This was a question I posed to a search engine the other day, simply out of interest. I guess I wanted to check whether AI had naughtily rummaged inside any of my books, but was pleased to see that all the information gathered came purely from my own blurbs and website. It’s an interesting summary, and here’s what it said, with a few notes from me.
Jack Merritt is a central character in The Delamere Files series of gay romantic Victorian mysteries by Jackson Marsh. He is portrayed as a 24-year-old carter and [ex-] labourer at the East India Docks who becomes involved in investigative work with the Clearwater Detective Agency. [Carter = cabbie, I guess.]
Here are the key details about Jack Merritt: [Misspelt, I note, but not by me – I hope.]
- Background and Personality: Originally from a humble, working-class background, Jack [initially] lives in Limehouse with his grandparents, Reggie and Ida Merrit. He is characterised by a “bewildered look of innocence,” deep thinking, and a sense of vulnerability that contrasts with his, at times, dangerous investigative work.
- Role in the Series: Jack is one of the key investigators, working alongside Will Merritt and with the guidance of characters like Jimmy Wright. He matures throughout the series, evolving from a labourer into a dedicated, albeit sometimes insecure, detective.
- Relationships: A significant aspect of his character is his romantic journey, particularly his relationship with Larkin Chase.
- Key Storylines: In A Case of Make Believe (Book 5), Jack takes charge of the agency’s new staff and a difficult missing person case. In A Fall from Grace (Book 2), he learns detective skills and navigates his professional and romantic life.
Jack Merritt is often depicted as having a “charming and innocent” perspective, often serving as the reader’s lens into the complex social and criminal world of Victorian London.
Not bad. He is my MC, for sure, closely followed by Will Merrit (left), and, later in the series, Benjamin Baxter. The cast list for Delamere seems to grow with each new book.
We started with Jack, Will and Larkin, then added more of Max the butler, then Baxter, and as the Clearwater characters began to take a back seat (Jimmy Wright, Mrs Norwood), so came along Mrs Sparks, Simeon and Ronny Felman, and more recently, Charlie Inning. Around them, we’ve started to see more of the police connections, including, in the last book, Tom Bradley of the City of London Police.
Now then. A few people have hinted that they would like to see more of Tom (he was painted as charming, sensitive, cute…), and I am thinking about working him into a subplot in book eleven.
(Left: Ben Baxter.)
I am not sure, but I think it’s about time we shook things up in the Baxter/Charlie relationship, as it’s never really been a settled one. It’s always been a bit mad passion followed by cooling off, followed by being an open relationship and then not… We shall see.
The point is, I am working on book eleven, so far untitled, and as you can see from last week’s post, it has something to do with the Thirteen Club. This was a real club/society, and gave me the idea of using such societies and associations as the background for the mystery.
In the past, Jack, Will and the rest have been involved in criminal gangs, the Old School network, the music halls, the theatre of Grand Guignol, the London sewer system, creepy castles, the reading of a will, serial killers and the martyrdom of saints, and rural smugglers. In the most recent book, ‘A Depraved Indifference,’ although they saved lives, the criminal escaped and is still out there…
It will be interesting to revisit this online search for ‘Who is Jack Merrit of the Delamere files?’ and see what it comes up with.
MM Promos and Others
Meanwhile, don’t forget there are still some promos running, if you want to explore them or simply give a random click to boost my reputation for sharing. Here are two new ones:
MM ROMANCE BOOKS $4.99 and UNDER
Inspirational Reads!
A small collection, but a fascinating one.
