History Main / PhoneInDetective

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Shawn began his crime-solving career by reporting anonymous tips to the police through the phone based off observations he made watching news reports.

* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Daughters of Jerusalem", Father Brown is laid up with a broken leg. He solves a series of murders from his bedroom with Mrs [=McCarthy=], Lady Felecia and Sid doing his legwork for him.

* In ''Film/{{Copycat}}'', Dr. Helen Hudson is a respected field expert on serial killers who has become an agrophobic shut-in after being attacked by serial killer Daryll Lee Callum. When a new series of murders spread fear and panic across San Francisco, Inspector M.J. Monahan and her partner Reuben Goetz solicit Helen's expertise. Initially reluctant, Helen soon finds herself drawn into the warped perpetrator's game of wits.

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/{{Remote}}'' was about such a detective--he'd developed agoraphobia, so was assigned a young policewoman with a two-way radio who did the leg work.

* In the manga for ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', Police Chief Chase Clink [[RedBaron is known as the "Armchair Detective"]] after catching the man responsible for bombing the Giant Christmas Tree without even leaving his office.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/{{ROTOR}}''. 75% of Detective Coldyron's scenes involve him being on the phone with another character. Often, after he hangs up on one character, he goes ahead and ''dials another immediately''.

* Literature/SherlockHolmes
** Mycroft Holmes, though even more gifted than his brother in observation and deduction, "has no ambition and no energy. He will not even go out of his way to verify his own solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble of proving himself right."
** Also Sherlock's primary MO for the majority of his 'Consulting Detective' commissions: the reader generally only hears about the ones interesting enough for him to bestir himself, but many stories open with Holmes ranting about how the lack of decent crime has once again reduced him to pathetic challenges he can resolve from his armchair.

* Literature/EncyclopediaBrown sometimes, especially when solving cases for his father over dinner; Chief Brown relates everything he has on the case,[[note]]which might not have broken regulations back in the 1960s when the first books were published, but probably would today[[/note]] and Encyclopedia comes up with the solution before dessert. In a couple cases, Encyclopedia eats slowly to buy himself time to figure out the case.
* Literature/NeroWolfe who rarely left his brownstone, having Archie Goodwin act as his leg man and collect all the information he needed to solve the crime.
* Nero Wolfe had an {{Expy}} in the ''Literature/LordDarcy'' stories: Darcy's cousin the Marquis of London. As brilliant a mind as Darcy, but lazy (and cheap). So much so that he once had Darcy's assistant Master Sean arrested for murder so Darcy would be forced to solve the crime in order to prove his innocence. Darcy countered by proving that the most likely suspect was Lord Bontriomphe, the Marquis's personal assistant (the Goodwin expy).
* Parodied in ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' with a detective who never leaves his bathtub.
* The Argentine detective Don Isidro Parodi, created by Creator/JorgeLuisBorges and Adolfo Bioy Casares under the pen name H. Bustos Domecq, is a man unjustly imprisoned whom friends (and friends of friends) come visit at his cell with stories about mysteries and crimes, which he never fails to solve just by listening to their reports. Don Isidro [[MeaningfulName Parodi]] is a DeconstructiveParody of this (and many others mysteries) tropes combined with a juvenalian {{Satire}} of Argentinean society: All the ''"friends"'' who consult him are truly {{Jerkass}}es whom could not care less about Parodi's MiscarriageOfJustice [[GovernmentConspiracy being falsely accused and judged by]] a KangarooCourt [[FrameUp only to save a]] SleazyPolitician mook (TruthInTelevision in all UsefulNotes/LatinAmerica). It's implied that all the consultants have enough intellect to discover the crime for themselves, but they can't because they are {{Hypocrite}}s who don't want to face the truth about themselves. One of the consultants lampshades [[DefectiveDetective that an imprisoned man could not be the right person to solve crimes,]] [[HypocriticalHumor only to immediately explain Parodi his case]]. One third of the cases Parodi gets the consultants try to make him his DetectivePatsy, [[DudeWheresMyReward no one pays him]] or tries to [[ClearMyName Clear His Name]], and given his situation as everyone's ButtMonkey, the only triumphs he has is to be the DoomedMoralVictor and tries to make things ForHappiness.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov:
** Literature/BlackWidowers: "{{Literature/Northwestward}}", where the only information that the Black Widowers have is what Mr Wayne is able to convey about the mystery. This is quite enough for Henry to solve the problem. Other Black Widowers stories generally work in a similar manner, with Henry solving the mystery based on what the guest explains after dinner.
** ''Literature/AsimovsMysteries'': This {{anthology}} has all four stories featuring Wendell Urth, a detective so afraid of travelling that he worked almost entirely from home. The only other place he goes regularly is his university office, a nice short walk away. Officers have to get special permission to bring a suspect to Urth in "The Singing Bell".
* ''The Old Man in the Corner'' stories by the Baroness Orczy, creator of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel. A classic armchair detective, the Old Man relies mostly upon sensationalistic "penny dreadful" newspaper accounts, with the occasional courtroom visit. He narrates all this information, while tying complicated knots in a piece of string, to a female Journalist who frequents the same tea-shop (the ABC Teashop on the corner of Norfolk Street and the Strand). They enjoy an antagonistic relationship, as the Journalist attempts to cut the Old Man's ego down to size and the Old Man trumps her every time.

