Hard Boiled Detectives - crime and mystery novels

This is for all fans of hardboiled detectives. Ancient and Modern. Whether you like Nero Wolfe's laconic sidekick Archie, Kinky Friedman's self spoofed Kinkster, Marcus Didius Falco spying in ancient Roman spy or Janet Evanovich's accident prone bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, you are welcome here. All examples of the genre are welcome. At a stretch we could include Margery Allingham's Albert Campion. The novels do not have to be part of a series but it's better if they are. Definitely NOT included are the current crop of Scandinavian and Icelandic mystery novels focussing not on who dunnit it but why they dunnit set in a bleak Scandinavian landscape. Our interest is a cracking plot to unravel and some cracking dialogue.