Wentworth Cabot: secretary to Mark Twain, a 19th century American author, by Peter J. Heck

Brother Cadfael: 12th century monk and herbalist in Shrewsbury, England, by Ellis Peters

Jack Caffery: troubled police detective in London, England, by Mo Hayder

Jenny Cain: foundation director in Port Frederick, Massachusetts, by Nancy Pickard

John Caine: Navy SEAL turned private eye in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Charles Knief

Timothy Calahan: legislative aide for a New York state senator, in Albany, New York, by Richard Stevenson

Denise “Denni” Caldecote: police sergeant in Marston, England, by Christine Green

Alex Calder: former RAF fighter pilot, now a City bond trader based in London, England, by Michael Ridpath

Keith Calder: gunsmith in Newton Lauder, Scotland, by Gerald Hammond

Jack Caleb: gay psychiatrist in Chicago, Illinois, by Michael Allen Dymmoch

Cat Caliban: 60-something PI-in-training, in Cincinnati, Ohio, by D.B. Borton

James Callahan: homicide detective in Boston, Massachusetts, by Al Blanchard

Mick Callahan: radio talk show psychologist in Dry Wells, Nevada, by Harry Shannon

Slim Callaghan: tough private investigator in England, by Peter Cheyney

Sister Rose Callahan: eldress of the community of believers at the Shaker village of North Homage, Kentucky, by Deborah Woodworth

Vincent “Vinee” Calvino: disbarred American lawyer turned private investigator, in Bangkok, Thailand, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, by Christopher G. Moore

Jade del Cameron: ambulance driver in WWI and adventurer in 1919-1920s colonial East Africa, by Suzanne Arruda

Margaret Campbell: American pathologist, and Li Yan, a Chinese detective, in Beijing, China, by Peter May

Claire Camden: California English professor in London, England, by Audrey Peterson

Kitzi Camden: 50-ish beader and former senator, in Texas, by Barbara Burnett Smith

Alasdair Cameron: police detective, and Jean Fairbairn, working for an Edinburgh-based history and travel magazine, in Scotland, by Lillian Stewart Carl

Sandra Cameron: detective in Los Angeles, California, by Michael Joens

Liam Campbell: Alaskan State Trooper in Newenham, Alaska, by Dana Stabenow

Michael Campbell: Scottish professor, and Rebecca Reid, historian, in Ohio and later in Scotland, by Lillian Stewart Carl

Albert Campion: suave sleuth with noble blood, in London, England, by Margery Allingham

Canaletto: an 18th century Italian painter in London, England, by Janet Laurence

Ben Candidi: free-spirited, nature-loving biomedical scientist, and Rebecca Levis, a medical student, later MD, in Florida, Washington, DC, and elsewhere, by Dirk Wyle

Caroline Canfield: wildlife artist in River Ridge, Illinois, by Jacqueline Fiedler

Jane Candiotti: homicide inspector in San Francisco, California, by Clyde Phillips

John Cann: Vietnam Special Forces veteran, now a US-based lawyer dealing with international legal issues and ethical dilemmas in Europe, by James Macomber

Chen Cao: Inspector in the Shanghai, China, Police Department, by Qiu Xiaolong

Barbara, Countess da Capo-Zendrini, and Urbino McIntyre, an American expatriate writer and amateur sleuth, in Venice, Italy, by Edward Sklepowich

Merle Capricorn: former vaudeville magician turned police superintendent in England, by Pauline Glen Winslow

Annie Capshaw, recently divorced, and her ex-beauty queen best friend, Eve DeCateur, in Arlington, Virginia, in the Cooking Class mysteries by Miranda Bliss

Letitia (Tish) Carberry: by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Sixto Cardenas: Puerto Rican cop, in Puerto Rico, by M.J. Adamson

Victor Cardenas: police detective in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by Jane Rubino

