When the Character Steps off the Page…

Which mystery characters come alive for you? I should’ve mentioned Chet, the canine investigator in the Chet and Bernie series (Spencer Quinn!). That dog leaped right off the page and into my imagination!

by Helen Currie Foster

You go to a play, you’re reading the program, you’re waiting for the curtain to go up. It does. And onstage a character comes alive. You not only believe in that character—suddenly you feel that character is real.

After the play, in the lobby, out comes a chattering group of...