One of these rival detectives is the Superintendent who doesn’t work very hard but has great detective skills which help him easily solve the case. Maggie worked for hours on her case and still could not solely resolve the crime. The lead came unexpectedly from her girlfriend. But Maggie did show one good quality of a detective and that is as soon as soon as she has a lead to follow, she went onto solve the crime with determination. It was as if she was a dog chasing after a stick. I think that Maggie is a decent but flawed detective and has a very realistic and convincing character.
During ‘Superfluous Murder’, the crime is solved by a Superintendent who is not named and is in no way physically described. This story is different to the three other stories and for that matter, nearly every other crime story. This is because the reader knows who the criminal is before the detective does. The detective only comes into the story in the last six pages. This in my opinion makes the detective seem less realistic as he has no name, is not described and has only six pages to crack a complicated crime. This is not enough time to solve such a case. Though the credibility of the detective can be questioned, his skills are superb.
The super intendent is very observent, ”You’ll observe here” and he also assumes a lot, “I suggest”. This is in contrast to Maggie, Dawn and Fredrick who let small clues slip by unobserved. He is not a naive detective as he doesn’t accept John Mansbridge’s plan and assumes what he thinks happened, “I’m afraid I can’t swallow that story”. The way that the Superintendent solves the case is similar to someone telling a story step by step. It seems as if he makes up what happens as he goes along and surprisingly it is exactly what occurred. I would assume that the Superintendent has some scientific knowledge as he knows that the blow with golf club came after Felix was dead just by looking at the wound, ”It was delivered after the man was dead”. The super intendent can also tell that Felix had been repositioned by John by just looking a where the blow was delivered, ”Considering that the blow was delivered from behind and above”.
The Superintendent shows that he is a great detective by the way in which he unravels every little fact concerning the case so interestingly. I enjoyed reading the intendent retelling me what had just occurred. In my opinion, though he may be a good detective, he is a unrealistic one, because of the manner in which he resolves the crime. It makes the super intendent seem super human because he easily solves a complicated crime. He also seems to feel no strain, stress or tiredness, unlike Maggie, which makes him seem even less believable.
Looking at the factors above, altogether, I think that the super intendent is a great detective but has an unrealistic character.
Moving onto the third story, ’The Man with the Twisted Lip’ is about the strange disappearance of Neville St Clair. This case is solved by a detective known as Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is easily the most famous of all four detectives and is one of the best. Holmes convincingly solves the case and shows us the skills which have made him possibly the most famous story detective of all time.
One of the first things we find out upon meeting Sherlock Holmes is that he is a master of disguise. When Watson is walking in the opium bar, he sees what he thinks is an old man but to his surprise is Sherlock Holmes, “His form had filled and his wrinkles where gone..... and there sitting by the fire was Sherlock Holmes”. He also hunts down his criminals and enjoys danger, “ Had I been recognised in that den, my life would not have not been worth an hours purchase”. Fredrick Herring and Dawn on the other hand are less keen on danger and disguise as is shown by the title of their story, “The Reluctant Detective”. Like the Superintendent, Sherlock Holmes is portrayed to be super human. Again unlike Maggie, Holmes seems to feel no stress or strain and is not once said to be tired. These factors make him an unbelievable character.
Again, like the super intendent, Holmes has the great skills of a detective which are showcased as he solves the mystery. He can go a substantial amount of time without sleep (making him less realistic) and can also think to himself for a very long time. The fact he can do this on his own while he is a cocaine addict is ironic in my opinion. You would think that all the cocaine would take a toll on Sherlock Holme’s brain and therefore affect his mental ability not allowing him to think as effectively. As well as this, Sherlock Holmes is a hard worker and enjoys his job as “When he had an unresolved problem upon his mind would go for days, and even a week, without rest”. This makes him different from Maggie as she has no real love for her job and is only still a detective because she needs the money.
One similarity that I see between Holmes and Maggie is that when they have discovered a new lead they are revitalised, “he sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanised”, as for Maggie, “she seemed to have found fresh energy”. This would imply that new clues are motivation for both detectives.
Sherlock Holmes is also a very persuasive man as “It was difficult to refuse” him. Considering all the factors, I would summarise that Sherlock Holmes is quite an unrealistic character but is a great detective with skills second to none. This makes him similar to the detective in “Superfluous Murder” but not as realistic.
The final detective story is the “The Reluctant Detective” which actually contains a partnership of crime solvers. Mr Herring and his girlfriend Dawn decide to set up detective agency in their home town of Frome, just so that they can raise enough money to get a car. I think that this is unbelievable because nobody would set up a detective agency just so that they could get a car. The two detectives are very inexperienced, which is shown by the way that they do not know what to do and in what order everything should be done, “What are we supposed to do about that?” and “What do we do next?”. They are both poor detectives and whilst reading the story, I do not know how they managed to solve the case. I think that the story is unbelievable and detectives are unconvincing. The detectives are disorganised and are not prepared for the task ahead, as they have too borrow tools and equipment as the case progresses, “We may have to borrow another car”. They do not stand up to any of the three other detectives who are well organised.
All the information above has allowed me to come to the conclusion that three of the four detectives are convincing. The three detectives I found credible are, firstly, the detective from “A Wife in a Million”, Maggie Staniforth who solves the case in which people are mysteriously being poisoned. Secondly, The Superintendent from “Superfluous Murder” who solves the case involving John Mansbridge and his already dead cousin Felix. And finally the third credible detective is Sherlock Holmes who convincingly cracks the case he has been dealt and shows us the skills that made him so famous. On the other hand, the least convincing detective, or should I say detectives are Fredrick and Dawn who star in “The Reluctant Detective”. These two detectives are terrible in my opinion as they struggle to solve the case.
Out of the three convincing detectives, if I had to choose one, I would probably choose the super intendent in “Superfluous Murder” because he solves his case in an exciting fashion and it was enjoyable for me to read the detective unfold the case, bit by bit. None of these detectives are perfectly convincing but for me, the mysterious Superintendent is the most convincing as he is the cleverest and brightest detective and his character is at at least mildly convincing.