Inspector Superintendent Cardiff: in England, by Dulcie Gray

Jack Cardigan: 22nd century ex-cop private investigator in Los Angeles, California, by William Shatner

John Cardinal: homicide detective near Algonquin Bay, Ontario, Canada, by Giles Blunt

Neal Carey: youthful pickpocket turned private investigator in New York City, by Don Winslow

Sir Robert Carey: nobleman in Elizabethan England, by P.R. Chisholm

Victor Carl: down-on-his-luck, money-hungry lawyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by William Lashner

Carrie Carlin: biofeedback specialist in New Jersey, by Nancy Tesler

Robin Carlson: American martial-arts instructor in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, by Sue Rann

Carlotta Carlyle: cab-driving ex-cop PI in Boston, Massachusetts, by Linda Barnes

Agnes Carmichael: hospital staff nurse in England, by Anthea Cohen

Catherine Carmichael: CIA analyst, by Francine Mathews

Carnaby: police detective with the CID in North Yorkshire, England, by Peter Walker

Mary Carner: department store detective, in New York City, by Zelda Popkin

Michael Carolina: former TV investigative reporter in Providence, Rhode Island, by Thomas Gately Briody

Andy Carpenter: defense attorney in Paterson, New Jersey, by David Rosenfelt

Kate Carpenter: theater manager in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by Deborah Nicholson

Scott Carpenter: gay baseball player in Chicago, Illinois, by Mark Richard Zubro

Webb Carrick: chief officer of the Fishery Protection Service in Scotland, by Bill Knox

Carruthers, Simpson and Biggs: elderly down-on-their-luck mystery writers, putting their plots into action, in The Murder League Trilogy, by Robert L. Fish

Garth Carson: taxidermy dealer based in New York City, by Brian M. Wiprud

Chloe Carter: boy-crazy 20-something gourmand, in Brighton, Massachusetts, in the Gourmet Girl mysteries by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park

Jack Carter: 1940s captain in Ireland, by Jack Higgins

Madeline Carter: former stockbroker in New York, turned day trader in Los Angeles, California, by Linda L. Richards

Neil Carter: Scotland Yard detective in London, England, by Eileen Dewhurst

Nick Carter: sexually active, gun slinging secret agent, by Nick Carter

Anne Cartier: ex-vaudeville actress, then a tutor for deaf children, in England and France on the eve of the French Revolution, by Charles O’Brien

Captain Harry Cartwright: wounded, bitter survivor of the Boer War, now a “fixer,” and Lady Rose Summer, in Edwardian England, by Marion Chesney

Cece Caruso: 40-something biographer of dead mystery writers and fan of vintage fashions, in Southern California, by Susan Kandel

Enrico Caruso: Italian tenor in New York City, by Barbara Paul

Pepe Carvalho: ex-CIA agent, former communist, and gourmet private investigator, in Barcelona, Spain, by Manuel Vazquez Montalban

Fred Carver: private investigator in Del Moray, Florida, by John Lutz

Tony Casella: family-man private investigator in New York City, by Larry Beinhart

Jack “Flashgun” Casey: crime photographer in Boston, Massachusetts, by George Harmon Coxe

Samantha (Sam) Casey: Native American detective sergeant who can hear the dead speak, in Chasen Heights, Illinois, by Sandra Tooley

Tom Casey: private investigator in Medford, Oregon, in the Hawkman mysteries, by Betty Sullivan La Pierre

DCI Will (Willow Tree) Casey: assigned to the police station in King’s Langley, England, by Geraldine Evans

Brooke Cassidy: mystery writer in 1890s Newport, Rhode Island, by Mary Kruger

Faith Cassidy: an actress-turned-therapist, by Catherine Dain

Jean Casson: film producer caught up in the Resistance during WWII, in German-occupied Paris, France, by Alan Furst

Henri Castang: police detective in Brussels, Belgium, by Nicolas Freeling

Charley Castillo: Delta Force Major working with the Department of Homeland Security, in the Presidential Agent series, by W.E.B. Griffin

