Inspector Rebus and His Flawed Friends - Do We Want A Perfect Detective?

Inspector Rebus, like so many other fictional detectives has traits that would, in the real world, have derailed his career and probably killed him.  

However, like those other detectives, these traits form part of why the characters are so popular. Readers can relate to characters who have problems, they feel more like one of them. Not a single one of us is perfect. 

I'll list a few here for you. 

Rebus is an alcoholic.

Sherlock Holmes uses cocaine. 

Morse is a snob.

Frost has authority issues. 

Nero Wolfe has an ego the size of a planet. 

Even Tom Barnaby, the most "normal" detective of them all, has a hang up or two. 

However, the trick for the writer is to explore these flaws but not to make them too central or they risk getting in the way of the plot. Also, the author shouldn't rely on them too much to carry the character all of the time. A reader will soon get bored if there's no character development. 

There's another potential trap for an author. What if they develop a character too much? What if they strip them of their essence? 

Personally, I think that this is exactly what happened to Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin when Robert Goldsborough started to write them after Rex Stout's death. 

How do you prefer you're fictional detectives? Let me know. 





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