The “art detective” is out and the “plod” is in…
Mystery and thriller authors sometimes kill off main characters. I did that in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco” series (the Mossad agent in Angels Need Not Apply), but I couldn’t do it with Castilblanco and Chen (both have appeared in the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective” series as well, most notably in Defanging the Red Dragon).
Main characters can also be villains, of course, and my arch-villain, Vladimir Kalinin, appears in many of my novels, most recently enjoying roles in the latest “Esther Brookstone” novels. I eventually killed him, though—you might have to read some more of my novels to find out how, when, and where!
But protagonists are special, aren’t they? Readers are often fond of minor, one-book characters even. (A reviewer lamented the demise of that Mossad agent, and an editor lamented the loss of the Turkish detective in Son of Thunder, an “Esther Brookstone” novel.) I prefer to “retire” characters, especially principal ones. Chen and Castilblanco’s retirements aren’t explicit; Esther and Bastiann’s is more so. The latter were getting up in years and were old to begin with (cameos in the “Chen and Castilblanco” series and their first solo novel, Rembrandt’s Angel), so they deserved their graceful and peaceful retirement after fighting crime through nine novels. That suggests the question: Who do I hand these marvelous crime-fighting duos’ torches to?
Castilblanco has his adopted kids, Cecilia and Pedro; you’ve possibly met them. Ceci is a CSI and Pedro is an NYPD detective. Esther and Bastiann have no children, though, so I had to consider alternatives. I rather liked the Scottish plods in Celtic Chronicles, Esther and Bastiann’s last adventure chronicled by her old boss, George Langston. The Irish inspector in Intolerance caught my eye too. But Steve Morgan won. He was an important character in The Klimt Connection. He has a military background like Castilblanco and left his hectic life in Scotland Yard to transfer to Bristol PD. Only that became a bit hectic too! In compensation, he finds romance in the Bristol suburbs, a pairing almost as unusual as Esther and Bastiann’s.
So the “art detective” is out—long live Esther Brookstone! And the “plod” is in—welcome Detective Inspector Steve Morgan.
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Legacy of Evil. This first “Inspector Steve Morgan” novel, both a British-style mystery and a suspenseful spy thriller, is hot off the press (meaning Draft2Digital). Former Scotland Yard Inspector Steve Morgan receives his first murder case after a transfer to Bristol PD and a stressful secondment to MI5. An old man’s murder is soon followed by three related ones. Their investigations lead the DI and his team to probe the operations of a national crime syndicate as well as uncover a Russian oligarch’s plans to destabilize the UK. Eventually, both MI5 and NCA become involved. (Esther Brookstone doesn’t go away completely. She has a cameo here.) This book is available wherever quality ebooks are sold (just not on Amazon).
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
