Chapter X: Your Sleuth's Allies

Note to readers: In the last newsletter, you read the conclusion of The Perfect Crime manuscript. I am now writing a few additional chapters to round out the book. This chapter capitalizes on themes developed in Chapter 3: Your Sleuth. It may be helpful to refer back to that chapter before reading.

You’ve put a lot of work into creating your Sleuth—but, in all likelihood, she won’t work alone. Most Sleuths in mystery novels gather friends who help them crack the case. They might lean on a single beloved sidekick, like Holmes’s Watson. Or they may have a diverse stable of allies. In Jim Butcher’s series, The Dresden Files, our hero has, by my count, more than twenty Allies. Some are primary characters, who show up in every book. Others are occasional characters, who pop up only in those books where their talents are needed.

So let’s take a moment to talk about what Allies do for your Sleuth. We’ll talk about why your book might benefit from one, and we’ll discuss how you can create them to pack the maximum punch.

Sleuthing Scenes

The first and most obvious thing Allies do is give your Sleuth someone to ride shotgun during sleuthing scenes. Sure, you can send your Sleuth off to sneak into the crime scene on her own—but often, it’s nice to send someone with her. Someone with whom she can engage in dialogue, joint projects, and even a bit of entertaining conflict. Imagine a stakeout scene with your Sleuth as the only character—and then imagine it with her wild child sister along for the ride. It’s easy to see how a second character adds a lot of dimension to scenes that might otherwise be a little straightforward and simple.

Council of War Scenes

Another very important thing Allies can do