The Crime Fiction Dossier has a great post on the topic of Favourite - or Least Favourite PI Novel cliches - go here for the content: http://www.crimefictionblog.com/2008/02/favorite-or-lea.html
For example -
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*The psycho sidekick who does the dirty work so that the hero can keep his hands clean.
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The detective who’s a gourmet cook.
- The detective who drives a flashy car. (Would you really try to tail someone in a Ferrari or Shelby Cobra?)
- The detective as social worker — not only does he solve your case, he heals your soul.
- The detective who’s a gimmick instead of a character: he loves Bugs Bunny, he’s got OCD, he’s a leper, he’s a left-handed transsexual, he thinks he’s from Mars, etc.
- the alcoholic
- the jazz player
And I would add the:
* ex-cop/government agent/ detective looking after some loved one who will no doubt be targetted by the ‘bad guys’ within the first 3 chapter = Inciting Incident.
The Comments here are ace.
pic of Marty Feldman from Corbis
