Shelba (SJ) Rook first appeared in Lost and Found in Harlem and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Rook.

What is your name?
Shelba Julio Rook. Friends call me Rook or SJ. Only my mother calls me by the name she invented for me.

How old are you?
41

What is your profession?
Private investigator.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes, but it’s complicated.

What is her name and profession?
Sabrina Ross. She’s my boss at the detective agency. We both report to the agency’s founder and lead investigator, Norment Ross, Brina’s dad. Like I said, it’s complicated.

Any children?
No kids. I wouldn’t mind having a few, but I don’t figure that’s in the works given what I do.

Do you have any siblings?
None that I know of. But the term “rolling stone” was invented to describe my dad, so I wouldn’t bet my life on it.

Do your parents live near you?
My mother, Alba Julieta, still lives in our home town, San Marcos, Texas. But living in New York City, I don’t see her much. My father, Sheldon Rook, is long gone. Maybe back to Louisiana where he’s from, maybe to parts further west. No telling where he ended up or what he’s doing now.

Who is your best friend?
Archibald Lin, a homicide detective in the NYPD. The big guy married Brina’s best friend, Pinky Michel, who’s a jazz singer by night, a bank executive by day. So, Archie and I are doubly linked. If we ever break up, the custody fight will be murder.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Herb the big yellow cat would say he owns me.

What town do you live in?
New York City – Harlem, to be exact. I landed here after a dismal stint in the army and the collapse of a rotten marriage. I hit rock-bottom a few years ago, but after I joined the Ross Agency, the upward path has re-energized me. I’m still learning my way around the neighborhood, but Harlem feels like home to me now.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
Have you checked the rates in New York recently? I rent a studio that would cramp a cat. In fact, Herb complains about our quarters every day.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
Depends. In the morning, I like stretching in bed, looking out the picture window at the incredible city skyline. At night, nothing beats the peace of a hot shower pounding on my aching neck and shoulders.

Favorite meal and dessert?
The Emerald Garden deli below our office makes a terrific tuna on rye. I could (and do) eat one most day. But when Mei Young, the deli owner advises otherwise, I go with her foot-long meatball sub. Is bourbon on the rocks a dessert? If not, I’ll say apple pie a la mode.

Favorite hobby?
At least once a week I make time for a round of boxing at Neely’s Gym. My trainer, Dink Bartholomew, says I’m pretty good for a guy missing two toes on the left foot. Because of my limp, Dink won’t let me spar in the ring, but I work up a nice sweat pommeling the speed and heavy bags. When the basketball court is free, I keep my eye sharp drilling beauties from the three-point line.

Favorite color?
Black works best for jeans, sweaters, shirts, and boots: my poverty is disguised as New York chic.

Favorite author?
Mysteries by Tony Hillerman and Craig Johnson for western action and suspense. Langston Hughes keeps me grounded in Harlem. And Brina is pushing me to try more James Baldwin. I like what I’ve read so far.

Favorite vacation spot?
I was homeless for almost two years before I landed at the Ross Agency. My favorite vacation spot is my apartment.

Movies or live theater?
Movies for the popcorn. And the raptors, light sabers, and fast cars.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I prefer mornings, but my job makes me a night person.

Amateur or professional sleuth?
I’m a professional investigator, according to the paycheck I pull every other week. Brina and Norment Ross would say I’m still learning the fine points of the job. We specialize in recovering what’s lost: relatives, jewelry, documents, pets, marriages, or reputations. Brina likes to state our mission this way: “Lots of people go missing in Harlem. We find the ones who want to be found. The rest, well, they stay lost.” I’m nosy and stubborn; my heart might lead me off course, but my gut rarely steers me wrong. I like to think I’ve become much more than the lug-headed muscle of the Ross Agency.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
I rely on my partners, Brina and Norment Ross. I don’t carry a gun, so Brina’s crackerjack pistol talents have saved me a time or two. Norment knows Harlem better than anyone; I count on him for common sense insight into the history and soul of the neighborhood. Most of our cases fall below the police radar because they’re too sensitive or obscure for official attention. But when I need him, NYPD detective Archie Lin is vital backup.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Coffee and Cheerios get me to the office by nine, where I scan online news, delete junk email, and polish the case report I drafted the night before. If I can push the send button on that report before ten, Brina stays happy. Norment briefs me on his street work, often assigning me to a surveillance job if his plate is full. I’ll spend the afternoon interviewing clients, their colleagues and relatives, or tracking suspects and counseling victims. If the hours drag, I drop into Zarita’s Bar across the street for a quick drink around four in the afternoon. The bartender Jerome knows me. Likes me too, I think. Most nights our agency provides discreet security at community meetings, receptions, office parties, or family gatherings. Anywhere the tensions and trials of the neighborhood threaten to boil over into conflict, you’ll find us. That’s how my day’s supposed to go. Until death drops by and I plunge into another murder investigation.

Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win one (1) print copy of Pauper and Prince in Harlem, limited to U.S. residents. Contest ends April 6, 2020. Good luck everyone!

Pauper and Prince in Harlem is the fourth book in the “Ross Agency” private investigator mystery series, released February 18, 2020.

A vulnerable kid. A brutal enemy. An addled ally.

Blood runs cold on Harlem’s hottest summer night when drive-by assassins shoot up a crowded playground, killing the teenaged friend of private eye SJ Rook. Only fourteen, the kid was smart, affectionate, and alive with potential. His sudden death strikes Rook through the heart. Was this boy the victim of a cruel accident or was he targeted by gang hitmen in a ruthless display of power?

To find the killers, Rook must enlist the help of another teen, Whip, a mysterious runaway witness. Whip is a transgender boy whose life on the streets has drawn him into the realm of a violent mob kingpin. Bruised and discouraged by his mother’s rejection, Whip doesn’t want to be found. Not by the cops or by community do-gooders. And certainly not by Rook, a resolute stranger with vengeance on his mind. Rook’s search for the elusive kid requires persistence, street-level diplomacy, and guts. The quest becomes a dangerous trek through the meanest corners of his neighborhood. Racing from desolate homeless camps to urban swamps, from settlement houses to high-rise palaces ruled by greed and corruption, the determined Rook pursues his quarry. An unexpected twist in the detective’s relationship with his crime-fighting partner, Sabrina Ross, threatens to derail his mission while deepening their personal connection.

In this fourth book in the Ross Agency Mystery series, Rook confronts his toughest assignment yet. Noble tramps, vicious thugs, and a pint-sized trigger woman complicate Rook’s efforts to protect Whip. When a crime prince and a hobo hold the boy’s life in the balance, will Rook’s grit and imagination be enough to save Whip and bring the killers to justice?

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About the author
Delia C. Pitts is the author of the Ross Agency mysteries, featuring private eye SJ Rook. The fourth title in the series, Pauper and Prince in Harlem, was published in February 2020. Delia is a former university administrator and U.S. diplomat. After working as a journalist in her home town, Chicago, she earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. She and her husband live in central New Jersey, too far from their twin sons in Texas. Visit Delia online at deliapitts.com and on Instagram at @deliapitts50.

All comments are welcomed.