5 Captain John Brook. And look whose back again? Harrison Ford in the role of the tough Philadelphia cop in Witness.

A quiet, powerful thriller with steamy elements, involving a pretty Amish widow and her son who inadvertently witnesses a murder.






#6 Thomas Magnum, Private Investigator.

It was between Tom Selleck as Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O. But the 70's TV show with Jack Lord, is complicated by a new 2011 Hawaii Five-O with an all new cast we don't know.

So we thought it was about time for a hot torso shot!




No self-respecting sleuthing contest would be complete without a Holmesian homage.

#7 Sherlock Holmes, Master Sleuth

Ah, but which Mr. Holmes is your favorite? Basil Rathbone? Christopher Plummer? Or the blockbuster action movie Sherlock portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr.? And have you seen the modern day Holmes of Masterpiece Theater? The new Sherlock is written by the Dr. Who writing team of Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and played by an actor with the Harry Potterish name of Benedict Cumberbatch! Perhaps the best Holmes of all will always be the original Holmes, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and pictured in the mind's eye!

If, by chance, we have failed to include your one true favorite gumshoe of all time, do not despair!

Alas, we could not feature all the handsome and heroic detectives in this blog–there are so many good ones! So please do share your main man sleuth with us, whether he be Inspector Clouseau or Denzel Washington as Lincoln Rhyme.

This is a write-in contest! Do not hesitate to put a word in for the brainy, brawny crime solver of your heart.

Any and all comments posted today have a chance to win a DVD of SHERLOCK HOLMES and a signed copy of THE PAST CAME HUNTING. Winning commenter will be picked at random out of a deerstalker hat. Or perhaps a bowler. Or possibly a snap-brim fedora…