Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • 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.

    Further reading

  • Ewert Grens

    Male

    Middle-aged detective chief inspector in Stockholm, ordinary-looking, with thinning hair and a wrinkled face. He suffers from a severe trauma: his wife Anni suffered severe brain damage in an accident that he caused. Now Ewert Grens visits her every day in the care home. His only consolation is the songs sung by Siw Malmkvist, and he is always listening to them in the novels by Anders Roslund – the early novels were written together with Börge Hellström.

    Further reading

  • Salvo Montalbano

    Male

    Commissario Montalbano, named by the author Andrea Camilleri for the Spanish crime writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, was born in Sicily, and he works in the fictional town of Vigàta there. He is short-tempered and stubborn, which causes a great deal of problems, but deep down he is a hardworking, energetic professional who is in a long-distance relationship with his fiancé, Livia Burlando.

    Further reading

  • Van Veeteren

    Male

    Despite his successful career as a detective chief inspector, he tires of his job, and starts afresh as an antiquarian bookseller. But he continues to play an important role in Håkans Nesser’s books about the police in Maardam. Van Veeteren is a well-built and heavy man, he has a bass voice, is divorced and has been operated for stomach cancer. He is very fond of classical music and dark beer, and likes to chew on a toothpick.

    Further reading