Sample of literary figures
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Maria Kallio
Female
She was only 23 when she got her first job with the police, but she has worked her way up to a senior post in the criminal investigation department in the Finnish town of Esbo. She has also grown older in Leena Lehtolainen’s books about her, got married to Antti Johannes Sarkela and had children. With her red hair and in good physical condition, Mario Kallio is a tough (and if necessary even harsh) feminist who appreciates a good whisky – in reasonable measures.
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Kay Scarpetta
Female
Patricia Cornwell’s protagonist is a forensic scientist based in Virginia, USA. She has been described as just over forty years old, blond with several love interests and a few female competitors who do not appreciate her confidence. She is a highly competent forensic investigator and crack shot, which is useful since she is often under threat. Scarpetta likes to cook in her spare time.
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Sebastian Bergman
Male
He was a popular person, respected as a forensic psychologist and regarded as Sweden’s foremost expert on criminal profiling – until he lost his wife and daughter in a natural catastrophe. Then he stopped working, became a sex-addict and generally inaccessible. Sebastian Bergman has, however, reluctantly thawed and allowed himself to be tempted back to his work by Hans Rosenfeldt and Michael Hjorth.
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Brother Cadfael
Male
Brother Cadfael is a former crusader who joined the Benedictines on his return to England. He is a herbalist at a monastery in Shrewsbury in Shropshire where he solves crime. These whodunits by Ellis Peters (a pen name used by Edith Pargeter) are set in England during the turbulent first half of the twelfth century. They have caused a major surge in popular interest in historical crime novels.