Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Vesper Johnson

    Male

    Detective Inspector Vesper Johnson is a unique, and very entertaining, character. He is vain with a “beaver” face and rakish moustache; he wears high heels and dyes his hair. Johnson solves crime in a string of novels by Stieg Trenter in which the protagonist is the photographer Harry Friberg. After Trenter’s death, his wife Ulla continued to write her own books about Friberg and Johnson.

    Further reading

  • Lars Martin Johansson

    Male

    Johansson is head of the Swedish Police. He first appears in Leif G. W. Persson’s first book <i>Grisfesten</i> and then returns in a string of novels by the author. He was previously married to Gunilla; they have two children together. After a few years he marries Pia who is 20 years younger. He is a passionate hunter and eventually dies of a stroke.

    Further reading

  • Mma Makutsi

    Female

    She struggles with her poor skin and unflattering spectacles, but Mma Grace Makutsi has impressively high grades from her secretarial course and is a lady with skin on her nose and a sharp tongue. In Alexander McCall Smith’s suite of novels about The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Botswana’s capital Gaborone, Mma Makutsi is first employed, but after a while becomes a part-owner of the agency. She is also happily married to Phuti Radiphuti.

    Further reading

  • Angie Gennaro

    Male

    Angela ”Angie” Gennaro is a small, dark, good looking private detective that features in novels by Dennis Lehane. She is working alongside her childhood friend Patrick Kenzie. She is a devout Catholic and therefore reluctant to leave her alcoholic, abusive husband. Kenzie and Gennaro solve crime in a string of hardboiled detective novels set in Boston.

    Further reading