Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • 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

  • Tom Ripley

    Male

    He is charming, handsome and cultivated as well as being a ruthless serial killer and psychopath totally lacking in empathy, the main character in five classic thrillers by Patricia Highsmith. Thomas ‘Tom’ Ripley became an orphan when he was five years old, and was brought up by a callous female relative. He later marries the wealthy Héloïse Plisson, but nevertheless has successfully continued his criminal career.

    Further reading

  • Andy (Andrew) Dalziel

    Male

    Andy (Andrew) Dalziel is uncouth, vulgar and loud at the same time as he is understanding and easily moved, which he does his best to hide from others. He is an experienced, effective Yorkshire inspector who solves a string of complex murders together with his colleague Peter Pascoe despite some health issues in later years. The books are by Reginald Hill.

    Further reading

  • Flavia de Luce

    Female

    In the 1950s, the motherless Flavia de Luce was not highly regarded by her father and sisters. She was indeed a rather ordinary and everyday 11-12-year-old (with dental braces), but mature for her age, and determined too, with a mind of her own and smart, and she busied herself with nasty-smelling chemistry experiments. Besides, she solved murders – for which the police resented her – in the books that Alan Bradley has written about her.

    Further reading