Mollie Cates: true crime writer and reporter in Texas, by Mary Willis Walker

DS Thomas Catt: assigned to the police station in King’s Langley, England, by Geraldine Evans

Am Caulfield: hotel detective in San Diego, California, by Alan Russell

Lemmy Caution: FBI agent in the USA, by Peter Cheyney

Darcy Cavanaugh: ER nurse who takes a job on a cruise ship, by Candy Calvert

Kate Cavanaugh: gourmet caterer in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Cathie John

Nick Cavanaugh: Navy vet and Fleet Boxing Champ in 1940s Newport, Kentucky, by Cathie John

Antonio “Chico” Cervantes: private eye in Los Angeles, California, by Bruce Alexander

Martha Chainey: courier for the corporate mob in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Gary Phillips

Danny Chaisson: former Assistant District Attorney, now bagman for a crooked state senator in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Kenneth Abel

Bart Challis: hard-boiled private investigator, and his half-brother Nick, in Los Angeles, California, by William F. Nolan

Hal Challis: Detective Inspector on the Peninsula south-east of Melbourne, Australia, by Garry Disher

Lindsay Chamberlain: forensic archeologist at the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia, by Beverly Connor

Natasha Chamberlain: young investigator, and Jonce Striker, founder of Investigative Services, Inc., in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Christy Tillery French

Pierre Chamburn: resident manager of the Hotel Beaumont in New York City, by Hugh Pentecost 

Charlie Chan: police detective based in Honolulu, Hawaii by Earl Derr Biggers

Zinc Chandler: member of the Special X department of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by Michael Slade

Ian Chapel: one-eyed pro soccer goalie turned private investigator in Los Angeles, California, by Paul Bishop

Corinna Chapman: former banker, now running a bakery, Earthly Delights, in Melbourne, Australia, by Kerry Greenwood

Edwina Charles: clairvoyant in England, by Mignon Warner

Inspector Charlesworth: in England, by Christianna Brand

Emily Charters: adopted grandmother of Jeremy Ransom, a homicide detective in Chicago, Illinois, by Fred Hunter

Alden Chase: a chief of police in Wading River, Massachusetts, by Theodora Wender

Dr. Elizabeth Chase: Stanford-trained parapsychologist turned private investigator, in San Diego, California, by Martha C. Lawrence

Nikki Chase: black economics professor in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Ivy League mysteries, by Pamela Thomas-Graham

Susan Chase: specializing in finding runaways, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, by Steve Brown

Laura Chastain: assistant district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, by Lelia Kelly

Zack Chasteen: former Miami Dolphin linebacker, in Florida and the Caribbean, by Bob Morris

Geoffrey Chaucer: poet and detective in the late 1300s, in England, by Mary Devlin

Geoffrey Chaucer: acting as an agent for Edward III in the late 1300s in England and on the continent, by Philippa Morgan (Philip Gooden)

Paul Chavasse: globe-trotting spy for Britain in the 1960s, by Martin Fallon (Jack Higgins)

Jim Chee: Navajo tribal police officer in the southwest USA, by Tony Hillerman

Rodney Chelmarsh: vicar, and his wife Doran Fairweather, antiques seller, in Kent, England, by Mollie Hardwick

Sunny Childs: private investigator with Peachtree Investigations, in Atlanta, Georgia, by Ruth Birmingham (Walter Sorrells)

Lydia Chin: 30-something Chinese American private eye, and Bill Smith, a 40-something Army brat private eye in New York City, by S.J. Rozan

Nicholas Chirke: young lawyer in medieval England, in the Canterbury Tales mysteries, by P.C. Doherty

Emma Chizzit: salvage dealer in Sacramento, California, by Mary Bowen Hall

Allen Choice: Korean-American Silicon Valley investigator, in Los Angeles, California, by Leonard Chang

