April 2024 Author Video - Virginia Feito

 

An interview and review of Virginia Feito’s book, Mrs. March.

Characters for Mrs. March

Mrs. Agatha (Kirby) March—the protagonist; married to George March

George March—Mrs. March’s husband, well-known author who has just published a book that’s getting a lot of press

Johanna—the main character in George March’s new book; Mrs. March is concerned that George has based this character on her

Jonathan March—the Marches’ 8-year-old son

Paulette “Paula” March—George March’s daughter by a previous marriage (a photo more than a character)

Barbara March—George March’s mother

Martha—the Marches’ housekeeper

Lisa—Mrs. March’s older sister; married to Fred

Edgar—George March’s editor

Zelda—George March’s literary agent

Gabrielle Lynne—a book jacket designer who attends the party Mrs. March gives for George’s book (her cigarette case is the one Mrs. March steals)

Kiki—Mrs. March’s make-believe childhood “friend”

Alec Miller—a neighbor boy who goes to the same school as Jonathan March

Sheila & Bob Miller—Alec’s parents; Mrs. March seems to rely on Sheila for Jonathan-related activities (school pick-ups and drop-offs, play dates, etc.)

Sylvia Gibbler—a twenty-something murder victim, currently in the news

Amy Bryant—Sylvia Gibbler’s friend and co-worker, currently living with Gibbler’s grandmother, Babka

Jennifer—the woman George March admits to having an affair with

REMINDER: April 8, 2024. Mystery Books Group Meeting

 

April 8, 2024

12 Noon

Virginia Feito

Mrs. March

In case you are interested, here are links to two articles about Virginia Feito and her first book, Mrs. March.

Her book was optioned for a movie before it was even published.

Hope to see you there!

https://www.vogue.com/article/virginia-feito-mrs-march

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1027537478/in-mrs-march-a-judgmental-high-society-woman-is-gaslit-to-the-brink-of-madness

Jussi Adler-Olsen, March 2024 Mystery Books Author Video

 

March 2024 Author Jussi Adler-Olsen

Here, in case you missed our meeting or want to see it again, is the March Author Video of Jussi Adler-Olsen.  Thanks to all of you who attended especially to Sally Sapunor for such a great job facilitating.

Don’t forget to click on the CC icon or the Gear icon for subtitles.

Character List for The Scarred Woman

Department Q

Deputy Chief Inspector Carl Mørck—the head of Department Q, an unsolved crimes (cold case) unit of the Copenhagen Police HQ; HQ is on the second floor, and Department Q is in the basement

Hafaz el-Assad—a Syrian immigrant and self-appointed investigator in Department Q; his exact background is a bit of a mystery; Carl thinks of him as “Curly”

Rose Knudsen—an office-worker-turned-investigator in Department Q; she appeared in Department Q in 2008, having previously flunked out of the police academy after failing the driving test

Gordon Taylor—on long-term “loan” from Bjørn’s team; he sticks around because he’s smitten with Rose

Others Connected to Copenhagen Police HQ

Marcus Jacobsen—the former head of homicide in the now-defunct Department A and Carl’s former boss; now retired for four years but obsessed with the Gundersen case

Lars Bjørn—Jacobsen’s successor and Carl’s current boss; officially in charge of the Rigmor Zimmerman case, the Gunderson case, the nightclub robbery, and the hit-and-run cases

Bente Hansen—police superintendent

Terje Ploug—an investigator on the nightclub robbery case

Lars Pasgård—lead investigator on the Zimmerman case

Catarina Underberg Sørensen—a gatekeeper on the second floor

Lis—secretary for homicide department

Tomas Laursen—the canteen manager at Police HQ; he was formerly a forensic technician with the police

Janus Staal—head of communications for police

Oleg Borg-Pedersen—Station 3 TV producer to whom Bjørn has given permission to “shadow” Department Q on their investigations

Mona Ibsen—police psychotherapist with whom Carl was previously romantically involved, although he hasn’t spoken to her in years

The Zimmermans

Fritzl Zimmerman—the patriarch, a former German (Nazi) army officer (supposedly wanted at one time by Poland for war crimes as Sturmbannführer Bernhard Krause); dead under unusual circumstances in 2004

Rigmor Zimmerman—Fritzl’s wife and Denise’s grandmother; she’s murdered early in the story

Birgit Zimmerman—Denise’s mother and Rigmor’s daughter

James Lester Frank—aka Mark Johnson; Denise’s father and Birgit’s ex-husband (divorced when Denise was 7 years old); an American serviceman and subsequently a U.S. Army deserter

Dorrit “Denise” Frank Zimmerman—Rigmor’s granddaughter and Birgit’s daughter; she is also a client of Svendsen’s at the social security office

Connected Through the Vesterbro Social Security Office

Anne-Line “Anneli” Svendsen—the unhappy case worker

Michelle Hansen—one of Svendsen’s clients; she’s been living with Patrick Pettersen but illegally claiming benefits for another rented room

