Kate Fansler is an amateur detective in the British tradition of Sherlock Holmes and Lord Peter Wimsey, rather than the "hard-boiled" American tradition of Sam Spade. In fact, when talking to Captain Stern, a New York police detective, in the first chapter of In the Last Analysis, Kate thinks "longingly" of Lord Peter Wimsey, who, unlike Captain Stern, would have been able to discuss the British novel with her. This preference for the British model is consistent with the fact that Kate teaches English literature, as does the author of the novel.