Robert Christopher: television reporter in Los Angeles, California, by Robert Irvine

Gordon Christy: veterinarian and Gala, a Doberman, in New Mexico, by Barbara Moore

Inspector Chucky: in England, by Christianna Brand

Marlene Ciampi: assistant District Attorney in 1970s New York City, by Robert K. Tanenbaum

Clair Claiborne: beauty salon owner in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Sophie Dunbar

Jack Clancy: a reporter, and Iris Cooper, a flapper, in Portland, Oregon, by K.K. Beck

Megan Clark: reference librarian and a member of the murder mystery reading group, Murder by the Yard in Amarillo, Texas, by D.R. Meredith

Barry Clayton: ex-cop who returns home to help run the family funeral home business, in Gainesboro, North Carolina, by Mark De Castrique

Lilly (Lillian Belle Rose) Cleary: eco-conscious junior partner in a prestigious law firm in Sarasota, Florida, by Claire Matturro

Denise Cleever: agent for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, by Claire McNab

Jules Clement: archaeologist turned sheriff, in Blue Deer, Montana, by Jamie Harrison

Frank Clemons: a homicide detective in Atlanta, Georgia, later a private eye in New York City, by Thomas H. Cook

Frank Clevenger: forensic psychiatrist in Massachusetts, by Keith Ablow

Steve Cline: young stable hand in Maryland, by Kit Ehrman

Matt Cobb: investigator for network television in New York City, by William L. DeAndrea

Inspector Cockrill: attached to a constabulary in Kent County, England, by Christianna Brand

John Coffin: police inspector rising through the ranks to Commissioner, and his wife, Stella Pinero, an actress, in south London, England, by Gwendoline Butler

Wiki Coffin: half New Zealand Maori and half American linguister (translator) aboard American South Seas Exploring Expedition in 1838, by Joan Druett

Artie Cohen: Moscow-born NYPD cop, later a private investigator, based in New York City, by Reggie Nadelson

Avram Cohen: police officer in Jerusalem, Israel, by Robert Rosenberg

Midge Cohen: children's author fluent in Russian, in Brooklyn, New York, by Toni Brill

Robert Colbeck: former attorney now serving as an inspector in the fledging Scotland Yard in 1851 London, England, by Edward Marston

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, a pair of Hollywood private eyes, in Los Angeles, California, by Robert Crais

Larry Cole: police commander in Chicago, Illinois, by Hugh Holton

Lewis Cole: former Department of Defense research analyst, retired in Tyler Beach, New Hampshire, by Brendan DuBois

Matthew Coll: antiquarian bookseller and former British military intelligence agent, in Dorset, England, by Roy H. Lewis

Hap Collins: straight and white, and Leonard Pine, gay and black, in East Texas, by Joe R. Lansdale

Henrietta O’Dwyer Collins: 70-something reporter in South Carolina, by Carolyn G. Hart

Julie Collins: secretary in a sheriff’s office and part-time private investigator, in western South Dakota, by Lori G. Armstrong

Monty Collins: defense attorney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, by Anne Emery

Quinn Collins: reporter for the Hollywood Star, in Hollywood, California, by Nancy Baker Jacobs 

Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens, 19th century writers in London, England, by William J. Palmer

Kat Colorado: bar-tending private investigator, in Sacramento, California, by Karen Kijewski

Thatcher Colt: police commissioner in New York City, by Anthony Abbot

John Comaday: police commissioner, and Larry Cohen, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, in New York City, by E.V. Cunningham

Thud Compton: police sergeant, later chief, and Kevin Kearnes, chief of police of the fictional coastal town of Cutter Point, Oregon, near the California border, and later an agent with Homeland Security in Portland, Oregon, by Kenneth R. Lewis

Mario Conde: police inspector in Havana, Cuba, in the Havana Quartet and others, by Leonardo Padura

