Ingenuity in Mysteries

I just finished a very well written mystery that left me depressed. No, not envy this time.

It strikes me that the combination of ingenuity and gore- so popular at the moment- is particularly soulless without a great character as detective. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple bailed out Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes plus Watson rescued Arthur Conan Doyle, and even P.D. James would have seemed shallow without Adam Dalgeish. 

A great character adds a touch of humanity and realism to intricate and peculiar deaths and imaginative criminal MO’s. Without a great detective, in the sense of a great character, the reader is left with the unpleasant aftertaste of bizarre violence.