D is for Danger, Diamonds, Death and...

D is for Danger, Diamonds, Death and…

There is danger in Diamonds, Death and Deceit, the novel that takes you from the University to the Dark Continent.  Ex FBI agent, David Hemingway, turned to the Peace Corps and teaching to try to regain his sense that the world is made up of mostly good people.

 The explosion that ripped his family from his arms, the Mafia hit that causes his pain is a world away…or is it?

In a move from Quantico, Virginia and big city crime, to the tiny African Village of Ewando  he discovers the world is the same only the players have changed. 

His mission becomes helping the people of Ewando to see the value of education, the folly of their superstitions and to stop the raping of the country's resources, pride and heritage. 

When Organized Crime, in the form of the Russian Mafia, wants something they will stop at nothing to get it. David Hemingway is in their way. Will his FBI training be enough to stop them and pull peace and tranquility from chaos and the race for diamonds, ending in death, and covered by deceit?

D is for Detective or...

Diamonds, Death and Deceit

D is For Detective, Diamonds or Diamonds, Death and Deceit

Your detective can be a bungling idiot who, for all his short comings, manages to solve crimes in a timely and clever manner. Or, you may have Angela Lansbury, a.k.a. Jessica Fletcher murder mystery writer be pulled in because of her expertise to solve a crime. David Hemmingway in Death Diamonds and Deceit takes on the job for reasons dear to him. 

A career choice could be the impetus that puts your sleuth on a collision course with a crime that she needs to solve.

Whatever role your detective takes in your mystery, you need to build that character well so s/he serves your story and your reader. Diamond Jim Brady or Colombo, Stephanie Plum or Kay Scarpetta—what kind of detective will you build? He or she must be equal to the task as well as a staunch observer of human nature. Another prerequisite, she or he must be a match for the villain.  She must be strong enough to win over the antagonist in the end, even though she may not triumph until the very end. 

Balance is key. Your detective is smart enough, strong enough, good enough to be believable and effective for your story needs. You get to play god as you make your flawed, but perfect for this story, detective.