My Top 5 Fictional Characters

I have been listening to Janet Evanovich's "Hot Six", which is novel #6 in her Stephanie Plum series. I really love the character, Stephanie Plum and this made me think about my other favorite fictional characters. So, I have put together a list of my Top 5 fictional characters. Some you may know and some you may not.

5. Daisy Miner from Linda Howard's "Open Season"- Daisy is a librarian who, on her 30th birthday decides that she is a boring, dull librarian with no love life. She then sets about changing her image. She moves out of her mother's house, dyes her hair blonde, gets some fashion sense, buys a big puppy and begins a relationship with the town sheriff. She is just so fun! She is so innocent and naive, but she is still really smart and capable. I mean, she must be smart if she lands the town hunk and foils a band of criminals who are smuggling illegal immigrants in to sell as sex slaves, right?
4. Mrs. Emily Pollifax from Dorothy Gillman's "The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax"- This is a series, but I started with the first book and have jumped around since then. Mrs. Pollifax just wakes up one day and decides to become a spy. She walks into the CIA and asks for a job. Her first assignment is in Mexico City. Her assignment seems to be fairly simple, but she, of course, ends up in a whole mess of trouble. Mrs. Pollifax is so surprising as a character, she is just this sweet little old lady who plays bridge and has grandchildren, but she is also a black belt in karate. Her best attribute is her ability to talk to people. She is just one of those people who you feel like you can tell all your secrets too. She actually reminds me of my mom. She is such a good listener that people just confide in her all the time. I feel like Mom could definitely be Mrs. Pollifax when she gets older (not right now, Mom, you are still WAY too young).3. Miss Marple from Agatha Christie's Miss Marple Mysteries- Another series of sorts, but you doesn't necessarily need to be read in order of publication, each novel can stand on it's own. I have actually only read a couple of the Miss Marple series, but I have watched the entire Miss Marple collection with Joan Hicks. Miss Marple is just so smart and such a puzzle solver. You feel like she solves a murder the way she would do the Sunday crossword. You would think that solving murders all the time would make her hard and uncaring, but she is so friendly and good-natured. She is just a gossipy old village lady, through and through.

2. Amelia Peabody from Elizabeth Peters' "Crocodile on a Sandbank"- This is the first of a series as well. Amelia is a wealthy single woman who decides that she will travel to Egypt. She is very scholarly, friendly, and loves to take care of others. Her generosity is what allows her to meet her new companion Evelyn, who is found jilted by her lover in Italy. Once she and Evelyn arrive in Egypt, they meet the Emerson brothers, Walter and Radcliffe. I love Amelia's spirit and her sense of humor. She is so unaware of her own physical beauty, but is totally secure in her intelligence. She is a wonderful character and I have loved all of her books.

1. Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich's "One for the Money" - Another series. I think it must be really hard to come up with characters that people love throughout an entire series. It is easy to love a character in a stand alone novel, but when you read story after story about their lives, it is hard to keep people entertained and enchanted by a character. I love Stephanie Plum! She is my favorite fictional character. She is the perfect combination of dorky and cool. Stephanie is a bounty hunter and her first book follows her as she tries to apprehend Joe Morelli, who is wanted for murder, but is rumored to be innocent. Joe also happens to be the guy who deflowered Stephanie in high school and the guy who she plowed down with her father's Buick in college. Stephanie is a typical, tough New Jersey girl. She has big hair, short skirts and a lot of attitude. She is not exactly brave, more like she does heroic things by accident. If you have never checked out these books, I highly recommend you do.

So there you go, my favorite fictional characters. These may not always be my favorite, but they are for the moment. Please feel free and share some of yours.