O'Connell sets up a kind of Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin
partnership
between Mallory and Charles Butler, but that doesn't work
when they are
both geniuses and neither is particularly street-smart (and
Mallory
should be far more street-smart for all of the times we are
reminded she
grew up there). Therefore, the book must contrive to make
sure that
neither of these two geniuses are privy to all of the facts
or, being
geniuses, how could they not solve the case. As much effort
is expended
in coming up with reasons why the two should withhold
evidence from each
other as is spent on the actual story.
Another problem with "genius" detectives is the reliance on
arcane
problems. The puzzle must be worthy of the detective's
intellect, plus
the detective must solve it before the reader. When a reader
figures it
out before the detective, it doesn't make the reader feel
smart, it
makes the detective seem dumb--if s/he is a genius, why
didn't s/he
figure it out before I did? In addition, genius detectives
need genius
foes to make it challenging. I guess I'm trying to say I've
read
several too many serial killer novels and am bored with them
unless they
offer something a bit different (like Raymond in Dora Suarez
or Kerr in
Philosophical Investigation, respectively).
My final problem with "genius" detectives is that they fit
well into my
idea of hardboiled. They are another element of an elite. One
of the
things I like about much hardboiled is the ordinariness of
the
protagonist, and how they are as much about the struggle to
keep on
keeping on as they are about solving the crime. It is the
character
that pushes the story, not the puzzle. Much of the appeal to
me is in
the struggle to retain independence against increasing odds.
It is no
big deal when someone of independent means, like Sandford's
hero (I know
he is wel-liked on this list, but I never got past the first
Prey book
for exactly these reasons), tells everyone where to go. It
is, however,
a big deal when a struggling detective risks the next
paycheck or the
client.
So I probably won't be reading any more or Carol O'Connell's
books.
Mark
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