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Well, I always figured the climax of a Columbo was the point where he outs the bad guy because that's what the story works up to. The beginning where we see the murder is a mini-arc of it's own, with it's own climax. So, I see it as a sort of short story with a longer story that shifts POV character and has it's own structure.
As for my own work, the climax usually goes somewhere in the last 10%. I write epic length books, so wrap up can take a while, but it's never more than a chapter or two.
I read Jim Butcher blogging about writing, and his advice was to wrap up as soon as you could after the climax. And, though I very much enjoy his books, I think he ties things up almost too fast.
Meanwhile I've also read one modern author who had a novel with two main plot lines, one of which did wrap about half-way through, and I remember finding that unsatisfying. It felt rushed, and clearly, with 150 pages still to go, there was tons of room to spread it out a bit.
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