In A Fool’s Journey, book 3 in my Marketville Mystery series, protagonist Calamity (Callie) Barnstable seeks the help of a former white hat hacker, Benjamin (Ben) Benedetti in her search for Brandon Colbeck. I envisioned a guy in his early 40s, a mix of slightly arrogant, believably humble, and decidedly handsome. The sort of guy Callie could fall for.

While the knowledge behind Ben Benedetti’s expertise can be attributed to Michael Benedetti, an IT expert and the husband of my former New England Antiques Journal co-worker, Mary Hahn, the guy living in my head while I was writing his scenes looked distinctly like Matt Czuchry.

Full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of Matt Czuchry since Gilmore Girls, my all-time favorite TV series, bar none. Those of you who have read The Hanged Man’s Noose, book 1 in the Glass Dolphin Mystery series, might even remember a reference to Huntzberger Publications. Most recently, Czuchry can be seen in The Resident, playing the brilliant and roguish-in-good-way doctor, Conrad Hawkins. Here’s an excerpt from A Fool’s Journey:

I stood at the entrance and looked around the diner, and wondered what Benjamin Benedetti looked like. My money was on a dark-haired man mesmerized by whatever was on his phone.

I was about to walk over and introduce myself when the door opened behind me. I turned around to come face to face with a forty-something guy who could have been Matt Czuchry’s double. I’ve been a fan of Czuchry’s since his days as Logan Huntzberger in the Gilmore Girls. I hoped this was my white hat hacker.

In A Fool’s Journey, the character of Ben Benedetti plays a pivotal role to the story. In fact, I’ve enjoyed writing about him so much that I’ve included him in Before There Were Skeletons, the next Marketville Mystery, with a projected release date of Fall 2022. Stay tuned.

#TeamLogan