I always tell my friends that I just love a dead body. That, of course, is in regard to my choice of reading material which often turns to mysteries. But, in truth, it’s not the dead body or the actual mystery I really care about. My favorite mysteries are those written in series so I have time to get to know the main characters over time. I know a lot about Detective Thomas Lynley and his sidekick Barbara Havers. I know that Spenser really loves Susan. He’s a tough guy willing to shoot any bad guy he comes across, but he melts when Susan Silverman enters the room. I know Kinsey Millhone had a rough childhood and was raised by her aunt who did the best she could and that Kinsey doesn’t have any friends her own age.

I’m reading my fourth Louise Penny book and am loving the character development there too. Inspector Gamache is a complex character– a good man with a tough job. He loves the people who work with him and has infinite patience with them. He allows them to grow and change over time and he cares about their happiness. He’s a family man and he’s pretty good at solving crimes, but has been injured by the ugliness he finds in both the perpetrators of crimes and some of their victims as well.

I’m guessing the authors of these mysteries have stumbled upon the way to go into deep point of view. They tell the story in such a way that the readers feel they’re right there with the characters. I could sit down with Barbara Havers and help her improve her wardrobe just a little. I know that Kinsey carries an extra pair of undies in her purse. I mean, I really KNOW these people. That’s what I want to achieve in my writing. I want people to know the same things I know. I suppose I could just tell them, but it’s more fun to get them to read about Prema and learn to know her all on their own.

How about you? Which characters have you learned to know intimately through your reading? What are you working on in your own writing to make your characters come alive?