Patrick Pettersen—Hansen’s boyfriend; he works as a bouncer at the Victoria nightclub

Jazmine Jørgensen—one of Svendsen’s clients who works the system using serial pregnancy and adoption

Birna Sigurdardottir—a social security office client; she’s purportedly the leader of a girl gang called Black Ladies

Senta Berger—aka Oline Anjou, aka Anja Olsen; a client from the social security office where Anneli worked prior to Vesterbro

Bertha “Roberta” Lind—a client from the social security office where Anneli worked prior to Vesterbro

Connected to 2004 Gundersen Case

Stephanie Gundersen—a temporary school teacher at Bolman’s Independent School in Østre Anlæg; her murder is one of HQ’s older cases but still not officially transferred to Department Q

Mogens Iversen—a 42-year-old man who tries to confess to Gundersen’s murder as well as to Rigmor’s murder

Connected to the Habersaat Case

Christian Habersaat—retired police investigator on the Danish island of Bornholm who contacted Carl to take over a case Habersaat had been obsessed with for over 20 years (the death of Alberte Goldschmid); he committed suicide in 2014 after Carl turned him down, which led to Carl’s team taking the case; his resemblance to Arne Knudsen made this a difficult case for Rose

June Habersaat—Christian’s wife, who confessed to Carl’s team on her deathbed that she’d murdered Alberte Goldschmid

Alberte Goldschmid—the 19-year-old victim of a hit-and-run that threw her body into a tree where it hung for days before someone noticed

(This case forms the basis for Department Q #6, The Hanging Girl.)

Rose Knudsen’s Family & Friends

Arne Knudsen—Rose’s abusive father; he was killed in a 1999 steel plant accident in front of her

Vicky Knudsen—Rose’s next oldest sister, one year younger

Yrsa Knudsen—Rose’s next sister, two years younger

Lise-Marie Knudsen—Rose’s youngest sister, four years younger

Benito Dion—Rose’s former therapist, now dead

Karoline Stavensager—aka Kinua von Kunstwerk; Rose’s best friend in middle school; now a painter

Leo M. Andresen—former steel plant employee and a member of a historical society for retired employees

Benny Andersson—a former steel plant employee

Carl Mørck’s Family & Friends

Hardy—Mørck’s former police partner who was severely injured saving Carl’s life and became quadriplegic (2007); Carl has taken him in and supports his care; Hardy had worked with Jacobsen on the Gundersen case

Morten—Hardy’s caregiver; he also cooks for Carl and Hardy

Mika—Hardy’s physical therapist and masseur; also Morten’s (ex?) boyfriend

Vigga—Carl’s ex-wife; she left him in 2005

Jesper—Carl’s 25-year-old stepson; he continued to live with Carl for years after his mother’s divorce from Carl, but has mostly moved out now

Karla Alsing—Vigga’s mother who’s currently in a nursing home; Carl is her favorite

Character List for The Last Remains

Participants in the 2002 Field Trip

Leo Ballard—professor/tutor in archaeology at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College

Michael Malone—aka Cathbad; a druid and a lab assistant at UNN; later, becomes a friend of Ruth Galloway

Emad Hussein—student studying with Ballard at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College; later, an accountant

Emily Pickering—20-year-old archaeology student studying with Ballard at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College; the corpse at the heart of the book

Amber Fletcher-Ellis—student studying with Ballard at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College; later, a solicitor, married to Westbourne

Thomas Westbourne—student studying with Ballard at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College; later a barrister, married to Fletcher-Ellis

Mark Oldburg—a junior lecturer at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College

University of North Norfolk (UNN)

Dr. Ruth Galloway—the book’s protagonist; an instructor and head of the Archaeology Department

David Brown—faculty member in the Archaeology Department, from Sweden

Phil Trent—former Archaeology Department head and Galloway’s ex-boss at UNN

Shona MacLean—head of the English Department and a long-time friend of Galloway; in a relationship with Trent

Becky Smallwood—UNN branch officer of the University & College Union

Colin Bland—UNN vice chancellor

Jeanne Hanisko—an American, currently teaching at Cambridge, who is serving as the “outside” member of the review panel for Galloway’s PhD students

Police

Superintendent Jo Archer—head of Norfolk Police; Harry Nelson’s boss

DCI Harry Nelson—head of Norfolk’s Serious Crimes Unit; Galloway’s long-time lover and father of her daughter, Kate

DS Tanya Fuller—officer on Nelson’s team; lead on the case

DC Tony Zhang—officer on Nelson’s team

DC Bradley Linwood—officer on Nelson’s team

DI Dave “Cloughie” Clough—former member of Nelson’s team; now head of Cambridge CID

DC Lucy (Downey) Vanstone—member of Clough’s team on loan to Nelson; also, has a long-ago history with Galloway and Nelson

Galloway/Nelson Friends & Family

Kate Galloway—12-year-old daughter of Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson

