Detective fiction, in its modern form, was invented by Edgar Allan Poe. His detective C. Augustine Dupin first appeared in the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” which was published in 1841. Dupin is the model for future detectives, and Poe’s gothic aesthetic deeply influences the noir aesthetic of later years. The next major innovator in the detective fiction genre was Arthur Conan Doyle with his character Sherlock Holmes. Holmes first appears in A Study in Scarlet, which was published in 1887, and has starred in many adaptations since then. The author who popularized detective fiction more than these authors, through her prolific works and their prolific adaptations, is Agatha Christie. Her detective Hercule Poirot first appeared in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, and adapted as part of the television show “Poirot” in 1990.

The Lady in the Lake is a part of the subgenre of hard-boiled detective fiction. This subgenre was first popularized by Dashiell Hammett. His detective, Sam Spade, most famously appeared in The Maltese Falcon, which was published in 1930 and made into a film in 1941.