Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • George Smiley

    Male

    He is rather fat, has been said to liken a toad, and is married to the beautiful and forever unfaithful Lady Ann Sercombe. Besides which, George Smiley is a lethal agent with the British Secret Service in a suite of novels by John Le Carré. Before retiring, he also becomes the director of the secret service. In some of the early books, he is however more active as a detective.

    Further reading

  • Nero Wolfe

    Male

    Nero Wolfe is one of the largest detectives in crime fiction – he weighs almost 150 kilos. Wolfe loves food, orchids and books. Created by Rex Stout, he is a classic crime fiction detective that lives in a New York brownstone. Rumour has it that he is Sherlock Holmes’s son. He has roots in Montenegro and at his side is his trusted secretary, Archie Goodwin, who makes sure that he stays on the job.

    Further reading

  • Carol Jordan

    Female

    Carol Jordan is a detective at the head of a special task force that investigates violent crime in the fictional town of Bradfield, England. She collaborates with the profiler Tony Hill in a series of novels by Val McDermid. They have a fraught personal relationship that ends when Jordan leaves the profession after a breakdown following the murder of her brother. She later makes a comeback and continues to work with Hill.

    Further reading

  • Peter Decker

    Male

    When he falls in love with the Jewish widow Rina Lazarus, the parents of the divorced single father and police inspector Peter Decker reveal that he is adopted, and that his biological parents were Jews. He changes religion, and can marry Rina. Together, they solve a row of criminal cases in Faye Kellerman’s books, where one of them – or sometimes both of them – plays the main role.

    Further reading