Defective Detectives

If it wouldn’t have been for a challenge from one of my writing groups, I wouldn’t have written stories to fill four books and probably wouldn’t have had the courage to revive and publish my latest two novels. Thomas Minerd, Tommy Two Shoes series was the result. Tommy is a retired Pittsburgh police homicide detective who is evolving into a private eye because of his skills. His devotion to work caused his divorce, uncovered a corrupt judge, and led him through a meandering path to find a new wife and to adopt an abandoned child. His deceased uncle is Tommy’s muse and this uncle shares insight to crimes with often obtuse, but meaningful clues.

Tommy’s dedication to work is one of his greatest assets as well as one of his biggest faults.

I’ve written other short stories about different detectives as I attempted to uncover other plots and to share some of the experiences in my life with my readers.

One of them is a reluctant detective named Luigi Garibaldi. He’s a professional gambler who had to leave New Jersey and his profession in a hurry because of a dalliance with a casino owner’s wife. Luigi is forced to act as a detective when clues fall into his lap. He settles in southwest Pennsylvania, then needs to take a vacation from there to avoid being recognized. A trip I took to Newfoundland and Labrador lent itself to the background of the story. I shared my experience as though Luigi was really there and traveling.

A second story starring Luigi finds an assaulted rabbi, does CPR, saves the priest and uncovers the theft of an antique Torah. This discovery led to follow a trail of robberies of irreplaceable religious articles: a Bible, an iconic painting, and Shaman masks.

Luigi faults as a womanizer and gambler put him in a position to share his detective skills.

My third detective is female, Mary Alice Brandon, nicknamed Brandi, whose muse is Mae West. Brandi is a private eye whose one fault is her inability to handle money and is constantly chided by Mae to use her feminine wiles more. Hired to investigate possible infidelity case, Brandi works undercover as a salesperson at a high-end and pricey car dealership, called Tooters. She stumbles onto the body of the man she was hired to investigate. Her tenaciousness helps the police uncover the identity of the killer and fulfills her contract with the deceased wife.

Like all human beings, each detective has strengths and assets. Each one has good traits and bad. I try to make my characters seem true to life.