How important is the corpse in detective fiction?

I just read a quote from mystery writer Ross MacDonald who said, “The detective isn’t your main character, and neither is your villain. The main character is the corpse. The detective’s job is to seek justice for the corpse. It’s the corpse’s story, first and foremost.”

Makes you think, this quote. But and I say but, the corpse is certainly the source of the drive to find justice for an injustice. After all killing anyone is the greatest evil we envision, but if left to the corpse, nothing wo...