It is sometimes difficult to find a detective novel worth reading, especially amidst all of the grocery store trash that many people seem to thrive on and consider "great literature". However, two contemporary authors are rising to meet just that challenge. Elizabeth George and Patricia Cornwell do not use cheap tactics to win readers over. They take classic detective fiction approaches to make their novels interesting and worth reading. By using creative techniques as well as contemporary approaches to investigation, both authors are able to create and redefine detective fiction for the new age of readers.

One of the most classic themes of detective fiction is that of the detective and a "sidekick". This has become an age-old tradition, dating back to Edgar Allan Poe and more famously, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Both Patricia Cornwell and Elizabeth George make good use of this theme in their novels Postmortem and A Great Deliverance, respectively. Cornwell and George address contemporary societal conflicts as well as the problem of keeping a balance of normalcy and reality within the detective fiction novel

Cornwell chooses a much different and less peaceful path that brings Scarpetta and Marino together. It is only Marino's deduction skills and intuition that saves the life of Kay. Without Marino watching her house that Friday night, Scarpetta would have succumbed to the death and inhumane torture that she had only imagined when examining the bodies of the past victims. This incident shows just how effective Marino is as a detective, and how necessary he truly is to Scarpetta. Although Scarpetta very grudgingly admits that it is only by Marino's hands that she is still alive, it draws the two together in an initial bond that slowly develops to a close friendship over the course of Cornwell's series of novels.

"Marino was the stuff of tough-guy flicks-a crude, crass gumshoe who probably had a foul mouthed parrot for a pet and a coffee table littered with Hustler magazines" (9). This image of Marino is not the typical idea of what a sidekick resembles. He is grouchy, set in his ways, and determined that he is right no matter what happens. Marino is very clear in sharing that he does not like working under Kay Scarpetta, because he does not like having a female as a superior. However, Marino grudgingly admires Scarpetta's immense knowledge, particularly in the medical field. Cornwell specifically designs Marino to question everything Scarpetta does, and vice versa, in order for the ideas of both characters to be carefully scrutinized to show their validity.

Marino and Havers tend to come from similar worlds, even though they live in two completely different countries. The social backgrounds of these characters often play a large role in predicting how they will react to particular situations. Because of her poorer background, Havers is extremely quick to defend herself and her skills, and has a hard time realizing that Lynley did not earn his position purely because of his social status. "Lynley felt the entire force of her hatred wash over him as her eyes met his and her lips curled in contempt. It was like being struck by an illness for which there was no cure" (91). Havers has many faults, but these primarily stem from her social upbringing which causes her to be embarrassed of her social status and therefore jealous of what she perceives Lynley to be. These emotions and ideas do not take away from the novel, however, but instead add to it by contributing a sense of reality.

Marino has many of the same societal issues with Scarpetta, as well any member of the white-collar class. He has not managed to climb through the ranks as Scarpetta has, and he often feels that he must constantly battle for respect of his ideas and contributions to the case. " 'He [Matt Peterson] can't be the guy, right? And

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Approximate Word count = 1848
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)