Mystery Lovers! discussion

There are fascinating fictional detectives. There are others who are rather bland. And then there are some who are downright annoying.

Who's the most annoying and exasperating fictional detective?

For me the most annoying are always the one's, women or men, who knowing do stupid things that put themselves in danger....and lo and behold the culprit is revealed!

I'm probably going to be lynched or at the very least ex-communicated by mystery lovers everywhere but the Dame's Hercule Poirot has always annoyed me. I can never suspend my disbelief enough to accept that he would be so quickly and easily revered by everyone he meets when all he does is make snide comments, be excrutiatingly rude to all and present wildly conjectural conclusions.

I have others on my list of annoying fictional sleuths but M. Poirot is at the very top of that list.

I've only read one of Carol O'Connell's mysteries, 'Mallory's Oracle', but remember finding her heroine, Kathy Mallory, annoying, partly because she isn't very likeable, but also because readers keep being treated to descriptions of how devastatingly beautiful she is! I know a lot of people like Mallory, so maybe I should give these books another chance. I usually like hardboiled female sleuths... but this one left me cold.

Bernadette, I'm with you M.Poirot is by far one of the most annoying detectives ever, always preferred Miss Marple.