Adrian Monk happens to be in the company of some of fiction's most powerful thinkers in history. These characters' amazing sleuthing abilities and legendary powers of deductive reasoning were usually to the chagrin of their baffled supervisors.

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"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact." -Sherlock Holmes

Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes was an eccentric, intellectual detective who was a solitary man with a tendency towards drug addiction. Sometimes accompanied by his colleague Dr. Watson, he solved incredibly complex and intriguing crimes. His character was so loved by the reading public, that Sir Arthur had to bring him back from the dead after killing him off in 1893!

While Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction was being popularized, the real life Scotland Yard's reputation also rose as a legendary organization. Like Sherlock Holmes, they dazzled by achieving advances in forensics, the science of deduction, and criminal analysis.

"Mind like parachute - only function when open!" -Charlie Chan

In 1919 while on vacation in Honolulu, Earl Derr Biggers read about a Chinese detective named Chang Apana. He was quite intrigued by this notion of an Asian detective and began developing a character for a book. Writing House Without a Key, Biggers soon created a huge success with Charlie Chan. A series of books followed until 1933, the end of which saw Charlie promoted to Inspector Chan of the Honolulu Police. He was famous for his pearls of wisdom, and had a proverb ready for every situation . His sometimes sidekick was his Number One Son though he had 14 children in all. Interestingly enough, 44 movies were made after the book series, starring 6 different actors as Detective Chan, none of whom, were Chinese.

Nancy Drew has been an institution for more than 72 years! Lasting through several generations, her timeless, feisty qualities make her an appealing role model for girls. Even though she was just a teenager, Nancy was independent, sassy, and smart as a whip. She lived with her father,the dashing and brilliant lawyer Carson Drew, in the wealthy River Heights - but was very down-to-earth. Solving over 350 mysteries, Nancy only aged from 16 to 18 years old in the series of books, but managed to exemplify a young woman who could do it all. She could go shopping for a gown to wear at the country club dance on one page, and brave white water rapids on the next. Her abilities to sense trouble and her determination to find out the truth were what kept her adventures going since 1930.

The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot first appeared in 1920 in Agatha Christie's first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Agatha later wrote numerous books about him and the last one was published in 1975 - Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. Some of Poirot's characteristics which have made him legendary the world over include his elaborately styled moustache, his thick accent, and a lofty opinion of himself. Poirot's powers lay in what he calls his "little grey cells" and also the psychological analysis of suspects, sometimes working with one tiny clue, to solve the most befuddling crimes. To the embarrassment of his higher-up, Inspector Japp, Poirot is always thinking circles around his peers, solving the Inspector's cases for him.

One of the all-time greatest sleuths happens to be a kid named Leroy Brown - aka, Encyclopedia Brown. This kid has been solving mysteries in his Idaville neighborhood for about 40 years. For only .25¢ a day, he cracks cases wide open, aided by his best friend, Sally, who is the Brawn to his Brain. The first Encyclopedia Brown book was written in 1963 by Donald J. Sobol who managed to keep the mysteries original and enriched with inventive plots and subtle clues. Each chapter is a short mystery with the solution in the back of the book. With a memory like a steel trap, this young boy could deduce the villain's identity with the tiniest of clues. Knowing facts such as a dog's color blindness also came in handy a few times.

Try a little case cracking yourself with USA Networks' See and Solve mysteries. But be sure to bring your own anti-bacterial wipes!