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Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Meet The Characters Murder in the Family




Character  Guest Post 

The characters in Murder in the Family

 

Note from the author: I thought this might be a good opportunity to hear from some of Eve Appel Egret’s friends and family. She is the protagonist in Murder in the Family. I asked them to tell us a little something we might not know about them.

 

Frida Martinez (Police detective and Eve’s good friend)

 

I’ve worked for the local police department for over fifteen years, balancing my police work with being a single parent. I’d like to tell you that having Eve alongside me in fighting crime has been a joy, and sometimes it has, but mostly I spend time trying to reign her in and keep her from saying and doing something over the line. I do admire her ability to sort through clues and track down the bad guys. I just wish she’d practice more impulse control. I do a lot of damage control when Eve is on the case. I worry that now she’s a private detective and has a pistol permit I’ll be doing more of that. As for her mob connected friend, Nappi Napolitani, I was suspicious of him at the beginning, but I’m coming around to trusting him and wondering if he’s really as into mob work as he claims.

 

Grandfather Egret (Sammy’s grandfather and head of the Egret clan)

 

I knew when I first laid eyes on Eve that she would test all of us, but I liked her immediately, so when my grandson Sammy fell in love with her, I felt they would make an interesting match. Sammy would support her snoopy ways and she would respect his heritage and learn Miccosukee history and traditions. When she and Sammy adopted his dead brother’s three boys, she proved she had a big heart. She is one of the few white people I’ve met who seems to understand how the old spirits of the tribe can protect us and she has accepted the talisman I made for her and wears it with pride, even requesting one for her friend Nappi when he took on a dangerous mission.

 

Lionel Egret (Sammy’s father)

 

I went into the swamps for almost twenty years for a mistake I made that resulted in the death of a good friend. I thought I was punishing myself, but I was really punishing my son. He had his grandfather to raise him, but he felt he had done something wrong because I left him. When I heard my son, Sammy had married a white woman, I returned to the family thinking I would set him right about white folks. I’ve never met many I liked, and I didn’t like Eve much when I met her. The feeling was mutual, but over the years we grew to like and respect each other. She’s so different from other white people. She’s different from most people in ways I find odd, but acceptable. Folks tell me she and I are alike, that we’re both stubborn, opinionated and hard-headed. They may be right. She introduced me to her mafia friend, Nappi Napolitani. We were roomies in the hospital after both being attacked by mob guys from a rival gang. What do I think of being friends with a mobster? I don’t really think much about his so-called mob connections, just like I don’t think much about Eve’s fashion sense. I’ve come to love them both.

 

Madeleine Boudreau Wilson (Eve’s partner in the consignment shop and her best friend)

 

I worried at first that Eve would never fit in to life in rural Florida, and really, she hasn’t. She’s still the Yankee fashionista that sees things her own way. But when I think about it, no one ever thought she and I would be the best of friends because we are so different. She’s tall, slender to the point of being skinny, wears her hair in an outrageous punked style that makes her look like part of a gang and has no social graces. In contrast, although also from the Northeast, I am quite ladylike. I have long, curly, red hair and am short and busty. Eve taught me how to defend myself from bullies when we were in school and I taught her a few social graces, just enough that she doesn’t offend everyone she meets, just the folks who offend first. I fell in love with David Wilson, who runs a game ranch. We have twins, a boy and a girl who I named Eve after my friend. Whereas my son takes after his father, a perfect gentleman, little Eve takes after her namesake, stubborn and rebellious. I should never have named her Eve.

 

Grandy (Eve’s grandmother)

 

Yes, Eve takes after me. I raised her, but I think the snooping is a genetic trait that I passed on to her. I like to get my fingers into criminal cases as much as she does. And I love wearing navy blue velvet warm-up suits for any nighttime capers.

 

Nappi Napolitani (Eve’s mob friend)

I suppose you expect me to tell you whether I am a “Family” man. Everyone thinks I am, so I think I’ll just let all of you go on believing it. All you need to know is that Eve trusts me, and I feel the same about her. Enough said.

 

Author’s note: All of Eve’s friends and family want you to know they adore her, difficult that she is at times. Her bold, sassy nature is tempered by a loving and loyal character.

 

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2 comments:

Lesley A Diehl said...

I hope your readers enjoyed learning more about Eve Appel's friends and family. Get to join them in their adventures in all eight of the books.

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Sounds interesting...I recently have started to get back into reading.. I am slowly working my way through Sue Grafton's books...I have about 12 in her Alphabet series of books..Have 5 to go...Thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to comment!!
Hugs,
Debbie