Timothy Cone: Wall Street financial detective in New York City, by Lawrence Sanders

Harper Connelly: lightning survivor who can find bodies, and her stepbrother Tolliver, in Sarne, Arkansas, by Charlaine Harris

Gail Connor: corporate attorney in Miami, Florida, by Barbara Parker

Lexy Connor: software consultant in Boulder, Colorado. by Truly Donovan

Lily Connor: Episcopalian priest in Boston, Massachusetts, by Michelle Blake

Maggie Connors: stock broker and Tim Gallen, an IRS agent, by Malinda Terreri

Petra Connor: cop in Los Angeles, California, by Jonathan Kellerman

Liz Connors: former English professor and freelance crime writer, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Susan Kelly

Gerry Conte: undercover cop turned defense attorney in New York City, by Angela Amato & Joe Sharkey

Nancy Cook: Chaucer scholar and professor at Yale University, by D.J. H. Jones

Alex Cooper: Assistant District Attorney in New York City, by Linda Fairstein

Detective Constable Ben Cooper: trying to fill his police sergeant father’s shoes, and new partner, Diane Fry, recently transferred to Edendale’s force, in the Peak District in England, by Stephen Booth

Den Cooper: determined policeman in Devon, England, by Rebecca Tope

Eve Cooper: aspiring photographer and daughter of U.S. President Elliot Cooper, in Washington, DC, by Susan Ford

Iris Cooper: flapper, and Jack Clancy, a reporter, in Portland, Oregon. by K K. Beck

Major Vincent Cooper: agent of the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations, by David Rollins

Benny Cooperman: private investigator in Grantham, Ontario, Canada, by Howard Engel

Joe Copp: private investigator in Hollywood, California, by Don Pendleton

Jessica Coran: doctor and FBI medical examiner, in Washington, DC, by Robert W. Walker

Hugh Corbett: spy for King Edward I in England, by P.C. Doherty

Matthew Corbett: young magistrate’s clerk, in 1699 Carolina and 1703 New York City, by Robert McCammon

Talos Cord: United Nations troubleshooter in New York City, by Robert MacLeod (Bill Knox)

Lord Edward Corinth: aded English aristocrat, and Verity Browne, a leftist journalist, between the wars in 1930s London, England, by David Roberts

Grace Cornish: private investigator in London, England, by Simon Shaw

Tudor Cornwall: Reader in Criminal Studies at the University of Wessex, in England, by Tim Heald

Frank Corso: former New York Times journalist, now working at the third-rate Seattle Sun, in Seattle, Washington, by G.M. Ford

Marcus Corvinus: member of the Senatorial class in first century Rome, by David Wishart

Clare Cosi: manager of the Village Blend, a landmark coffeehouse in New York City’s Greenwich Village, in the Coffeehouse mysteries, by Cleo Coyle (Alice Alfonsi & Marc Cerasini)

Andrea “Andy” Cosicki: who writes the Mr. Action consumer column, and Shep Ladderback, an aging obituary writer, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Bill Kent

Nic Costa and Gianni Peroni, police detectives in Rome, Italy, by David Hewson

Bryson Coventry: homicide detective in Denver, Colorado, by Jim Michael Hansen

Grace “Candi” Covington: (Mama) African-American county social worker in Otis, South Carolina, and her daughter Simone Covington, a paralegal in Atlanta, Georgia, by Nora Deloach

Brady Coyne: sports fisherman and lawyer, in Boston, Massachusetts, by William G. Tapply

Danny Coyle: a gambler by Judson Philips

Tempe Crabtree: woman deputy torn between her Native American (Yanduchi) traditions and her loyalty to Hutch, her minister husband, in Bear Creek, California, by Marilyn Meredith

Carl Crader and Earl Jazine, computer cops in the future, by Edward D. Hoch

Alan Craig: ex-Scotland Yard detective, now a private enquiry agent, in England, by Malcolm Gray (Ian Stuart)

