E. Skinner Norris, usually referred to as Skinny, is the arch-enemy of the Three Investigators.
Appearance[]
Skinny is roughly 19 years old in the Crimebusters series.
Personality[]
Skinny Norris is a rather crude young man who hinders the Three Investigators work out of spite. He holds a grudge against them and doesn't want to see them succeed at all costs. But although he invests a lot of time and energy into tailing the investigators and interfering with their business, he is very lazy and unmotivated when it comes to doing anything else.
While he is simply rude and an annoyance to the investigators at first, he later doesn't shy away from getting involved in criminal activities and puts the investigator's lives at risk on various occasions.
Biography[]
In The Secret of Terror Castle, Bob Andrews accidentally leaves behind one of the Three Investigators' business cards with the words "Terror Castle" written on the back after doing some research at the library. Skinny finds it and immediately drives to Terror Castle to hinder their investigations.
When the investigators are trying to gather all of the parrots to solve the mystery in The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot, Skinny helps Victor Hugenay find them before the detectives can and even acquires one of them himself to further hinder their quest. In general, Skinny always goes to great lengths to interfere with the sleuth's work. He once even attempts to run the trio over with his car to keep them from finding Marcus Towne's treasure before him. In the same novel, he also sets them adrift on an old houseboat that ends up going over a dam, which would've killed them if Peter Crenshaw hadn't saved their lives.[1]
In another case, he traps the Three Investigators in a room so he can steal Diego Alvaro's ranch and is sent to military school when his father finds out.[2]
Relationships[]
Jupiter Jones[]
Skinny dislikes Jupiter and often makes snide remarks about his weight and appearance. He also questions Jupiter's skills and believes that he is not as good at investigating as everyone seems to believe.
Peter Crenshaw[]
Skinny and Peter mutually dislike each other.
Bob Andrews[]
The relationship between Skinny and Bob is based on mutual hatred, even though their relationship is a little bit better than that of the other detectives to Skinny due to case 149 where, despite Bob's memory loss, Skinny calls him his friend quote "Hey! You're my friend , Stan. Have you forgotten? But don't get the idea that I always save you" which only happens in this case even if "Stan Silver" gets mentiont in "Der Blutrote Korridor" on Page 25
- Driving: Due to legally being a resident of another state where the age restriction is lower, he already possesses a driver's license at the beginning of the series. He drives a sports car.[3]
Trivia[]
- It is unknown what the "E." in his full name stands for but it is generally assumed that readers are supposed to associate it with the word "extremely", making him "Extremely Skinny".
- His favorite Song is "Middle of the Night"