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Monday, March 7, 2011

Best Literary Sidekicks

abebooks.com has a wonderful article (illustrated with terrific covers) on their blog. You'll want to read about all of the literary sidekicks, but for the purposes of Mystery Fanfare, here are a few from the mystery world. To read the entire article, go HERE. 


Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle
Watson is the very ordinary catalyst to Holmes' highly advanced deductive reasoning.


Brother Eadulf from the Sister Fidelma series by Peter Tremayne
Set in 7th century Ireland, Fidelma solves crimes in the company of her partner Brother Eadulf.


Archie Goodwin from the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout
Archie said: "I grab something before the other guy can get his paws on it and collect pieces of the puzzle."
 Nora Charles from The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
When her husband Nick is drawn back into detective work, Nora works splendidly as his right hand woman.

Detective Sergeant Robbie Lewis from the Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter
Although troubled by the erratic Morse, Lewis displays the loyalty and graft you'd expect from a companion.
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4 comments:

  1. Naomi JohnsonMarch 7, 2011 at 8:30 AM

    Glad to see Donald Lam made the list. He's my all-time favorite PI. BUT he's more main character than sidekick really.

    And they left off Willie Garvin, from the Modesty Blaise series. Willie would be my all-time favorite literary sidekick.

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  2. Joe BaroneMarch 7, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    I'm a fan of Archie's. Without his voice, there would be no Nero Wolfe. Nero Wolf is one of my all-time favorites.

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  3. GramMarch 8, 2011 at 4:00 AM

    Bunter from the Lord Peter Wimsey books by Dorothy L.

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  4. Susan C SheaMarch 8, 2011 at 10:27 PM

    I was glad to see Archie on the list. The LadyKillers crime writers' blog is tackling the same topic this week and I added my comment to Priscilla's blog this morning. Archie is the son Nero never had, and they (and Theodore and Fritz) are a family. Just thinking about the series makes me want to take out one of Rex Stout's many books and start reading again.

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