Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Hafez el-Assad

    Male

    He is simply called Assad by his colleagues in the crime novels by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen. Despite lacking formal qualifications, he is employed in the police department’s so-called ‘cold-case’ group. He generously shares of his knowledge of, for example, various types of weapons, but is not keen to talk about himself. Assad has his roots in an Arab country, probably Syria, and has certain difficulties with the Danish language.

    Further reading

  • Nikki Liska

    Female

    Female police officer in Minneapolis, divorced with two teenaged sons, and together with colleague Sam Kovac the main character in a suite of crime novels by Tami Hoag. Nikki Liska has a sharp tongue, is tough and has quite a sense of humour. She gets on well with the older Kovac, and they miss each other – so they continue to cooperate – when she is moved to a cold-case group to be able to have more time with her sons.

    Further reading

  • Cato Isaksen

    Male

    Inspector Cato Isaksen is successful at work, but his private life is a mess. Unni Lindell’s books are more than detective stories, they also portray Isaksen’s struggle to get comfortable with his male identity and not to let his private life interfere too much with his job. It adds an extra dimension to the books.

    Further reading

  • Bjørn Beltø

    Male

    Norwegian archaeologist, who solves mysteries with religious connections in a suite of novels by Tom Egeland. Bjørn Beltø is just over 30 years old and is an albino, which means that he has poor vision and pale skin. He is single and finds it hard to get relationships to work, despite certain women being interested in him. He periodically suffers from anxiety, and then prefers to sit at home and listen to classical music.

    Further reading