Jim Dopherty noted:
"An insurance investigator is just a private investigator who
specializes in investigating insurance cases, so, for our
purposes, insurance investigators are PIs.
"Incidentally, that seems to be how the Private Eye Writers
of America feel about it, too."
The bylaws must be even broader than that in their
definition. Jonathan Kellerman's psychiatrist would seem to
be an amateur sleuth, but he has been nominated for a Shamus.
As I recall, with some clarity, the late Wayne Warga's first
novel, "Hardcover," featuring a rare book dealer detective,
won the Shamus the same year my first, "Sleeping Dog," was
nominated.
So, where does that get us in defining a fictional private
eye? A while back, I was asked to write an episode of "Murder
She Wrote." The producer and head writer enlightened me on an
aspect of the show that, though not subtle, had eluded me. It
had to do with evidence gathering. The information came to
Jessica Fletcher. She observed things that took place around
her; she did not influence the action until she exposed the
killer. This was as opposed to Jim Rockford who had to go
looking for his information. I think this distinction works
as well as any in separating the amateur from the
investigator. The private eye is a private sector citizen who
actively inserts himself or herself into a situation in an
attempt to bring order from chaos. Maybe he or she gets paid
to do this. Maybe they're independently wealthy and do it for
kicks. Maybe they're licensed, maybe not. Maybe they do it
for the public good, maybe for personal gain. There will
always be exceptions. No, I don't think that little snoop
Nancy Drew quite qualifies as a private eye (though I've
heard her mentioned as a source from writers of female
private eyes). On the other end, there have been and will
continue to be cops and FiBIes and other public lawmen who,
because of circumstance, are forced to operate as private
eyes.
The thing to bear in mind in trying to arrive at some
workable definition -- private eye, noir, hardboiled, etc. --
is that, as entertaining as these discussions may be, in our
heart of hearts we really don't want these kinds of
categories. The books or movies or TV shows that most of us
prize are usually the ones that don't slavishly conform to
any established category. Or am I wrong?
Dick Lochte
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