DETECTIVES AND THEIR SIDEKICKS:FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Holmes and Watson, Poirot and Hastings, Wolfe and Goodwin, Morse and Lewis, Lynley and Havers–these are some well-known detectives and their sidekicks in crime fiction. In contemporary times, Inspector Darko Dawson of Ghana’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has Philip Chikata. From my point of view, here are five tips for creating a believable detective and his/her sidekick.

The sidekick should never be more interesting or complex than the main detective. Remember Holmes’s bouts of depression, drug use and irascibility? Or Wolfe’s devotion to gourmet food and his episodic listlessness to the extent of being useless? The sidekick tends to be steadier in mood and temperament.
The main detective is ultimately cleverer than the sidekick, even if the sidekick comes up with something brilliant along the way. Sometimes the sidekick unwittingly gives the solution, but it takes the protagonist to recognize it.
The sidekick is a good sounding board, someone ideal for the protagonist to bounce off his ideas.
Rifts between detective and sidekick can occur, but keep them short. On the other hand, physical separation between the two that makes them wish they were together is great for tension.
Holmes sometimes deprecated Watson, which I suppose is okay for the great Sherlock, but there aren’t too many who can get away with that. Personally, I think it’s okay for the main detective to take his sidekick to task for an omission (especially in a police procedural), but humiliating his partner is unattractive. If that does happen, the protagonist owes his/her assistant an apology.

A bonus tip: a class clash between protagonist and sidekick is always interesting, as in Inspector Lynley’s relationship with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers.