Some characters add a lighter touch to a story. They’re not necessarily there as comic relief, and they may not say very witty things. But they can make for funny scenes, or at least scenes that resonate with readers (e.g., ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve met bores like that!’). That can add a little leaven to a plot and lighten up what might otherwise be a very sad story.

For example, Agatha Christie’s Cat Among the Pigeons begins as students are arriving for the summer term at the exclusive Meadowbank school for girls. Honoria Bulstrode, headmistress of the school, has well-developed skills for dealing with parents, but she can’t be everywhere at once. So, she relies on her business partner (and maths mistress) Miss Chadwick, to help her. Miss Chadwick is faced with a challenge when Lady Veronica Carlton-Sandways arrives. Her twin daughters are pupils at the school, and she claims to want to see them. But Lady Veronica is much the worse for drink and keeps talking about wanting to take her daughters home to be with her. Miss Chadwick skillfully deflects Lady Veronica and offers to show her around the new Sports Pavilion, and the situation is defused. It’s a lighter moment at a school that will soon be the site of a murder, a kidnapping, and more.

Ellery Queen’s The Origin of Evil takes place in Hollywoodland, where Queen has taken a small house to get some writing done. One day, he gets a visit from Laurel Hill, whose father Leander has recently died of a heart attack. Laurel is sure that this heart attack was brought on deliberately and wants Queen to investigate. At first, Queen refuses, but when Laurel tells him a few details, he’s intrigued. Shortly before his death, the victim had been receiving a series of macabre ‘presents’ that don’t seem to make much sense. But Laurel is sure that they were messages of some kind. Queen decides to try to find out if Leander Hill was murdered by working out what those messages might have meant. Since Hill’s business partner Roger Priam has also been receiving ‘presents,’ Queen interviews him and meets his family, including his stepson Crowe. Crowe lives in a treehouse on the Priam property, and wears as little as possible (nothing, when he can). He’s convinced that the world is about to be devastated by nuclear war, and he wants to be prepared. He’s an oddball character, and there are some funny scenes when he talks to Queen. And his character adds a layer to what could otherwise be a bleak family drama.

Robert Barnard’s Death of an Old Goat is the story of Professor Belville-Smith, a renowned Oxford scholar who’s doing a tour of Australia. One of his stops will be the University of Drummondale, in the small town of the same name. English Department Chair Bobby Wickham is doing his best to get things ready for this most auspicious visit, and it’s not going to be easy. Several of the department members are odd characters; each has quirks. In that sense, they all serve to lighten up what could have been a dark story of murder. There’s a funny scene in which everyone’s gathered for a ‘meet the scholar’ get-together. It’s a command performance, and everyone’s expected to gush over Belville-Smith. That’s not what happens, though, as the noted professor is both a snob and a pedant. The party isn’t the smash hit Wickham hoped it would be, and that night, Belville-Smith is murdered. It’s up to police officer Bert Royle, who’s never faced a murder case before, to find out who the killer is.

In Anthony Bidulka’s Flight of Aquavit, Saskatoon PI Russell Quant has been hired to find out who’s been blackmailing successful businessman Daniel Guest. Guest is a closeted gay man who’s had some secret relationships with other men, although he’s married. Someone – Guest suspects one of his lovers – is the blackmailer, and he wants Quant to find out who it is. One of the leads Quant follows takes him to a local theatre, where he wants to get some background on one of the actors. The receptionist is young, sulky, and not at all inclined to be helpful. And she certainly doesn’t warm to Quant. She isn’t a funny person herself, but her attitude helps to create a funny scene in which Quant has to use his powers of persuasion and his cleverness to get the information he needs.

And then there’s William Deverell’s Trial of Passion, the first in his series featuring retired lawyer Arthur Beauchamp. In the novel, Beauchamp is making a move from Vancouver to Garibaldi Island. His marriage is over and he’s looking forward to starting over. He’s barely arrived on the island when he meets local entrepreneur Bob ‘Stoney’ Stonewell. Stoney has all sorts of side businesses, including mechanic work, home repairs, and firewood. Stoney knows everyone and all the gossip, but he’s notoriously late and has a way of disappearing for long periods of time, just when Beauchamp could use his services. Beauchamp is accustomed to a much more formal way of doing things but that’s not how it works on Garibaldi Island. There’s a funny scene when Beauchamp first arrives at his new property. Beauchamp is with him, and as they look over the house and land, Stoney keeps mentioning things that need to be done, and offering to do them. It’s a witty way to introduce readers to the island, and Stoney’s character offers an interesting contrast to Beauchamp’s.

And that’s the thing about some characters. They’re not necessarily comic in the sense of farce or screwball comedy. But they can be quirky, and they can lighten up what might otherwise be a darker story. These are only a few examples. Your turn.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from the Eagles’ Take it Easy.