Soon after, Alejandro Nissen, one of the attorney general's most dogged investigators, was suspended without pay.

A less dogged investigator would have given it up and gone for a swim.

Because the Starr investigation, which started out as a comedy (with a cast of characters that includes a dogged investigator, a maligned wife, a star-struck ingenue) is turning into a national tragedy.

There were tireless letter writers, dogged investigators and steadfast lawyers who counted fellowship and moral conviction as their rewards.

For Mr. Damore, who had a reputation as a dogged, thorough investigator, obtaining the interviews was easier than having the book published.

But Senator Reid said it should not be that difficult to find a dogged investigator with the proper expertise without carrying the baggage Mr. Kissinger did.

Ms. Sereny began to work as a journalist and gained a reputation as a dogged investigator who would not stop until she wrestled her subject into submission.

He was known as a dogged investigator and interrogator.

Robert T. Johnson, the Bronx District Attorney, called Mr. Stancik a "dogged investigator," but said he "sometimes jumps the gun and goes to press" with reports before a district attorney has had a chance to review them.

(At times a dogged investigator of her lost past, the author tells us she tracked down income tax returns from the 1950's to confirm that her father consulted Christian Science practitioners about her infant illnesses.)