* Creator/AgathaChristie had ''Literature/TommyAndTuppence'' solve one case in the newspaper-reading style of the Old Man in the Corner in ''Literature/PartnersInCrime''.
* And to continue with Dame Agatha, Literature/MissMarple tends to remain in the background pottering around her little cottage or the village of St. Mary Mead while other characters do the bulk of the investigating work, and then pieces together the solution based on the details they bring to her.
* In ''Literature/TheRomanMysteries'', KidDetective Flavia solves several mysteries this way in some of the short stories, though in the regular novels she generally investigates mysteries on the scene.
* Penelope Peters in the short stories "Death Rides the Elevator" and "Murder in Monkeyland" by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg is a severe agoraphobic who not only can't leave her house, but can't be in a room with windows. Like Nero Wolfe, she has an assistant to act as her legman, unlike Archie Goodwin, his job is simplified by it being the turn of the millennium, so he can contact her with his cellphone while in the middle of an investigation.
* In "Mr Strang Accepts a Challenge" by Bill Brittain, Brittain's logic teacher detective solves a six-month-old crime without leaving the classroom, to demonstrate the practical uses of logic to his students.

* In Christopher Reid's sequel to Creator/TSEliot's ''Literature/OldPossumsBookOfPracticalCats'', ''Old Toffer's Book of Consequential Dogs'', Dobson the Dog Detective used to be an eager young police dog, but now spends most of the time seemingly dozing in his basket ... until he suddenly looks up and announces he's solved the case.

* Series/{{Monk}}:

* Series/{{House}}, the medical detective, once had to solve a case through the phone while at the airport. Another case was solved over a webcam since the patient was stuck in Antarctica. Even in normal circumstances, he often can't be bothered to talk to the patient, and phones in a diagnosis via his underlings.
* J.L. "Fatman" [=McCabe=] of ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'' would send investigator Jake Styles out to do his legwork for him. (He was played by Creator/WilliamConrad, who has also played Literature/NeroWolfe on TV.)
* Patrick Jane of ''Series/TheMentalist'' once spent most of an episode in prison and ''still'' solved the case. One memorable trick: knowing Rigsby was on his way to interview a suspect, Jane phoned the suspect using Rigsby's name and insulted him, provoking the suspect to attack Rigsby and get himself arrested... and put in the same prison as Jane, who could then talk to him in person.
* Arkady Balagan in ''Series/{{Endgame}}'' suffers from agoraphobia, and refuses to leave his hotel. So he has Sam, and various hotel staff members, do his legwork for him.
* Kazahaya Kyoko from the Japanese drama ''Series/KeishichouNasiGorengKa'' despises legwork and solves cases from crime scene recordings and news reports. Averted in her cameo on ''[[Series/MajisukaGakuen Cabasuka Gakuen]]''.
* Series/{{Sherlock}} Holmes, during "A Scandal in Belgravia", solved a case via webcam, which gave him a few quick glances at the crime scene. While wearing nothing but a bedsheet.

* An extreme case in ''Series/QuincyME'' where not only was our hero in a hospital bed but a coma. Done by his friends asking themselves [[WhatWouldXDo "what would Quincy do?"]], with some of their answers verging on telepathy.
* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': In "An Unhelpful Aid", DI Poole is able to solve a murder while lying delirious in his sickbed, being fed information by Dwayne and Fidel.
* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Daughters of Jerusalem", Father Brown is laid up with a broken leg. He solves a series of murders from his bedroom with Mrs [=McCarthy=], Lady Felecia and Sid doing his legwork for him.
* ''Series/LincolnRhymeHuntForTheBoneCollector'' is another adaptation of Jeffrey Deaver's quadriplegic detective.

%% Please see thread to discuss a replacement.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/LincolnRhymeHuntForTheBoneCollector https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lincolnrhyme03.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Even paraplegia can't keep him from solving crimes.]]

* Victorique from ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' isn't allowed to leave the Academy until later in the story, so she often solves crimes based on descriptions of the circumstances given to her by witnesses.

* ''Film/TheBoneCollector''. Quadriplegic forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) uses police officer Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) as his eyes and ears to catch a serial killer.

** In Kyouko's tie-in novel, ''LightNovel/DanganronpaKirigiri'', she hears about one such detective who has a reputation for this, and notes that he's fairly reckless. Yui Samidare, Kyouko's detective partner, chides her and says she should respect her superiors in the field.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The title character of the Series/{{ITV}} series ''Series/TheManInRoom17'' was a sociologist who consulted on difficult police cases and solved them without ever leaving his office.

