Retirement is Murder: 10 Senior Sleuths

For almost as long as there have been detective stories, there have been fictional mystery-solvers who were senior citizens.

My new whodunit Nursing a Grudge stars a cranky old man named Earl Walker who'd rather just be left alone. (But since it's a "whodunit," obviously he gets involved in solving some sort of murder.) The cozy mystery detectives included on the following list may not all be quite as difficult to get along with as Earl (well, not all of them), but like Earl they're all solving mysteries in their golden years. Click through for more information or complete lists of mysteries.

Retirement is Murder: 10 Senior Sleuths
01 MISS MARPLE by Agatha Christie
Elderly spinster and amateur detective who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead

02 JESSICA FLETCHER (Murder She Wrote) by Donald Bain
Retired English teacher, widow, mystery writer -- and amateur detective

03 "SISTER" JANE ARNOLD by Rita Mae Brown
Seventy-something master of Virginia's Jefferson Hunt Club

04 AGATHA RAISIN by MC Beaton
Frustrated, retired, middle-aged public-relations agent who solves a few murders and finally sets up her own detective agency

05 EUGENIA POTTER by Virginia Rich and Nancy Pickard
Widowed chef -- and pioneer of culinary cozy mysteries

06 BETSY DEVONSHIRE (Needlecraft Mysteries) by Monica Ferris
Part-time sleuth and owner of a needlework shop following the death of her sister

07 BRYANT & MAY by Christopher Fowler
Elderly British police detectives who lead the Peculiar Crimes Unit

08 MACLAREN YARBROUGH by Patricia Sprinkle
Thoroughly Southern Mysteries starring a Georgia Magistrate and amateur sleuth

09 SOUTHERN SISTERS by Anne George
Housewife Patricia Anne "Mouse" Hollowell and bar owner Mary Alice "Sister" Crane

10 MRS. MALORY by Hazel Holt
English matron and amateur detective

Related links:
Still Kicking: 10 More Senior Sleuths
100 Mystery Series: 1887-2010
Murderous Beginnings: 40 Detective Fiction Firsts
All Aboard For Murder: 10 Mysteries on Trains
Christmas Can Be Murder: 10 Seasonal Mystery Titles