My Sleuths
The great advantage of writing both stories and novels is that one can be unfaithful to one’s loyal characters and return to them when fancy takes you, or better still, when a publisher or editor requests their appearance!
Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with quite a variety of detectives. Some are professional, some very much accidental, but all of them have a talent for being in the wrong place at exactly the right time. From Victorian chimney sweeps to modern-day café owners, each sleuth has brought their own way of seeing the world, and their own way of solving a puzzle.
I think of them less as inventions and more as companions who have kept me company while I’ve been writing. Here are a few of the characters who’ve stayed with me the longest, and who I hope will stay with you too.
Introducing My Loyal Team
Cara Shelley
British Stately Home Mysteries
"Cara was brooding with a mug of tea over the next step forward. Tea often produed answers, but today it wasn't obliging."
Peter and Georgia Marsh
Marsh & Daughter Mysteries
"Georgia Marsh closed the front door and peered into her father’s study. Good, he was up and she could hear the familiar squeak of his wheelchair. ‘Georgia!’ came the triumphant roar. Marsh and Daughter are in business again.’ "
Auguste Didier
Auguste Didier Mysteries
"The signs had been there – for those who had eyes to see. Then he smiled at himself. He, Auguste Didier, maître chef at a London club for gentlemen in Victorian London, was letting French emotions take precedence over his English commonsense."
Tom Wasp
The Tom Wasp Mysteries
"My name is Tom Wasp, master flue faker, at your service. Now you might wonder how it is I’m lettered, but that chimney’s long swept. I’m here today to tell you the story of poor Bessie Barton, foully done to death in Victorian London."
Jack Colby
Jack Colby Car Detective
"There had to be something weird going on. What sort of maniac leaves a classic Lagonda rotting in a barn in the middle of the Kent countryside? Jack.... Jack... The voice of the siren was summoning me."
Nell Drury
The Nell Drury Mysteries
"‘That’s enough,’ Nell commanded, suppressing a giggle of her own. ‘Luncheon! Turbot ready, please.’ The pace promptly quickened."
Some characters arrive politely. Others barge in, rearrange the story, and never quite leave. Those are the ones who become favourites.
I’ve met a lot of enjoyable characters in the many crime novels that I’ve written. There are those that are lodged in my mind with great affection and those who often pop up from time to time also asking for the role of favourite book. Quite why I love Tom Wasp and the Murdered Stunner so much I don’t know, but every time I think of him along trundles that chimney sweep with all his gear, looking up at me hopefully. Behind him trots his young apprentice Ned. There’s only one problem. His story was published quite few years ago, so Tom has to have a consolation prize.
Luckily there’s another candidate champing at the bit for being my favourite: Murder at Tanton Towers which is the first in my current series about the Towers. We don’t all live in stately homes like Tanton Towers, and so I am presenting the award to Cara Shelley who runs a coffee shop called the Happy Huffkin in its grounds for visitors together with her grumpy assistant Sammy. She gets into detective work by chance when one of the visitors is found murdered and it leads to an unexpected change in her life. I like Cara very much and am eager to find out what happens next both at Tanton and in her life. I’ll be letting you know.