Melissa Craig: British crime novelist in the Cotswolds, England, by Betty Rowlands

Alan Craik: young USA Navy Intelligence officer on assignments around the world, by Gordon Kent

Inspector Crambo: by Julian Symons

Bill Crane: private detective in Chicago, Illinois, by Jonathan Latimer

Mary Alice “Sister” Crane: country-western bar owner, and Patricia Anne “Mouse” Hollowell, a retired English teacher, in Alabama, in the Southern Sisters mysteries, by Anne George

Ruby Crane: handwriting analyst in Michigan, by Jo Dereske

Crang: lawyer and jazz buff, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by Jack Batten

John Cranston: a coroner, and Brother Athelstan, a Dominican monk, in 14th century London, England, by Paul Harding

Thea Crawford: archaeology professor in England, by Jessica Mann

Nick Craven: of the Special X department of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by Michael Slade

Ray Crawley: Federal Security Agency director in Sydney, Australia, by Peter Corris

Richard Cribb: policeman in Victorian London, England, by Peter Lovesey

Dr. Anya Crichton: forensic pathologist in Sydney, Australia, by Kathryn Fox

Tessa Crichton: actress and sleuth in England, by Anne Morice

Winston Crisp: retired National Security code-breaker, on Penobscot Island, Maine, in the Maine Island mysteries by David A. Crossman

Fey Croaker: a 40-something homicide cop in Los Angeles, California by Paul Bishop

Joshua Croft: wise-cracking private investigator, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by Walter Satterthwait

Mike Croft: detective inspector in Norfolk, England, by Jane Adams

Sam Crombie: plodding, methodical detective, by George Harmon Coxe

Arthur G. Crook: fat, beer-drinking Cockney barrister in London, England, by Anthony Gilbert

Alex Cross: psychiatrist and homicide cop, in Washington DC, by James Patterson

Madison Cross: former star medical student with the Crime Scenes Unit, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by D.H. Dublin

Joe Crow: one of a group of small town gamblers in Minnesota, by Peter Hautman

John Crow: British police inspector in England, by Roy Lewis

Mary Crow: half Cherokee assistant district attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, by Sallie Bissell

George Crowder: an attorney by Hugh Pentecost (Judson Philips)

Lauren Crowder: attorney, and Alan Gregory, a clinical psychologist, in Boulder, Colorado, by Stephen White

Stella Crown: Harley-riding dairy farmer, in Pennsylvania, by Judy Clemens

Gregory Crowne: former Crown Prince Gregory of Hirtenstein, a classical music event organizer, in Europe, by Tessa Barclay

Rachel Crowne: free-lance journalist in Vermont, by Ellen Rawlings

Crowner John: Sir John de Wolfe, the crowner (coroner), in 12th century Devon, England, by Bernard Knight

Edwina Crusoe: registered nurse at Chelsea Memorial Hospital, and later a medical investigator, in New Haven, Connecticut, by Mary Kittredge

Carlos Cruz: homicide detective in Oakland, California, by Marilyn Wallace

CSI: (TV Tie-in) Crime scene investigators, in either Las Vegas, Nevada, or Miami, Florida, by Max Allan Collins

John Francis Cuddy: Army police lieutenant turned private investigator, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Jeremiah Healy

Wanda Nell Culpepper: over-worked single mother, in Tullahoma, Mississippi, in the Trailer Park mysteries by Jimmie Ruth Evans (Dean James)

Gil Cunningham: notary in 15th century Glasgow, Scotland, by Pat McIntosh

John Cunningham: hunting dog breeder in Scotland, by Gerald Hammond

Thomas Curry: ex-lawyer, and Sandrine Cadette Curry, a Girl Friday, in a law firm in 1960s New York City by Michael Bowen

Fifi Cutter: bi-racial, 20-something, freelance insurance investigator, in Los Angeles, California, by Gwen Freeman