Edgar Stephens first appeared in The Zig Zag Girl and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Edgar.

What is your name?
Edgar Stephens

How old are you?
44

What is your profession?
Police superintendent.

Do you have a significant other?
Wife, Emma.

What is her name and profession?
Emma Stephens nee Holmes, ex detective sergeant.

Any children?
Three. Marianne 8, Sophie 6 and Jonathan nearly 2.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
Sister Lucy. My brother Jonathan died in the war.

Do your parents live near you?
My father is dead, my mother has remarried and lives in Weybridge.

Who is your best friend?
I suppose I’d still say my old army pal Max Mephisto.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
No but the girls want a dog.

What town do you live in?
Brighton.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
House, owned.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
The sitting room. I love to sit there in the evenings with Emma, chatting and listening to the wireless.

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Roast beef, cooked by Emma. Or fish and chips on the pier. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but I used to enjoy my mum’s treacle pudding.

Favorite hobby?
I don’t have much time for hobbies but I love doing cryptic crosswords.

Favorite color?
Blue.

Favorite author?
Charles Dickens.

Favorite vacation spot?
Florence. We went there on our honeymoon.

Favorite sports team?
Brighton and Hove Albion, my adopted football (soccer) team.

Movies or Broadway?
I like films, especially Hitchcock thrillers. I went to America once but have never seen a Broadway show.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Morning.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Professional.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Now I’m a superintendent I don’t get much time for sleuthing. I used to enjoy working with Emma and Bob Willis.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Get up at 6.30. Shower, breakfast with Emma and kids. Walk to work at 7.30. Coffee at my desk, then meetings (too many meetings!), planning, briefing officers. Home at 6 most days although Emma says I work too late. My predecessor, Frank Hodges, spent most of his time on the golf course. Weekend are my favourite time, taking the girls to the park or the beach, spending time with Emma, even going out for a meal if Mavis (our neighbour) agrees to babysit. My in-laws always come over on a Sunday. I enjoy their company although they both seem worried about Emma. . .

You can read more about Edgar in Now You See Them, the fifth book in the “Magic Men” traditional mystery series, released December 3, 2019.

The fifth book in the Magic Men series, Now You See Them is a wild mystery with detective Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto, as they investigate a string of presumed kidnappings in the swinging 1960s.

The new decade is going well for Edgar Stephens and his good friend the magician Max Mephisto. Edgar is happily married, with children, and promoted to Superintendent. Max has found fame and stardom in America, though is now back in England for a funeral, and a prospective movie job. Edgar’s new wife, though—former detective Emma—is restless and frustrated at home, knowing she was the best detective on the team.

But when an investigation into a string of disappearing girls begins, Emma sees her chance to get back in the action. She begins her own hunt, determined to prove, once and for all that she’s better than the boys. Though she’s not the only one working toward that goal—there’s a new woman on the force, and she’s determined to make detective. When two more girls go missing, both with ties to the group, the stakes climb ever higher, and Max finds himself drawn into his own search.

Who will find the girls first? And will they get there in time?

Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #

About the author
Elly Griffiths wrote four novels under her own name (Domenica de Rosa) before turning to crime with The Crossing Places, the first novel featuring forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway. The Crossing Places won the Mary Higgins Clark award and three novels in the series have been shortlisted for the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year. The Stone Circle (Ruth #11) was published in February 2019 and was a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. Elly also writes the Brighton Mysteries, set in the theatrical world of the 1950s. In 2016 Elly was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library for her body of work. Her first standalone mystery, The Stranger Diaries, was a Richard and Judy book club selection and was the Times Crime Novel of the Year 2018. She has also recently published a children’s crime novel, A Girl Called Justice.

To learn more about Elly, visit her website at ellygriffiths.co.uk.

All comments are welcomed.