Stephen Restarick

In the novel They do it with Mirrors, Stephen "Steve" Restarick is the son of Carrie Louise's second husband, and the younger brother of Alexis Restarick. Stephen cares for Carrie Louise as if she was his real mother, and considers her home his home, as his father died not long after divorcing Carrie Louise. Stephen affectionately addresses Carrie Louise as Madonna. He loves Gina, and works in the theatre, working often to stage plays with the juvenile delinquents at the Institute.

Steve is dark and handsome, and "thin to the point of emaciation".

Steve and his brother used to spend their holidays at Stonygates when they were growing up, and Gina says that she used to tag along after him. At that time, he considered her a nuisance, but now he is in love with her.

Portrayals
In Murder with Mirrors (1985), his name is changed slightly to "Steven Restarick". Here he is not a member of the family but has been employed by Lewis Serrocold to run theatre programmes for the boys in the reform institution. He does not have a brother named Alex. He does, however, fall in love with Gina. In this case, Gina's interest in him is more real than pretended, and she actually considers divorcing Walter but then changes her mind. When Gina turns down Steven's proposal of marriage, he drives away from Stonygates in a hurry, casting more suspicion on himself for the crimes.

In the BBC 1991 adaptation of the novel which formed part of the Miss Marple series, Stephen Restarick is played by Jay Villiers. In this adaptation, both Stephen and his older brother, Alex, are in love with Gina, similar to the novel. Later, Stephen hears about Ernie Gregg saying that he wasout on the night of the murder, and saw something. Stephen tells his brother, Alex -played by Jay's older brother Christopher- about it, and they plan to have Alex pose as a detective, meet Ernie, and find out what he claims to have seen. While Alex is meeting Ernie in the theatre, something heavy falls on them from above, killing Ernie. Stephen finds Alex lying nearby, injured but still alive. At the end of the movie, Stephen telephones to Stonygates to report that Alex is out of danger. This is unlike the novel, where Alex was already dead when they found him in the theatre.

In the ITV 2009 adaptation of the novel as part of their Agatha Christie's Marple series, Stephen Restarick is played by Liam Garrigan. In this adaptation, he finds Gina after she has had a quarrel with her husband, Wally Hudd, and kisses her. Mildred catches them, and is furious. At the end of the movie, Stephen holds up two glasses, and offers Gina a drink. However, she runs to Wally instead, and they make up with each other. Stephen then sees Mildred, tries to offer her the drink instead, and asks her to go for a drive with him. However, she declines, and walks back into the house.

Restarick is also the name of the main characters in Third Girl [1966]