Sample of literary figures
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Carol Jordan
Female
Carol Jordan is a detective at the head of a special task force that investigates violent crime in the fictional town of Bradfield, England. She collaborates with the profiler Tony Hill in a series of novels by Val McDermid. They have a fraught personal relationship that ends when Jordan leaves the profession after a breakdown following the murder of her brother. She later makes a comeback and continues to work with Hill.
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Paddy Meehan
Female
When Patricia ‘Paddy’ Meehan gets a job with a newspaper in Glasgow, she is overjoyed. The job isn’t as much fun as she had hoped, but after having solved a murder case she is promoted to crime reporter – and can solve some more cases. Her family are poor, but she nevertheless manages to live a fairly pleasant private life, writes Denise Mina in her dark detective stories about Paddy.
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Adam Dalgliesh
Male
Adam Dalgliesh is a successful, much respected detective inspector and poet that features in novels by P.D. James. In her first book about him, she spelt his name Dalgleish, which has caused some confusion. He is a typical soft-spoken, straightforward, pragmatic English gentleman who operates more like a classic private detective than a Scotland Yard DI. He conducts himself with ease in all kinds of geographical and social settings.
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Reginald Wexford
Male
Inspector Reginald “Reg” Wexford, who operates in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham in Sussex, was a traditional detective when Ruth Rendell first introduced him. He is overweight and has a foul temper, which leads to conflicts with his superiors, but he has a pleasant and understanding family. Wexford has become more tolerant over the years and has developed into a major authority on human character.