Then there is the common error of making all the human characters sticks, or stock figures not so much

h because the novelist is not intelligent enough to describe real characters as because he really thinks real characterization wasted on an unreal type of literature. In other words, he does the one thing which is destructive in every department of existence he despises the work he is doing. But the method is fatal to his mechanical ob ect, even considered as a mechanical ob ect. !e cannot even be ade"uately thrilled by a whole secret society of assassins who have sworn to effect the death of a bore who is obviously better dead. #nd even in order that the novelist should kill people, it is first necessary that he should make them live. #s a matter of fact, we may very well add the general principle that the most intense interest of a good mystery story does not consist in incident at all. chesterton, errors The sensational story$teller does indeed create uninteresting characters, and then try to make them interesting by killing them. But the intellectual novelist yet more sadly wastes his talents, for he creates interesting characters, and then does not kill them. !hat I complain of in the advanced and analytical artist in fiction is that he describes some subtle character, full of modern moods and doubts% that he expends all his imagination on realising every fine shade of the sentiment and philosophy of the sceptic or the free lover. #nd then, when the hero in "uestion is at last alive and ready to be murdered, when he is in every detail of his character demanding and re"uiring, and, as it were, crying aloud to be murdered, the novelist does not murder him after all. This is a serious waste of a fine opportunity, and I hope in future to see the error rectified.
While creativity was the most frequently mentioned characteristic, content analysis shows that the skill style of detectives is the most effective thinking style. To be effective, detectives need to practice good empathic communication, open-minded curiosity, logical reasoning, creative thinking and dogged determination.

Characteristics of effective detectives: a content analysis for investigative thinking styles in policing
Journal Publisher ISSN Sub#ect International Journal of Innovation and Learning Inderscience Publishers 1471-8197 (Print 1741-8!89 ("nline $ntre%reneurshi%& Innovation and S'$s andLearning and (u)an *esources +evelo%)ent ,olu)e -& Nu)ber ./0!!8 .-1-..1 1!21-!4/IJIL20!!82!1914.

Issue Pages +"I

Sub#ect 3rou% "nline +ate

$ducation& 4no5ledge and Learning 6uesda7& Jul7 !1& 0!!8

Fictional detectives dont fundamentally change over the course of a story. They may hone a skill, become savvier, gain e perience, but their personalities remains intact. They may undergo an e perience that requires transformation, permitting them to overcome personal flaws or weaknesses. !onversely, such an e perience may weaken or challenge them, making them vulnerable in a new way. "ut what draws readers to appreciate fictional detectives and to care for them and their success in the course of the story, even over the course of a series, remains consistent. +etective fiction is metafiction where the narrative seeks the interaction of the reader, and the detective and her nemesis reveal themselves as author#creators. $etectives have a keen sense of narrative, how stories work, how plot unravels, how the criminals they deal with are writing the script they are in. %t goes beyond the concept of understanding human nature to understanding meaning. $etectives understand the criminal as an agent in a plot and with this understanding, the detective also writes a competing narrative. The device of the red herrings is an e ample of a false narrative. What are the conventional character traits of the fictional detective?

6he7 are usuall7 brilliant %eo%le& 5ith a %articular gift or strength& 8su%er %o5er9& or a)a:ing abilit7; eidetic )e)or7& e<traordinar7 deductive reasoning s=ills& the abilit7 to read )inds& or gifted 5ith languages2

6he7 have ac>uired e<%ertise in a %rofession or unusual s=ill that gives the character interesting de%th or aids the detective2 6he7 )a7 be a %oet& a code brea=er& a forensic accountant& a %s7chiatrist& a che)ist& a %h7sician& a )athe)atician& or for)er or current %olice detective2 6he7 )a7 be a firear)s e<%ert& %ossess arcane =no5ledge of the histor7 of boo=binding and %a%er& the histor7 of the ?ivil @ar& 17th ?entur7 Art& but 5hatever it is& the =no5ledge is co)%rehensive and has e<acting de%th2

In so)e 5a7s the detective is an outsider& )isunderstood& does not fit in& either b7 circu)stance or b7 endo5)ent2 So)e of our )ost )e)orable detectives have been so )arginali:ed the7 are loners2 Bet itCs this as%ect of the detective that not onl7 allo5s the reader to e)%athi:e and connect& it gives the detective an edge in solving cri)e2 'an7 ti)es the detective hides this as%ect of herself fro) others2 ItCs t7%icall7 onl7 the reader and confidants 5ho are a5are of it2

