Hard-boiled detective

Hard-boiled detective is a type of character that appears in crime and mystery fiction, but occasionally in other genres as well. Generally, but not always, a private investigator with a great deal of cyncism and world-weariness, he investigates crimes for money. For all of his cyncism, the hard-boiled detective is generally quite ethical.

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Notable examples include:

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• The Continental Op - created by Dashiell Hammett
• Sam Spade - also created by Hammett
• Philip Marlowe created by Raymond Chandler
• Lew Archer created by Ross MacDonald
• Travis McGee created by John D. MacDonald
• Spenser created by Robert Parker
 
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