The characters in 'Harry Lavender' are in many ways typical of those found in most detective yarns.The central character is the Private Investigator who is the focus of the novel's action. There is a victim (or victims) who is usually an innocent bystander and there is a host of villains ranging from petty crims to multinational meglomaniacs.

STOCK DETECTIVE THRILLER CHARACTERS

The PI character (also called private detective, private eye, gumshoe, private dick, sleuth, shamus).

In defining the class detective, the famous crime writer Raymond Chandler had this to say:

"...down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid...He is the hero, he is everything...He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world".

There are some of the conventions of the detective hero:

• Male, single/divorced, independent, tough, worldly-wise.
• Has contacts in the criminal underclass (thieves, drug addicts, prostitutes, street people.
• Also knows useful professionals (doctors, lawyers, politicians, journalists)
• Works just outside the law in his/her investigations.
• May be an ex-cop or have a questionable past.
• Drinks hard liquor to ease his stress and is either a smoker or ex-smoker.
• Is an 'anti-hero' in many respects. 
• Has some strange characteristics, like owning an old car or wearing shabby clothes.

The crime boss -

a faceless 'Mr Big'. Wealthy, influential. May have the 'front' of being an honest businessperson.

Corrupt Officials -

politicians, police, lawyers, doctors in a responsible position but with criminal involvements.

Innocent Victims -

ordinary citizens who are witnesses or unfortunate bystanders who are somehow caught up in the web of murderous schemes spun by the major criminals.

Thugs -

the 'heavies', bodyguards and hitmen of the crime boss who do the dirty work. They are tough, two-dimensional characters who may be killed in action.

Small-time criminals -

pimps, bartenders, drug pushers, tattooists, bikers, 'fences' and other underworld figures who provide useful contacts for the PI's investigation.

Police -

often there is a cop who is on the same case as the PI but who is trying to 'do it by the book'. The cop is frustrated by the involvement of the PI and seems to be always one step behind the PI's progress.

 

THE MAIN CHARACTERS

 

Claudia Valentine

In the portrayal of Claudia Valentine, Day challenges many of the conventional about the role of the PI listed above. The most obvious of these is having a woman as the detective hero. Day is not unique in this but she uses this gender-swapping to highlight many other aspects of gender stereotyping in the detective thriller.

Claudia has a relatively normal history: she has been a wife and mother but she has re-invented herself. This means she has decided to change her whole lifestyle from being a wife and mtoher, to being a single, independent, professional woman. She has left her old self behind to invent a new life. Claudia is occasionally sentimental about her decision to leave her past (p.27-28) but she is a realist and a committed professional. Her father, Guy, was a newspaper reporter who was writing articles exposing Harry Lavender's corruption. Claudia was five when her father slipped into alcoholism. When she is recalling her own childhood fears of having an intruder in her house, she immediately thinks of her children and call her ex-husband, Gary, to reassure herself of their safety. This concern shows she still has some maternal feelings, despite the tough exterior.

In order to do her job effectively, Claudia has to be heartless at times. Day highlights these moments as if to suggest Claudia is betraying the sensitivity of her gender. Claudia justifies her hard-heartedness by explaining that she is just 'doing a job. It gets a bit messy at times but then I deal with messy people' (p.151). When she hears from old George about Robbie Macmillan's murder, she feels her distress change into a 'cold hard lump where the heart used to be' (p.121). Similarly, when Claudia is fighting with Sally in the sauna, she is disgusted at her own violence and calls herself a 'Cold hard bitch, cold hard monster' (p.151).

In this scene also, Claudia describes herself as an 'Amazon. No breast, no heart' (p.160). The Amazons are a mythical tribe of warlike women who would cut off their right breasts so they could draw their bows and arrows more accurately in battle. Similarly, Claudia has severed her heart to help her 'do battle' with the corrupt forces in her city.

There is evidence, though, in Claudia's relationship with the adorable Steve Angell, that she still has a heart. The detective part of her nature suspects him at one stage because he is one of only a handful of people with the expertise to be able to adjust a pacemaker. Then her doubts are wiped out simply by the soothing sounds of his voice. This romanticism is not typical of a male detective hero.

Day makes her detective different from the typical male detective in that Claudia is aware of and sometimes disgusted at her own cruelty. (See p.160).

