Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Lindsay Gordon

    Female

    Lindsay Gordon is a hardboiled, cynical, lesbian crime reporter and the protagonist of half a dozen novels by Val McDermid. She is a Socialist, feminist jazz lover who tries to cut down on her cigarette and whiskey consumption. Her unorthodox methods are not always appreciated, especially not by the police, but that does not stop her from continuing to harass them.

    Further reading

  • Irene Huss

    Female

    Inspector Irene Huss lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is married to a chef and she is the mother of twins, two teenage girls that now and then annoy their parents by taking an interest in neo-Nazism or vegan food. Huss is struggling to get ahead in a male-dominated profession. Her creator, Helen Tursten, has made her a European ju-jitsu champion, which occasionally comes in useful.

    Further reading

  • Gunnar Barbarotti

    Male

    His father was Italian, his mother Swedish – and one of the few things they were successful with was their son’s name. Gunnar Barbarotti is a police detective in the fictive Swedish town of Kymlinge. He is a reflecting gentleman with an everyday appearance who is unlucky in his relationships: his first wife leaves him, his second wife dies in the books by Håkan Nesser. When alone, Barbarotti has long conversations with God.

    Further reading

  • Jules-Joseph Maigret

    Male

    French detective inspector and something of an icon within the genre. Maigret was a farmer’s boy who became a cop by chance and quickly earned himself an office at the Paris police headquarters at Quai des Orfèvres. Georges Simenon’s books do not only follow the inspector’s investigations, but also his private life, including a happy, but childless, marriage.

    Further reading