Sample of literary figures
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Gideon Fell
Male
The enormous Dr Fell, whose physical traits are modelled on G.K. Chesterton, is one of crime fiction’s foremost problem-solvers when it comes to ‘locked-room’ mysteries and other ‘impossible’ crimes. He also works on an ever-growing doctoral thesis about English drinking habits from bygone days, he likes his beer and is married – although his wife is only mentioned in a few of John Dickson Carr’s books about him.
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Sean Dillon
Male
An IRA soldier, born 1952, who later changes sides and is a British agent in a long row of novels by Jack Higgins (pseudonym for Henry Patterson). As a young man, short, blond Sean Dillon has a brief acting career, and is an expert on disguise. He is also a skilled pilot and diver, as well as an expert marksman and linguist. As a British agent, he got Liam Devlin, another of Higgins’ heroes, as his mentor.
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Lindsay Gordon
Female
Lindsay Gordon is a hardboiled, cynical, lesbian crime reporter and the protagonist of half a dozen novels by Val McDermid. She is a Socialist, feminist jazz lover who tries to cut down on her cigarette and whiskey consumption. Her unorthodox methods are not always appreciated, especially not by the police, but that does not stop her from continuing to harass them.
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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.