Claudia get involved in this dirty business for revenge. To get Lavender, 'for what he'd done to my father. For what he was doing to my city' (p.108).

A further aspect of the typical PI that Day overturns is the use of guns. Claudia uses her legs as her weapon.

Day suggests that women have skills other than brute strength or weapons to use in their work. People are 'less guarded, less wary' (p.31) with a woman, which is an obvious professional advantage. Day is realistic, though, about the practicality of relying only on womanly charm to open doors. When interviewing an unhelpful neighbour of Mark Bannister, for instance, Claudia's pleasant manner gets her nowhere (p.34).

A further difference between the typcial PI hero and Claudia is that she shows some of her weaknesses. Towards the end of the novel, when she is increasingly under pressure to find the manuscript and stay one step ahead of her enemy, Claudia mistrusts her friends and has moments of self-doubt.

In common with the stereotype PI, Claudia is a hard-drinking woman. On the first page of the novel Claudia has a hang-over and on p.11 she describes her need to have a 'hair of the dog' to cure her hangover, adding that her 'little dog was the long-haired type'. She lives above a pub and she owns an old Daimler car which is typical of the unusual PI lifestyle.

 

HARRY LAVENDER

Harry Lavender is the 'Mr Big' of the novel. He does not physically appear in the story but his criminal influence underpins all the major events of the novel. By not featuring him as a visible character in the novel, Day makes him resemble a sinister force rather than an actual person. Lavender plants have a stong, sickly-sweet smell, so Harry's surname could be symbolic because the stink of his criminal influence drifts across the entire city. Claudia says at one stage that 'everything stank of Lavender' (p.110) meaning that Lavender's influence was powerful and widespread. The first connection between the lavender plant and Harry is made early in the story when Claudia is sent a pot of lavender addressed TO MY VALENTINE. She thinks that it must be from her one night stand lover but, later, it becomes obvious that the plant is Harry's calling card, a symbolic message telling her that he is watching her movements. The fact that he is dying of cancer also becomes significant in a symbolic way because his own cancer parallels the way in which he is like a cancer in the 'body' of the city - a disease living off the healthy cells of ordinary people.

We have a representation of Harry's voice in the italicised chapters. These chapters are meant to be extracts from Mark Bannister's book. These extracts tell us about Lavender's childhood as a Polish refugee, a tough childhood in which he suffered the murder of his family by the Nazis and learned to be a survivor in spired by some of the Polish freedom fighters. His language is poetic, unlike the sort of language you would normally find in a detective thriller.

 

SALLY VILLOS

In the early parts of the novel, Sally is identified as Mark Bannister's girlfriend. We first see her in a drunken, highly emotional state as she comes to terms with Mark's death. When Claudia is investigating the doctors who operated on Mark for his pacemaker, she realises the coincidence that Dr Villos shares the same surname as Sally. She meets Sally again at the Villos' Harbod villa and Sally, nervously downing tequilas, seems very suspicious and edgy as Claudia interviews her. Later it is revealed that Sally has been following Claudia in her father's black porsche, which obviously increases Claudia's suspicion of Sally. From a wedding photograph that Sally doesn't look very much like either of her parents.

She is described as being spoilt, naughty child in her manner. Sally is also portrayed as a false character because she is described as wearing a 'mask' of make-up and behaving like an actor. Claudia distrusts her and wonders 'whether they were any undigested grains of truth in this load of horse shit' (p.108) Sally has told her. It is Sally who reveals to Claudia that the computer discs containing Mark's manuscript are missing.

 

STEVE ANGELL

Steve Angell provides the love interest in this novel. In some ways he is more like the sort of handsome hunk found in romance fiction than a character from the detective genre. He is a heart expert and this has a double meaning in the novel: he knows a lot about the medical workings of the heart but he also shows that he is an expert when it comes to romantic matters of the heart. His name has a comic-book quality to it, which suggests that he is a caricature of idealised male beauty. This is made obvious when Claudia say 'if angels had bodies they'd look like this' (p.78). There are many other references to his being an angel in his appearance and behaviour.

In the traditional detective thriller features a sexy female character with whom the male detective becomes romantically involved. She is usually a two-dimensional character for whom the detective plays the role of hero or rescuer. In the character of Steve Angell, Day plays with this idea by inverting the gender stereotype - the gorgeous female is replaced by the stunning male. He is described in sexual terms from the moment Claudia lays eyes on him (p.25).

