Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Heroes

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly topic at That Artsy Reader Girl for lovers of books and lists, and I can't resist joining in from time to time. When I learned that, for this week, I could pick a previous topic that I'd missed, I jumped right in with both feet. You see, I missed My Favorite Heroes and when I visited the participants' blogs to read their lists, I was not happy that I'd missed the opportunity to play along. Now I can!
 
The following is my current list of heroes, most (but not all) from the world of crime fiction. An hour from now, I could undoubtedly make up a whole new list, but many of you know how that goes. You'll see as you progress that some of my choices aren't exactly what you might expect.
 
 
Miss Marple. As a woman of a certain age who loves mysteries and loves to knit and act like I'm not paying attention to what's going on around me, Miss Marple is a natural choice!

 
Fiona Griffiths. Harry Bingham's Welsh police detective with Cotard's Syndrome has burrowed her way into my mind and heart. Like many of the more standard heroes, she doesn't know when to quit... and she's quite brilliant at solving mysteries.

 
Madison Night is Diane Vallere's intrepid Dallas interior decorator specializing in mid-century modern design. She's had to overcome injury and radical changes to her personal life as well as her business. I love her determination and her creativity.

 
Harry Bosch. Michael Connelly's iconic LA homicide detective who has proven over and over that "Everybody counts, or nobody counts." I've loved him since the very first book in the series.

 
Wendall Thomas's Cyd Redondo, travel agent extraordinaire. Cyd's dedication to her clients, her love of wildlife, her Tupperware, and her Balenciaga bag make her a hero. She's a worthy successor to MacGyver and has a fantastic sense of humor.

 
Alex Kava's Ryder Creed is a hero. He does important work with law enforcement to find missing persons and to solve crimes-- and the icing on the cake to me is the fact that the fabulous dogs he trains are all rescues.

 
Marcellus, the giant Pacific octopus in Shelby Van Pelt's marvelous Remarkably Bright Creatures, proves that humans aren't the only intelligent, caring creatures on this planet that will go far, far out of their way to help their friends.

 
Young Native American woman Cash Blackbear has had to deal with so much in her short life that just surviving it all is enough to make her a hero. Watching the world open up to her in this series is an added bonus, and I look forward to Marcie Rendon telling us more.

 
Chet, one half of the Chet & Bernie private investigation duo created by Spencer Quinn, shows us all how important love and loyalty are to any hero worth their salt, regardless of fur coats or the number of legs they have.

 
Elizabeth Packard. One of the many gifts of reading is learning about the real-life heroes who have made our lives better. After reading Kate Moore's The Woman They Could Not Silence, I knew I could only dream of being as brave and determined as Elizabeth Packard.

 
I think you'll agree that my list was a bit unconventional in some of its choices, but that's what makes everyone's lists so much fun.

25 comments:

  1. 'I think I need a Chet book right about now, and this is a reminder to read Marcie Rendon's second book. Yes, I liked Marcellus, too. And, Bosch, of course. There will be spinoffs, one with Jaime Hector as J. Edgar, but in Miami, and one with Renee Ballard (don't know actress). I have to add V.I. Warshawski and Ruth Galloway to my list of heroes. And there are so many more heroes in fiction, some we think we know because we have read about them for years. And a thank you for reminding me about wireless mice. I tripped over the mouse wire and broke my wrist, then ordered a wireless one for safety reasons.

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    1. Oh, no! Is this broken wrist recent? If so, heal quickly!

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    2. Sunday I tripped over the mouse cord and went flying with hands out to break the fall. I ordered a wireless mouse the next day. A house visit today by an orthopedist resulted in a splint. I need a sling, It is painful.
      Life is full of rude awakenings said a Peanuts character.True.








      o

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    3. I can see by the configuration of your latest two comments on this post that the splint and sling are giving you troubles. Heal quickly, dear lady!

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  2. I love your choices, Cathy. I've been starting to get to know Cash Blackbear, and I agree with you that she's a great character. And, yes, Miss Marple is fantastic. So easy to underestimate, isn't she? As for Harry Bosch, there's so much to his character. He's one of those characters I think I would recognize if he walked into the room, if that makes sense.

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    1. I'm afraid that now whenever I think of Harry Bosch, I picture him as Titus Welliver, but then I do love Welliver's voice and he does a fantastic job portraying this iconic character.

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    2. 100% agreement about Welliver. He is Bosch.






      jh







      p

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    3. I love listening to him narrate the Bosch/Ballard audiobooks.

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  3. I don't really do lists but if I did make a list of my fictional heroes, Marcellus would definitely be on it! Oh, and Miss Marple and Bosch, of course.

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    1. I love how Marcellus is getting thumbs up from commenters who've read the book.

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  4. I love that you included Marcellus! And you can't go wrong with Ryder Creed, Harry Bosch or Miss Marple. What a fun list. :D

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    1. I have to admit that I had a lot of fun compiling it-- and I know I left some heroes off that probably surprised several people.

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  5. What a fun list! I haven't thought about my favorites from the hero angle, so this is something that will percolate in a corner of my mind for a while. I definitely agree with you on Bosch (but can't 'hear' Welliver's voice because I haven't watched the series yet). And Joe Pickett cones to mind too.

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    1. Once you've compiled your own list, you could always do a guest post here to share it. *hint* *hint*

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  6. I'm honored! I'll have to make my thinking a touch more organized, and will let you know.

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  7. Bulletin: There is a new Pacific octopus in town Delores, in Sea Change, Listed in NY Times new books to read in the spring,

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  8. Replies
    1. *laughing* But I'm wondering if lightning can strike twice? I'm a bit leary.

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  9. I don't know. But like anything else that is successful, people jump on the band wagon. Wonder if Mollusk Noir will really be.come a thing/

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  10. Yep, I love learning about octopuses,

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