Yes, detective novels are lousy -- if you're too lazy to search out the good ones! Mystery readers (and quite a few mystery writers) strike back at Ben Yagoda.
Robert Parker, Dennis Lehane, Lawrence Block, Michael Connelly -- I've read them all. Amid the logrolling and endless hype, one thing gets obscured: Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald did it first, and did it a lot better.