J is for Joe, Sheila and Brenda

At the heart of every STAC Mystery is this triumvirate of friends, determined to unravel the mystery and ensure the perpetrator(s) get their come-uppance.

Joe and the two widows have been friends since schooldays, and such longevity of friendship brings with it loyalty. They squabble frequently, they disagree on everything from politics to prison reform, television to taxation, and yet they remain the closest of friends, and nothing, no one can come between them.

Joe is the sleuth. Nothing gets past that keen eye of his… well almost nothing. And the little things that do escape his attention are usually caught by the intelligent Sheila, the widow of a police inspector, or the fun-loving Brenda, the woman who can see in other men and women what most people would miss.

I’m often asked are they based on real people. Of course not. They’re based on amalgams of people I have met and known in my life. If Joe reminds you of the proprietor of a truckers’ café anywhere in England, it’s because most owners of truckers’ cafes are like Joe (only not quite so rude with their customers). If Sheila reminds you of a every school secretary you ever met, it’s because Sheila was a school secretary before the vagaries of life took her husband too early, and if Brenda comes across as a merry widow, not quite a tart, but someone who likes a lot of fun in life, then good, because that is exactly what she is supposed to be.

From running the Lazy Luncheonette to smoothing the waters and calming tempers during meetings of the Sanford 3rd Age Club, from organising outings and discos, to rallying in support of their members, they have no equal.

And when it comes to murder, they are unbeatable.

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The STAC Mysteries are available as paperbacks and as e-book downloads in all formats, or direct from Crooked Cat Books in MOBI, EPUB and PDF formats