Did you ever turn on the TV, click on a mystery series that you've been watching for years, and wonder as the minutes pass--Have I seen this episode? It looks familiar, of course, since you know the main characters as well as some of your relatives, but you can't remember who the murderer is. And so, you continue to watch until the sleuth or his/her sidekick says something that's not very important, but it's something you remember because it's so typical of that character. Yes! You've seen this episode but you still can't remember who the murderer is so you continue to watch it till the end. The characters live on in your memory, not the plot.
Many sleuths first appeared in books; movies and TV series followed. Some have become icons and have taken on a life of their own. Think of Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, and Miss Marple to name just a few. When Agatha Christie killed off Hercule Poirot, his obituary appeared in The New York Times. Even some villains have their fans. Arthur Conan Doyle was forced to bring back Professor Moriarty after he died fighting Sherlock at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.
What I find so interesting is that sleuths come in every age bracket with very different personalities and characteristics. Sherlock Holmes is brilliant, eccentric and a opium addict. Miss Jane Marple is "elderly" (probably only sixty-five, which isn't very old these days.) Nancy Drew is barely out of her teens as she rides around in her roadster solving mysteries with her best friend and boyfriend.
As the author of cozy mystery series, I know how important it is to create a sleuth that readers will grow to love. I had this in the back of my mind when I created Carrie Singleton, my thirty-year-old sleuth and protagonist in the Haunted Library series. Carrie has no life plan. She's been living in Clover Ridge with her great aunt and uncle for the past seven months and is ready to move on to a new town when she's offered the position of director of programs and events at the local library. Here she works diligently as she solves two murders and deals with the nasty behavior of the librarian who wanted Carrie's new job. Over the course of eight books, Carrie develops friendships, falls in love, and becomes an active member of her community. Readers are glad to see her triumph over self-doubt as she matures and finds her rightful place in her world.
Death on Dickens Island, the first book in my new Books on the Beach series will be released next week. My sleuth Delia Dickens, has returned to the island named after her ancestor, to live with her teenaged son in a Victorian house her grandmother has left her. With her mother, the family peacekeeper, currently taking some me-time living in Manhattan, Carrie's father expects Delia to stop her aunt and uncle, both leaders in the island's government, from squabbling over their differences. Delia must deal with her relationship with her son, the reappearance of her first love, and family demands as she solves mysteries. Delia has many adventures ahead of her as she eventually becomes the head of the family just as her grandmother predicted.
What characteristics do you regard as essential when creating a new sleuth? Who is your favorite literary sleuth?
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