He is an 'angel' by name and in looks; but is he a devil in disguise?

He reveals gradually that is 'wings were tarnished' (p.80) by his involvement in an illegal phone-tapping operation for an environementalist cause. Much later, in a moment of doubt, Claudia wonders if Steve has changed from an angel into a 'Lucifer' (p.113). Because he possesses the technical know-how needed to tamper with a pacemaker, he may have been involved in the crime.

The novel ends on a 'happy ending' when Claudia arranges to spend a week with him in Queensland after this case is closed.

In a conventional thriller, the male detective hero often has a 'love 'em and leave 'em attitude to the beautiful woman in the story. Notice she maintains an equal share of control of the relationship when it comes to making plans and arrangements.

 

CAROL RAWLINS

Carol is a detective who works for the Police Department, unlike Claudia who is a self-employed private investigator. She and Claudia have known each other since they were studying at university. Carol has been more ambitious than Claudia and wants to be the first femal Police Commissioner. In most detective thrillers, there is a cop who is working on the same case as the PI. This cop plays the game by the book whereas the PI often breaks the rules a little and does things which are illegal, like breaking into an office to get information without a search warrant. In 'Harry Lavender', Carol is the straight cop character, but as a female, she has had to work harder than a man to make it to the top of this male-dominated profession (p.57). Carol is on Claudia's side but only cooperates with her as long as what Claudia does is legal. Carol lives with a woman called Noni who is a carpenter and this unconventional lifestyle is another example of Day's challenging of traditional stereotypes of men and women in the novel.

Carol, because she is a professional detective, carries out her investigations by the book. Before she makes arrests, she needs proof. Whereas Claudia bases her judgments  on her street-wise instincts. An example of this is when Claudia knows that Robbie has been killed by Johnny the Jumper, but Carol can't act on this information because she needs 'proof' (p.112). Similarly, Carol can only take Sally into custody because she possesses an illegal gun (p.161).

Carol despite their friendship, treats Claudia like any other suspect when she is interviewing her (p.126). She is restricted by 'the system'.

 

THE MINOR CHARACTERS

One of the characteristics of crime fiction is that the stories always present a struggle between forces of good and evil. In keeping with this aspect, the minor characters in 'Harry Lavender' fall largely into two categories: 'goodies' or 'baddies'. These characters are two-dimensional and simply serve a function in the plot. We do not get to know much about them.

In male detective fiction, the detective is often aided by an 'old boys network' of influential mates in political, legal or police positions as well as a number of street-people or petty criminals who owe him favours. In 'Harry Lavender', Day toys with this idea by having Marilyn call on the 'old girls network' (p.3) to find Claudia in the first place. This is an idea which Day extends later in the novel through Carol Rawlins who, as an old university friend, is also a thread of this network. Claudia uses the non-sexist term 'barperson' to describe the barman. These contribute to the deliberate highlighting of the issue of gender in crime fiction. Being 'politically correct'.

 

STOCK 'GOOD GUYS'

MARK BANNISTER

Bannister is the typical crime fiction victim who is caught up in the web of corruption. Mark was a pawn in Harry's game. Harry uses him to write his memoirs by providing him with a computer and keeping track of him thoroughly. In effect Lavender also provides Mark with another piece of technology in the pacemaker which was built by Lavender's Hartronics Company (p.137). Like a machine, Mark's live was 'turned off' when it had served its purpose. Mark was an occasional drug user and Sally injects his dead body with heroin to make it appear that he had an overdose.

Mark became greedy while writing this project and set the manuscript to a publisher in America. His death is suspicious and provides the trigger which sets the story in motion. He is a 'good' character in the sense that he was a victim of the crime boss, but he is 'bad' since it was his greed which led him to be sneaky.

 

BRIAN COLLIER

Collier is a newspaper writer who used to work with Claudia's father, Guy Valentine. He is first mentioned in the novel on p.15 in Lavender's description of his own funeral. His function in the novel is to give Claudia some background on Harry Lavender. As a reporter it is his job to keep well informed and he reveals to Claudia that one theory about the unrest in the criminal world is that certain identities are involved in 'takeover bids' (p.90). This means that the lesser criminals are trying to take over the powerful empire of Harry Lavender. Collier warns Claudia about Johnny the Jumper and warns her to mind her own business.

