Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • C.W. Sughrue

    Male

    C.W. stands for Chauncey Wayne, but not many people know that. He is a private detective in Meriweather i Montana – where also author James Crumley’s other private detective, Milo Milodragovitch, is found. C.W. is a shabby war veteran and drug-abuser, always ready to resort to violence and he admits himself that he is “a mean son of a bitch”. He solves cases in his own way, is heavy-handed but effective.

    Further reading

  • Thursday Next

    Female

    She is called Thursday Next, and is an agent for a state organisation in an absurd, parallel world (i.e. parallel to our own) that is imbued with literary features. She is newly married – we get to know that her husband Landen Parke-Laine drowned when he was three years old – and has a son Friday. Her mother is called Wednesday. Jasper Fforde has written a suite of very different fantasy crime novels about Thursday Next and her world.

    Further reading

  • Paddy Meehan

    Female

    When Patricia ‘Paddy’ Meehan gets a job with a newspaper in Glasgow, she is overjoyed. The job isn’t as much fun as she had hoped, but after having solved a murder case she is promoted to crime reporter – and can solve some more cases. Her family are poor, but she nevertheless manages to live a fairly pleasant private life, writes Denise Mina in her dark detective stories about Paddy.

    Further reading

  • Fredrik Beier

    Male

    A Norwegian police detective who struggles against anxiety and guilty feelings after the youngest of his three children has died. His wife, Alice, left him for another man – but author Ingar Johnsrud reveals that Fredrik Beier still has a sexual relationship with her despite having acquired a new girlfriend, Bettina. He is around 50 years old, thin with streaks of grey in his hair, and has a narrow moustache.

    Further reading