The recurring detective is a mainstay of the classic mystery novel. A character who readers

can get to know book after book, who has certain traits or habits that become familiar.

Part of the joy of following a series over the decades is seeing this well-known sleuth

put into different situations, whether that's a seemingly peaceful English village or

an archaeological dig under the sweltering Middle East and Sun. And if they have some

kind of overarching personal story that runs across many books, that can also add to

the cumulative pleasure of reading about their cases. That's all well and good. But what

happens when a writer is ready to retire a detective? To stop including them in every

book? This can be an unpopular move with readers who've grown used to seeing their

favourite character in each new mystery. And it can be a wrench from the other side too,

for a creator who has spent years crafting a sleuth only to let them go. Today we're

asking, how does a writer say goodbye to their detective?

Welcome to She Done It. I'm Caroline Crampton.

It's hard to think of a writer from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction who didn't have

at least one recurring detective character. Most of them had at least two. Agatha Christie

of course wrote regularly about Hercule Porrow and Jane Marple throughout her career,

and also sprinkled in multiple books featuring Tommy and Tuppens, Mr Satisthewate, Superintendent

Battle, Colonel Race and so on. Dorothy L. Sayers had Lord Peter Wimsey and also Monty

Hugh Egg, a wonderful character and a favourite of mine who appears in a number of short stories.

John Dixon Carr had Dr. Gideon Fell, Sir Henry Mary Vale and Henry Bencola, each with their

own multi book series. Marjory Allingham had Albert Campion, Anthony Barkley had Roger

Shearingham, Naomi Marsh had Roderick Allen, Gladys Mitchell Mrs Bradley, Edmund Chris

...