Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Bjørn Beltø

    Male

    Norwegian archaeologist, who solves mysteries with religious connections in a suite of novels by Tom Egeland. Bjørn Beltø is just over 30 years old and is an albino, which means that he has poor vision and pale skin. He is single and finds it hard to get relationships to work, despite certain women being interested in him. He periodically suffers from anxiety, and then prefers to sit at home and listen to classical music.

    Further reading

  • Carl Mørk

    Male

    Inspector Carl Mørk lost interest in his job after two of his colleagues were shot – one of them fatally, the other was seriously injured. Nonetheless, he was put in charge of Department Q, the Danish police cold case group. He solves a series of crimes in collaboration with his closest co-workers, the secretary Rose Knutsen and Hafez el-Assad, in a string of books by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

    Further reading

  • Archie Goodwin

    Male

    The voluminous private detective Nero Wolfe, created by Rex Stout, rarely leaves home. He lets his secretary, Archie Goodwin, do the legwork, and Goodwin is not a bad detective either. He is good looking, polite, tough when he needs to be, quick-witted and he can memorize interrogations word for word. He is usually the narrator in the Nero Wolfe books. His employer would never have been able to solve crime as elegantly as he does without him.

    Further reading

  • Jackson Lamb

    Male

    Misanthropic boss of Slough House, a department for discharged spies and agents in the British MI5. Jackson Lamb, a central figure in a suite of novels by Mick Herron, is a former spy who has gone to seed. He is tall, has an ‘offensive’ face, is cynical and sarcastic, a chain smoker and is careless about his personal hygiene. This doesn’t prevent him and his department from managing to solve several sensitive spy cases.

    Further reading