6he7 suffer fro) so)e sort of %h7sical& )ental or %s7chological challenge2 6hese challenges )a7 be te)%orar7 or %er)anent& li=e Ins%ector Alan 3rant in Jose%hine 6a7Cs Daughter of Time 5ho is te)%oraril7 laid u% as he solves the cri)e of *ichard III2 Bet other challenges are %er)anent2 P+ Ja)esC ins%ector +algliesh struggles 5ith the death of his 5ife and childD 'on= battles a s%ectru) of an<iet7& "?+& and a see)ingl7 endless list of %hobiasD (ol)es and (ouse fight addiction and generall7 donCt li=e %eo%leD Soo=ie Stac=house refers to her gift of tele%ath7 as a disabilit72

6he7 usuall7 have a tragic event or %s7chological trau)a lur=ing in their %ast2 6his is reall7 a

s%ecific e<a)%le of the %revious definition suffer fro) a tragic event in their %ast2

characteristic& but if the

detective isnCt suffering fro) a challenge& loo= for this2 Juvenile or%han detectives al5a7s b7 6he7 al5a7s have so)eone 5ho is the ballast that %la7s b7 the rules but 5ho) the reader doesnCt value Eor if the7 do& itCs for the benefit of the detective2 6here is al5a7s tension bet5een the detective and the ballast2 (ouse and ?utt7 is a good e<a)%le of this =ind of relationshi%2 6he ballast is not a ne)esis& but can turn into one2

6he detective figure has a %o5erful sense of #ustice& but that does not )ean the7 al5a7s %ossess a full7 develo%ed sense of e)%ath72 +etective 3oren fro) Law & Order: Criminal Intent is a detective 5ho has an interesting sense of e)%ath7 for the cri)inal as 5ell as the victi)2 (is %eculiar& and so)eti)es& cri%%ling e)%ath7 leads hi) to his cri)inal but also leads hi) to self-destruction2

6hereCs so)ething about the) that is idios7ncratic& eccentric Eso)e distinctive )anneris)s that )a=e the) interesting& unusual even2 6he7 donCt %la7 b7 the rules2 6here is a thin line bet5een allure and re%ulsion2 "ne the one hand the reader )a7 adore the)& but )eeting the) could ver7 5ell be a disaster2

6he7 often have a cri%%ling obsession2 6he7 are generall7 sic=ened b7 societ72 "ften& the7 have e<%erienced a fall fro) graceFso)ething ha%%ened to the)& such as losing an illustrious career2 6he7 are ulti)atel7 an enig)a2 6he7 do not li=e to receive hel% fro) others and thus trust ver7 fe5 %eo%le2 6he reader =no5s the detective best2 6he detective often has a rival 5ho %la7s b7 other rules& the official rules or the de%raved rules& and oftenti)es that rival beco)es %art of the cri)e/%roble)2 Gsuall7 the detectiveCs re%utation is on the line2 6he7 live in a li)inal situation& 5illing to ris= ever7thing2 Setting is i)%ortant to the detective stor7 as 5ell& the ti)e %eriod2 So)ething about the setting/ti)e %eriod is ill; cold 5ar& $d5ardian $ngland& %ost-9/11& %re#udice& tacit cover-u% of a cri)e& cons%irac7& and the detective often has to 5or= in a setting that is hostile to her efforts2 htt%;//a%rilbradle72net/0!11/!-/18/the-conventional-character-traits-of-the-

fictional-detective/
%n addition, a detective must possess other psychological characteristics such as inquisitiveness, suspicion, humbleness, self discipline, and perseverance. $etectives must not accept anything at face value, but question everything they hear and see.

htt%;//5552directessa7s2co)/vie5%a%er/1.1.72ht)l Although ?hesterton 5as an e<tre)el7 %rolific 5riter (%roducing )ore than 1!! boo=s and his detective fiction re%resents onl7 a s)all %art of that out%ut& his -1 Hather Iro5nstories& collected in five volu)es beginning 5ith The Innocence of Father Brown (1911 &are b7 far his )ost %o%ular 5or=s2 Hather Iro5n de%arts fro) the 8scientific9 a%%roachto detection cha)%ioned b7 (ol)es in that& not5ithstanding his a%%earance of innocenceand naivet7& his theological training and his dee% a5areness of hu)an de%ravit7 endo5hi) 5ith re)ar=able insights into the )indsFeven the soulsFof cri)inal sus%ects2 (isinvestigations are grounded on intuition and divine ins%iration )ore than on the logicalanal7sis of )aterial evidence2 Indeed& ?hestertonCs fiction leans to5ard ro)ance insteadof realis)& rel7ing on a sort of e<aggeration and surface si)%lification in order to focus)ore forcefull7 on the ideas underl7ing the stor72 Such fiction has the >ualit7 of )oralfable or %arable2 ?ritic Ian "usb7 sees as the greatest strength of the Hather Iro5nstories 8the 5a7 the7 e)bed the detective %u::le in a )eta%h7sical-cu)-theological fable5ithout )a=ing it an7 less satisf7ing as a %u::le29

Innovations in Mystery and Detective Fiction)ore

by *onald @al=er