Zoe—aka Dawn; Ruth Galloway’s half-sister (same mother) who was given up for adoption at birth and who has fairly recently (in a previous book) found Ruth

Judith “Judy” Johnson—Cathbad’s “life partner” and mother of Michael and Miranda (also a DI on Nelson’s team, although not part of the case because of her relationship with Cathbad)

Michael—Cathbad’s 9-year-old son with Judy

Miranda—Cathbad’s 6-year-old daughter with Judy

Maddie Henderson—Cathbad’s 27-year-old daughter from a previous relationship (with Delilah Henderson)

Erik Anderson—Ruth Galloway’s tutor at university and a former friend of Cathbad; now deceased

Michelle Nelson—Harry Nelson’s not-quite-ex-wife

Laura Nelson—Nelson’s 27-year-old daughter with Michelle

Rebecca Nelson—Nelson’s 25-year-old daughter with Michelle

George Nelson—Nelson’s 5-year-old son with Michelle

Connected to the Bakery & Café/Antique Shop/Red Lady Tea Rooms

Gary Bright—in charge of the demolition/renovation that uncovers the “last remains”

Peter Webster—owner of the Green Child Café in 2002; now deceased

Arabella Webster—Paul’s wife; now in a care facility with dementia

Gaia Webster—one of the Webster daughters, about the same age as Pickering; she also studied archaeology with Ballard at Cambridge’s St. Jude’s College

Freya Webster—the other Webster daughter; had left school at 16 to work in café and knew Cathbad and Pickering, who hung out there

Character List for Small Mercies

South Boston “Southie” Characters

Mary Patricia “Mary Pat” Fennessey—the book’s protagonist, a native “Southie” and “tough Irish broad”

Julia “Jules” Fennessey—Mary Pat’s daughter; about to start her senior year of high school and missing

Noel Fennessey—Mary Pat’s son; dead from a drug overdose five years earlier

Kenneth “Kenny” Fennessey—aka Ken Fen; Mary Pat’s second husband who has recently left Mary Pat

Dukie Shefton—Mary Pat’s first husband, long deceased; an independent operator who still had to pay a percentage of his take to Butler for “protection”

Anthony “Tony Chap” Chapstone—Dukie’s (and eventually Mary Pat’s) lawyer

Louise “Weezie” Flanagan—Mary Pat’s deceased mother

“Big Peg” McAuliffe—one of Mary Pat’s sisters; married to Terry McAuliffe

“Little Peg”—Big Peg’s eldest daughter who’s the same age as Jules

Ronald “Rum” Collins—purportedly Jules’s boyfriend (as a cover for Toomey)

Brenda Morello—Jules’s best friend since second grade

Marty Butler—leader of a Southie “protection” crew

Brian Shea—top organizer/enforcer in Butler’s crew

Donna (Dougherty) Shea—Brian Shea’s wife; an old childhood friend of Mary Pat’s

George Dunbar—known drug dealer and Morello’s purported boyfriend (as a cover for Butler)

Lorraine Dunbar—George’s mother and Marty Butler’s girlfriend

Terry “Terror Town” McAuliffe—part of Butler’s crew; married to Big Peg

Frankie “Tombstone” Toomey—the “killer of killers” in Butler’s crew; Jules’s “real” boyfriend (despite being married with four kids)

Agnes Toomey—Toomey’s wife

Tommy Gallagher—bartender at the Fields of Athenry, a bar that serves as Butler’s stronghold

“Weed”—part of Butler’s crew

Larry Foyle—part of Butler’s crew

Lou Shapiro—murder victim from a few years earlier with no next of kin but a lucrative estate of businesses that everyone assumes Butler owns

SWAB Sisters—a group of women who belong to the protest group Southie Women Against Busing; the leader is Carol Fitzpatrick, and Mary Pat was apparently a member

Meadow Lane Manor

Sister Fran—one of the nuns at Meadow Lane Manor, an elder care facility where Mary Pat works as a hospital aide

Calliope Williamson—aka Dreamy; a co-worker of Mary Pat’s

Augustus “Auggie” Williamson—Calliope’s 20-year old son who’s found dead at Columbia Station (a commuter rail station that was renamed JFK/UMass Station in 1982)

Reginald Williamson—Calliope’s husband and Auggie’s father

Dottie Lloyd—co-worker of Mary Pat’s; their relationship is adversarial

The Cops

Detective Sergeant Michael “Bobby” Coyne—lead detective investigating the death of Auggie Williamson

Detective Vince Pritchard—Coyne’s partner on the case

Special Agent Giles Stansfield—FBI agent who may or may not be in Butler’s pocket

Drew Curran—medical examiner

Seamus Riordan—tower crane operator who is one of the witnesses at Columbia Station questioned by Coyne and Pritchard

Brendan Coyne—Bobby’s nine-year-old son

Shannon Coyne—Bobby’s ex-wife and Brendan’s mother

Carmen Davenport—Coyne’s new girlfriend, whom he meets at a random Narcotics Anonymous meeting, although he’s actually met and arrested her before