I’m in love. My heart speeds up when I spend time with him. He makes me smile for no reason. We’ve been together for over twenty years, and it always seems new—but also familiar. Of course, I could say this about my husband, but I’m talking about a character in a series. Melrose Plant, I adore you. I love that you don’t use your title, even though you are an earl. I love that you tease your Aunt Agatha with goats and hermits. I love that you’ll do almost anything for your friends, even if that is because you're bored and have nothing better to do.  I love your green eyes, your mussed hair, and your glasses. I love how much you make me laugh. I thank author Martha Grimes for creating you, giving you life, and letting you assist Chief Superintendent Richard Jury in her novels.  And I thank you for accepting my friend request on Facebook. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Melrose, we first meet him in Grimes’ Man with a Load of Mischief. Melrose lives in the village of Long Piddleton, and Richard Jury of Scotland Yard travels there to investigate a murder. Melrose is there when the body is discovered, and becomes part of the investigation as well as a friend to Jury. In the first few pages, you learn that he reads Rimbaud, drinks Old Peculiar, has a dry sense of humor and is a peer of the realm. Dreamy…

For the full article on character crushes, visit our sister crime fiction and mystery blog CriminalElement.com.