| 100% | VIWARSHAWSKI | 12 | Fictional private investigator featured in 19 novels, including 28-Across, by 40-Across (3 wds.) |
| 61% | EASYRAWLINS | 11 | Fictional war veteran and private investigator featured in 14 novels by 29-Across (2 wds.) |
| 49% | THOMASLYNLEY | 12 | Fictional Scotland Yard inspector featured in 20 novels by Elizabeth George, including 16-Across and 49-Across (2 wds.) |
| 42% | KILGORETROUT | 12 | Fictional novelist who appears in several novels by 41-Across, including "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Breakfast of Champions" (2 wds.) |
| 42% | GLASSHOUSES | 11 | Most recent novel in the mystery series by 40-Across featuring 30-Across (2 wds.) |
| 42% | GABRIELALLON | 12 | Israeli intelligence officer featured in 18 novels by Daniel Silva, including 18-Across and 30-Across (2 wds.) |
| 41% | ODDSAGAINST | 11 | First novel by 36-Across featuring private investigator and former jockey Sid Halley (2 wds.) |
| 39% | PETERDECKER | 11 | Fictional LAPD lieutenant created by 30-Across who meets his wife, 40-Across, in the novel "The Ritual Bath" (2 wds.) |
| 38% | WALTLONGMIRE | 12 | Sheriff of the fictional county of Absaroka, Wyoming, who is featured in 20 books by 40-Across and a 2012-2017 television series (2 wds.) |
| 37% | CORKOCONNOR | 11 | Former small-town sheriff featured in a series of novels by William Kent Krueger, including "Iron Lake," 18-Across, and 29-Across (2 wds.) |
| 37% | THESILKWORM | 11 | 2014 novel by J.K. Rowling (as Robert Galbraith) featuring private investigator Cormoran Strike (2 wds.) |
| 37% | SHELLGAME | 9 | 2018 novel by 40-Across featuring 18-Across (2 wds.) |
| 36% | VINCENTVANGOGH | 14 | Painter played by 46-Across in 19-Across: 3 wds. |
| 35% | SULFURSPRINGS | 13 | Mystery novel by William Kent Krueger featuring 40-Across (2 wds.) |
| 35% | COPPERRIVER | 11 | Mystery novel by William Kent Krueger featuring 40-Across (2 wds.) |
| 35% | BALTIMOREBLUES | 14 | First novel by 44-Across to feature 19-Across (2 wds.) |
| 35% | COTTONMALONE | 12 | Fictional bookseller and former spy who appears in 20 Steve Berry novels, including 18-Across and 32-Across (2 wds.) |
| 34% | MARYBETHKEANE | 13 | Best-selling author of four novels, including 17-Across and 40-Across (3 wds.) |
| 34% | MIKEHAMMER | 10 | Private investigator created by Mickey Spillane played by 43-Across in the 1980s and 1990s (2 wds.) |
| 34% | DARKOFTHEMOON | 13 | First book in a series of novels by John Sandford featuring 46-Across (4 wds.) |
| 34% | THEJURYMASTER | 13 | First novel by Robert Dugoni to feature fictional lawyer David Sloane (3 wds.) |
| 34% | THESTRANGER | 11 | 2015 novel by 40-Across featuring a mysterious man who manipulates people by revealing personal secrets (2 wds.) |
| 33% | DEPTHOFWINTER | 13 | 2018 bestseller by 40-Across featuring 18-Across (3 wds.) |
| 33% | BILLMURRAY | 10 | Oscar-nominated actor who has appeared in nine movies directed by 40-Across, including "The French Dispatch" (2 wds.) |
| 33% | ADRIENBRODY | 11 | Oscar-winning actor who has appeared in four movies directed by 40-Across, including "The French Dispatch" (2 wds.) |
| 33% | MYRONBOLITAR | 12 | Fictional basketball player-turned-sports agent who solves mysteries in a series of novels by 35-Across (2 wds.) |
| 33% | ANANSIBOYS | 10 | 16-Across's 2005 novel featuring trickster Mr. Nancy, who's also in 28-Across: 2 wds. |
| 33% | DEATHONTHENILE | 14 | Novel by 19-Across set in Egypt adapted into a 2022 film starring and directed by 33-Across (4 wds.) |
| 33% | OWENWILSON | 10 | Oscar-nominated screenwriter/actor who has appeared in eight movies directed by 40-Across, including "The French Dispatch" (2 wds.) |
| 33% | AANDE | 5 | Original network for the series based on the 18-Across novels by 40-Across (3 wds.) |