Sample of literary figures
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John H. Watson
Male
Sherlock Holmes’ chronicler and permanent companion in the stories by A. Conan Doyle has given his name to a particular type of character in crime fiction: a detective’s right hand, conversational partner and admiring friend is called ‘a Watson figure’. In books by other authors, Dr Watson has solved cases by himself. The ‘H’ in his name (according to Sherlockian research) stands for Hamish, the Scottish for James.
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Patrik Hedstrom
Male
He is employed as a detective inspector in Tanumshede, western Sweden, but spends most of his time in Fjällbacka, where he lives and – together with his wife, author Erica Falck – solves a row of murder cases in the books by Camilla Läckberg. Patrik Hedstrom is partly based on Läckberg’s first husband, and is described as a ‘completely ordinary guy’, but he is a skilled crime investigator with quite a lot of charm.
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Sidney Chambers
Male
James Runcie has written a suite of novels about Sidney Chambers, vicar in Grantchester near Cambridge, and describes that character’s activities as an Anglican priest and amateur detective. The good vicar is tall, slim, just over 30 years of age with a high forehead, a hook nose and brown eyes. He is married to the German widow Hildegarde Staunton, and they have a daughter called Anna. Detective Inspector Geordie Keating is a very good friend.
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Harry Hole
Male
Harry Hole is Jo Nesbø’s creation. Hole is immensely popular among readers even outside Nesbø’s native Norway. He is a police officer with a serious drinking problem and countless scars acquired in the line of duty. His methods are unconventional, he is headstrong and he is unpopular with both his superiors and his colleagues. The stories about him are more like hardboiled American thrillers than traditional detective stories.