Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Ted (Edward) Conkaffey

    Male

    Edward Conkaffey, better known as Ted, lost both his job and family after having been accused of molesting a young girl sexually. He was exonerated of all charges, but as persistent rumours didn't fade away, he's now living on his own with a dog and seven geese. He's tall and muscular, with black hair and blue eyes. He sometimes teams up with a young female detective, Amanda Pharrell, in books by Candice Fox.

    Further reading

  • Jackson Brodie

    Male

    He is a middle-aged divorced detective, former soldier and police officer, born in Yorkshire but living in London despite the fact that he has never liked southern England. So he is happy to travel north, and some of Kate Atkinson’s novels about him are set in Scotland. Jackson Brodie’s strength as a detective does not lie in logical reasoning, but in his empathy with the afflicted: the victims of crime and their loved ones.

    Further reading

  • Fran Hunter

    Female

    Single mother, artist and teacher who settles on the Shetland Islands so that her daughter Cassie can get to know her father, Fran’s former husband, who is from the islands. However, Fran finds herself in a murder mystery and meets police officer Jimmy Perez with whom she starts a relationship. The books about Hunter and Perez gave author Ann Cleeves her breakthrough – despite the tragic end to the love story.

    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