In all detective fiction, the work proceeds from the characterization of the hero. Craine seems almost a parody of the traditional fictional detective: Whereas Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot forget nothing, Craine practices voluntary amnesia; whereas Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer has eagle eyes and subtle powers of observation, Craine is near-sighted; whereas Robert B. Parker's Spenser is physically fit, Craine is decrepit, out of shape, and recovering from an operation for colon cancer; whereas Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is a two-fisted drinker, Craine is an alcoholic who is surprised in one of the fragments to discover that he has gotten through half a day without a drink. Like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe (whom he in no other way resembles), Craine is an avid reader of esoteric texts. He buys a used Bible and a book on Sanskrit; he also steals one on clairvoyance. Unlike Wolfe, however...