What makes me want to follow a detective?
A good murder case will get me to pick up a crime novel. Whether I read the next book often comes down to the detective.
I don’t need them to be perfect. In fact, I’d probably get bored if they were. I want to see how they deal with people when they’re tired, what they do when they get something wrong, and who they turn to when a case gets under their skin.
When I was thinking about Raine Kelly, I knew I wanted an experienced detective in her fifties. She’s good at her job, but that doesn’t make her patient with the people above her. She can be blunt. She also notices when someone needs a bit of kindness, even if she hasn’t much time to spare.
Then there’s the swimming. Raine goes into the North Sea all year. It gives her a place to think, though she doesn’t always find the answers she wants. It also gives the people around her something to worry about.
Her team matters to me as well. Danny, Shaz and Callum each see things Raine might miss, and they don’t always agree with her. I like the conversations that happen around an investigation: the disagreements, the cups of tea and the bits of humour that creep in when everyone is exhausted.
If you’re writing a series detective, one useful question is: what would they do on a day when there isn’t a murder to solve? You might never put the answer in a book. But knowing it can help you see them as a person rather than a job title.
For Raine, there’s a good chance the answer involves the sea. And two sugars in her tea afterwards.