Tuesday, March 17, 2009

10 Crime Fiction Characters I'd Love to Meet


About a month ago, C.T. Henry posed a question on his blog, The Mystery Bookshelf, that I've been thinking about ever since. He and I both enjoy vividly drawn characters in the books that we read. He wondered which characters have so enthralled us that we'd love to meet them.

As I've said, I've been pondering this question, and I think that I have my list of ten ready. The only problem with lists such as this is the fact that I'll want to change it less than sixty seconds after I post it.

Like C.T., I've limited myself to my favorite genre: crime fiction. Which characters do I love reading about so much that I would love to meet them? Here's my list (in no particular order):

  1. Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch. Harry Bosch has developed such a history over the years that I feel as if I know him, and his belief that "everyone counts or nobody counts" is one that I try to follow myself.
  2. Craig Johnson's Sheriff Walt Longmire-- a man with a marvelous sense of humor, and a sterling group of friends. Spending the evening with Walt and his friends in Absaroka County, Wyoming would be a treat.
  3. Another treat would be meeting Peter Bowen's cattle brand inspector, Gabriel Du Pre (as long as I didn't have to travel by car with him as the driver). It would be an evening of soft Metis patois, totally non-PC conversation, and the best fiddle-playing this side of the Mississippi.
  4. I would love to drive down Double Adobe Road outside of Bisbee, Arizona and meet J.A. Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady at her ranch. She'd be able to show me some sights in Bisbee that I hadn't seen before, and I'd like to sit at her kitchen table and talk the evening away with her and her husband, Butch.
  5. Although I might need an interpreter, there's no way I would want to miss meeting septuagenarian, Dr. Siri Paiboun, the national coroner of Laos in Colin Cotterill's excellent series. Meeting him and his two marvelous assistants, as well as getting to hear his humor and wisdom? Wow!
  6. I think Detective Sergeant Logan McRae of the Aberdeen Police and I would have many stories to share about various workplace farces and farcical co-workers. I wonder if he'd like to get out of the rain and gloom of Aberdeen and come visit me here in sunny Phoenix? I have the latest Stuart MacBride book featuring McRae on my TBR shelves, and it's very difficult keeping my hands off it!
  7. No favorite character meeting list would be complete without Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next. I would definitely like her to give me pointers on having a dodo as a pet and how to jump into the plot of any book of my choice.
  8. I also wouldn't mind meeting Fidelis Morgan's and Restoration London's funniest Countess, Ashby de la Zouche, especially if her maid, Alpiew, was along. Hopefully, the Countess wouldn't hit me up for a loan...or include something about me in her latest article for the local scandal sheet.
  9. Kathleen Taylor's sleuthy waitress, Torie Bauer, and I seem to be cut from the same small town-filled-with-characters cloth, and I think we'd have plenty to talk about.
  10. Passing up an opportunity to meet Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano on the isle of Sicily wouldn't be very wise, particularly since the inspector would be sure to book us at a local restaurant for a mouth-wateringly memorable meal. Great conversation, great food...who could resist?
What about you? Which fictional characters seem so real to you that you'd like to meet them?

These fellow book bloggers have joined the fun:

Iliana of Bookgirl's Nightstand
Dorte of DJ's Krimiblog



11 comments:

  1. Awesome list! I agree with lots of your choices.

    I still have The Cold Dish on my TBR shelf. I promise that it will be the next book I read.

    So you like Stuart MacBride? I'll have to read one of his books, since they're so easy to get here in the UK.

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  2. I would definitely love to meet Thursday Next. She seems like a girl I could have a lot of fun with.

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  3. Great comment. I'd love to meet Gabriel Du Pre. Those books were among my very favorites.

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  4. What a great idea for a post. I think I´ll have to ponder upon that one and write my own post.

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  5. Great idea and great post, even though I don't think I am familiar with any f those fictional characters. I guess I need to read more mysteries.

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  6. I too have Cold Dish sitting here -- actually on my MP3 player! Nice list of characters to meet.

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  7. I love this and may have to steal it as I am a big fan of mysteries. I haven't read too many from your list though so I need to take note of some of these sleuths! :)

    Off the top of my head, I'd say I'd love to meet Maisie Dobbs.

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  8. Thanks, C.T.! Now that this has posted, I've gone back and linked to your blog. I hope we see more people do this!

    Lilly--I think you're right. Ms. Next would be a lot of fun!

    Joe--I don't care how un-PC Gabriel is, I love him!

    Dorte--Great! I look forward to your post!

    Nicole--I'd always be first in line to suggest people to read mysteries, but one of the great things about this idea is that it doesn't have to be confined to that one genre.

    Beth--you and C.T. need to read The Cold Dish. Now! LOL

    Iliana--I really hope you write your own post so that I can see your list of favorite characters! Maisie Dobbs is definitely a character whom I would love to meet!

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  9. I'm with you on Harry Bosch and Thursday Next.

    I'd add:
    Elvis Cole and Pike
    Lisbeth Salander (though she wouldn't want to meet me)

    I have to think about others.

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  10. What a great question and a great post! And I know what you mean about wanting to change a list as soon as you post -- I agonize over some of these questions FOREVER and then I think "what are you doing that for?"

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  11. Mack--I almost added Salander myself, but left her off for the same reason. Thanks for stopping by!

    Jenners--Yes. I have to make myself stop fretting and just work with what comes to mind first. I'm glad you liked the post!

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