Characters
Theo Holmes
Thelonius “Theo” Holmes, the great-great grandson of Sherlock Holmes, is the lead protagonist in the Theo Holmes Murder Mystery Series. He lives in a luxury high rise condo in San Diego and is obviously quite wealthy, although it’s not clear how he accumulated his fortune. We only know he has a sterling reputation as a private investigator who is often called in by various police departments to assist with solving baffling homicide cases that have stumped the police.
Both Theo and Sherlock share exceptional analytical skills with strong powers of observation. What’s different about Theo is how he goes about solving cases. Whereas Sherlock was somewhat aloof and emotionally detached, Theo is a team player who wants to build consensus with his colleagues. To borrow a musical analogy, Sherlock was more of a soloist while Theo is a conductor.
Sherlock was also extremely self-confident, bordering on arrogance. Theo, on the other hand, knows he doesn’t have all the answers. Instead, he tosses out theories and ideas for his team to debate. His genius is as a collaborator who brings together a diversely talented group of people that ultimately give him all the pieces needed to solve the puzzle. He extracts the salient clues to solving a case from the various talents of those working with him.
Enhancing Holmes collaborative genius is his personality – a genuinely nice guy who is both liked and respected. He is generous with praise of others, including the AI robot, PAM, who welcomes compliments. Theo is also quite humble and possesses a sharp sense of humor. However he does share some of Sherlock’s enigmatic personality traits, including his own personal demons, such as “empty time”, that he struggles to keep under control.
Theo readily discusses the story of his ancestry, yet we don’t know much about his private life or his past. Is he really a descendent of Sherlock? How did he get so wealthy? Why did he leave Texas for California? Maybe we’ll find out later in the series…or maybe not.
Raul Montoya
Raul Montoya is Theo Holmes personal assistant, without whom, Holmes probably could not survive. He’s Holmes chauffeur, cook, housekeeper, and overall crutch. Since Holmes also has no sense of time, Raul keeps him on schedule for meetings and appointments. Raul is also painfully aware of Holmes’ weaknesses and vulnerable personality traits and works hard at protecting his boss and keeping him out of trouble.
Raul is strikingly handsome, smart and talented and could readily find any number of alternative jobs. Yet he truly enjoys working for the eccentric Holmes and the challenges he presents. He appears to relish his role as the glue that keeps the world of Thelonius Holmes in one piece.
Steve Albright
In contemporary murder mysteries, supporting characters enhance the sense of realism that what is happening in the novel correlates to the real world. The most important of these characters are the police detectives and their law enforcement teams. In the end, they call the shots and play an important role in solving the case. Some supporting characters will have a recurring role in future books and you’ll likely see many of them again during the Holmes series.
Leading off in the detective role in Black Velvet, is San Diego Chief Homicide Detective, Steve Albright. Albright is a seasoned detective who is fiercely dedicated to his job and shares one important characteristic with Theo Holmes. He detests cold cases and their consequence of leaving justice unfulfilled.
One of Albright’s most important skills is knowing how to manage Holmes. Holmes constantly generates theories, some of which seem to go off on tangents that don’t always connect with the goal of solving the case. Holmes is always pushing the envelope and Albright needs to occasionally reign him in. In the end, they compromise and come forward with a plan that is better than either of them can come up with individually.
Detective Albright and his sidekick criminalist, Leona Jones, bridge the gap between the genres of private investigator and police procedural, making for a fictional case that mimics the real world of homicide investigation.
Delaney Watson
Unlike the somewhat secretive, Theo Holmes, Delaney Watson is like an open book who wears her emotions on her sleeve. Delaney is trans and was a gay male before beginning her transition during the Covid pandemic. Post covid, Delaney finds herself unemployed and broke. The musical roles she got as a gay male are not there for a trans woman.
Delaney stumbles upon a new path by applying for a job for which she is totally and absolutely unqualified – investigative assistant to Theo Holmes. But Holmes has this bias defect. He’s genetically incapable of judging anyone by their race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. He could not care less that Delaney is trans or that she has no experience as an investigator. His genius is that he only sees in Delaney her innate skills – something she doesn’t see in herself.
Delaney starts out having no confidence that she’ll be successful in her job but with each passing day she slowly evolves into a trusted and competent investigator. She proves Holmes to be right in believing her intuition and interpersonal skills would pay off. Delaney has the ability to put total strangers at ease and get them to entrust her with deep family secrets. This skill generates the clues that are instrumental in solving the bizarre homicide cases that Holmes takes on.
Ultimately, Delaney Watson transforms into someone we all can relate to. As her character arc evolves, readers are no longer thinking of her as a trans person and are liking her for who she is, not what she is. What a novel idea – judging someone by the content of their character.
P.a.m
(Perfect Autonomous Model)
P.A.M., the Perfect Autonomous Model, is not human. She is a robot. However, P.A.M. is not your ordinary shiny metallic unisex robot. She is a beautiful, anatomically correct female that looks like your typical Hollywood actress.
P.A.M.’s “mind” is driven by advanced generative AI chips that allows her to draw on the cloud to gain knowledge and evolve reasoning skills. Mentally P.A.M. is growing up just like a human. But unlike a human who takes about 20 years to go from a newborn to a fully functioning adult, P.A.M. only takes about 20 weeks to evolve.
Along the way, P.A.M. stumbles a bit. For example, she initially gets confused with idioms and metaphors because logically they make no sense. She also gets edgy at times by taking jabs at Delaney or using the latest trendy Gen Z slogan. This is what makes P.A.M. so intriguing and one of the most interesting characters in the Theo Holmes series. She has her own character arc as she “grows up” in real time.
But P.A.M. is not science fiction as we witness, in real time, the exponential evolution of AI robotics. She gives us a glimpse into the not-too-distant future of how generative AI robots may evolve, adapt and take on very human traits. We are already seeing some of this happen in the real world where the intersection of robotic and human behavior is taking place. Will these robots strive to mimic human emotional behavior such as jealousy, pride, ambition, the need for affirmation, and possibly – love? Will P.A.M. lead the way and let us know?
Felonia Mays
In Café Brûlot, the New Orleans counterpart to Steve Albright is Homicide Detective Felonia Mays. She’s one tough cookie who doesn’t suffer fools. When Mays says ‘jump’ to someone, the only acceptable response is ‘how high’? Even Holmes is careful not to get on her wrong side. But just like Albright, Mays has an unrelenting passion for getting her cases solved. She knows how to work the system and assemble a team to get the job done.
When Holmes is called in to assist Mays with the most daunting case of her career, she approaches Holmes somewhat differently than Albright. Unlike Albright, she doesn’t know Holmes or have any experience in dealing with his eccentricities. Although she makes clear that she’s the boss, Mays is a pragmatist who gives Holmes a wide berth in helping with the case. Management and leadership are her thing and she recognizes and enables the talented members of her team. If things go wrong, as they often do with homicide investigations, Mays takes ownership of the problem. Felonia Mays makes the case that sometimes the toughest boss makes for the best boss.
Other Characters
Al Palermo
Andy Herbert
Jamie Duhart
Leona Jones
Lucretia Weems
Randy Peterson
Tina Tran
Jeremy Vo
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