[[folder: Visual Novels ]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* There are people out in the world who have gotten so experienced with fixing cars that they can diagnose mechanical issues based on the make/model, brief description of the symptoms, and a short video with sound.
** ''Radio/CarTalk'', for example.

[[caption-width-right:350:Not even being a paraplegic can keep him from solving crimes]]

Not to be confused with detectives who are "phoning it in", i.e. doing an incredibly lazy half-assed job.

* Series/{{Monk}} once solved a hit and run by reading a newspaper. Then he solved a murder in ''France'' that was reported in the same newspaper and phoned the French police department about his revelation.

--> '''Monk:''' ''(pointing from file to file)'' Definitely the mother-in-law. It's a no-brainer. The twin brother. The shoe-shine man. The bike messenger. The beekeeper, the long-lost aunt, and the podiatrist. You dropped a file. The nearsighted jogger. He couldn't possibly have seen the woman in the window. He wasn't wearing his glasses.

* Creator/AgathaChristie had ''Literature/TommyAndTuppence'' solve one case in the newspaper-reading style of the Old Man in the Corner in ''Partners in Crime''.

* Creator/AgathaChristie had Literature/TommyAndTuppence solve one case in the style of the Old Man in the Corner in ''Partners in Crime''.

** ''Literature/AsimovsMysteries'': This {{anthology}} has all four stories featuring Wendell Urth, a detective so afraid of travelling that he worked almost entirely from home.

* The Argentine detective Don Isidro Parodi, created by Creator/JorgeLuisBorges and Adolfo Bioy Casares under the pen name H. Bustos Domecq, is a man unjustly imprisoned whom friends (and friends of friends) come visit at his cell with stories about mysteries and crimes, which he never fails to solve just by listening to their reports.
** Don Isidro [[MeaningfulName Parodi]] is a DeconstructiveParody of this (and many others mysteries) tropes combined with a juvenalian {{Satire}} of Argentinean society: All the ''"friends"'' who consult him are truly {{Jerkass}}es whom could not care less about Parodi's MiscarriageOfJustice [[GovernmentConspiracy being falsely accused and judged by]] a KangarooCourt [[FrameUp only to save a]] SleazyPolitician mook (TruthInTelevision in all UsefulNotes/LatinAmerica). It's implied that all the consultants have enough intellect to discover the crime for themselves, but they can't because they are {{Hypocrite}}s who don't want to face the truth about themselves. One of the consultants lampshades [[DefectiveDetective that an imprisoned man could not be the right person to solve crimes,]] [[HypocriticalHumor only to immediately explain Parodi his case]]. One third of the cases Parodi gets the consultants try to make him his DetectivePatsy, [[DudeWheresMyReward no one pays him]] or try to [[ClearMyName Clear His Name]], and given his situation as everyone's ButtMonkey, the only triumphs he has is to be the DoomedMoralVictor and tries to make things ForHappiness.

** And Nero Wolfe had an {{Expy}} in the ''Literature/LordDarcy'' stories: Darcy's cousin the Marquis of London. As brilliant a mind as Darcy, but lazy (and cheap). So much so that he once had Darcy's assistant Master Sean arrested for murder so Darcy would be forced to solve the crime in order to prove his innocence.
*** Darcy countered by proving that the most likely suspect was Lord Bontriomphe, the Marquis's personal assistant (the Goodwin expy).
** Parodied in ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' with a detective who never leaves his bathtub.

* Literature/EncyclopediaBrown sometimes, especially when solving cases for his father over dinner.

*** And remember that Holmes could still manage a lot of those cases in his career, [[DirectLineToTheAuthor but given Watson is the guy who publishes Holmes's cases]], [[FridgeBrilliance it only makes sense that he publishes the most interesting cases (when Holmes does something) rather than those that could be solved by phone, or telegraph or consult or whatever]].

** In ''Literature/MrMonkGoesTOTheFirehouse:'' Monk solves almost a dozen open cases just by glancing at the files on Disher's desk.

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'': By using his voice changer, Conan has had "Shinichi" (i.e. himself) solve cases over long distances; his father has also solved cases by reading/watching the news, and when his mother repeated his deductions on TV (without divulging where she got the information), she was the one given credit when the cases eventually broke the way she "predicted".

* ''Literature/LesterLeith'' reads the newspapers, looking for clues about high-profile crimes that he can solve in order to steal the loot. In "Cold Clews," Leith mocks how the police can't solve the crimes with the same facts that he has. His valet (an undercover cop) argues that Leith can pick and choose which cases he takes while the police have to take everything that comes their way without delay and handle loads of cases at once. Leith reluctantly concedes the point, only to be given a chance to solve a case that he hasn't read about in the papers, and successfully does so.

* J.L. "Fatman" [=McCabe=] of ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'' would send investigator Jake Styles out to do his legwork for him.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': In-universe, the [[LongRunner long-running]] Othlin TV series ''Murderfinder and Meat Puppet'', whose essential gimmick involves a brilliant detective with a dangerously compromised immune system who serves as a Phone-In Detective to a low-level cop on the street -- although she gives him so much direction she might as well be called MissionControl.