Brian Collier is an example of a functional character in the novel. He is a typical contact person who provides useful information to the PI in her investigations. Collier also serves another purpose. Because he was an old friend of Claudia's father, he provides an opportunity for Day to explore the fact that revenge is a strong motivation for Claudia.

In the final chapter, Brian returns to perform an important and very conventional job for a character in a detective story. He acts like a revision of the complicated aspects of the story.

OTTO

Otto is another of the contacts who enable Claudia to carry out her investigations effectively. As a computer expert he is invaluable to her in accessing the information in Mark's computer and decoding the passwords that Lavender lays out as clues for Claudia to follow. Otto also helps Claudia find the tracking gadget that is being used to follow her. It is implied in some of the sexual banter between him and Claudia that he is homosexual (p.34).

 

THE LEVACKS

Mr and Mrs Levack are fairly comical but very useful characters. They are neighbours who live opposite Mark Bannister's flat. Mrs Mavis Levack has been spying on Mark through binoculars and knows his routine behaviours. She is an eyewitness to his death at the computer. Mr Eddie Levack treats his wife's busybody behaviour as a joke. They are portrayed as the typical older married couple, arguing about each other's habits. To some extent, the Levacks are comical caricatures: Mavis with her hair in rollers and Eddie with his nose stuck in a newspaper.

Mrs Levack reveals that Mark had often been visited by a girl with 'hair like a lion's mane (p.37), referring of course to Sally. She describes Mark's death, saying that she saw him clutch his heart then slump down to the floor in front of the computer. She then saw Sally come into the room, rush to the bathroom then return to where Mark was lying. She also recounts the arrival of two men after Mark's death, a young man and an older one wearing driving gloves (presumably Ronny O'Toole).

The other important function that Mrs Levack performs is that she provides Claudia with the letter from Mark's American Publisher telling him that his story was unsuitable for publication. This is vital information as it reveals the whereabouts of the manuscript.

Mrs Levack is the simplest and most innocent of characters yet she provides the two most important pieces of evidence upon which the story hinges.

Mrs Levack's character is made more believable by showing she is a keen viewer of detective shows on television. She is watching 'Murder She Wrote' when Claudia first arrives to interview her. Later on delivery of the letter her husband says she 'thinks she's Angela Lansbury' (p.147) who is the star of the show. She acts like an amateur detective.

 

BERNIE

Like Otto, Bernie is part of the professional network of contacts that is essential to the work of the private investigator. Bernie is a public servant who presumably works for the Motor Registry Office. He helps Claudia trace the number plates of the BMW which has been tailing her (p.16). Bernie is not mentioned after the phone conversation, but we know he has provided the information for Claudia, but she reveals the BMW is registered in the name of Arthur O'Toole. This, of course, leads her to Arthur's son, Ronny.

 

STOCK 'BAD GUYS'

RONNY O'TOOLE ('JOHNNY THE JUMPER')

Ronny is the unseen face behind the wheel of the BMW which has been following Claudia in her investigations since Mark's funeral. He is an ex-boxer and a small-time criminal who is ambitious to become a big-time operator. Ronny is involved in drug-smuggling using game machines to hide packets of heroin. Claudia follows him and his henchmen to the container. When Claudia's presence is discovered, Ronny could have had her killed but instead makes a phone call to his boss who apparently wanted to keep her alive. Claudia discovers from Brian that Ronny is 'Johnny the Jumper' because of his cruel practice of jumping on his victim's legs. Harry describes Ronny as a drone (p.132) who simply had a job to fulfil but, when he tried to stray from this job, he was exterminated.

 

THE MAORI BOUNCER

This character is typical of the genre. He is the hired muscle who does the dirty work for the crime boss.

 

DR RAYMOND VILLOS

This doctor is a faceless character who performed Mark's second pacemaker operation. He is obviously corrupt because he schemed with Harry to implant the faulty pacemaker in Mark Bannister's heart. Mr and Mrs Villos provide a front of respectability for Sally to hide behind so that her true identity as Harry's daughter is kep secret.

 

OTHER FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERS

MARILYN EDWARDS

GUY VALENTINE

GEORGE IN THE PUB

DR MACKINTOSH

LUCY

MARGARET

TWO FEMALE COPS WITH CAROL RAWLINS

NANCY GROSZ THE US PUBLISHER

HIPPIE/DRUNK