Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • 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.

    Further reading

  • Gunnar Barbarotti

    Male

    His father was Italian, his mother Swedish – and one of the few things they were successful with was their son’s name. Gunnar Barbarotti is a police detective in the fictive Swedish town of Kymlinge. He is a reflecting gentleman with an everyday appearance who is unlucky in his relationships: his first wife leaves him, his second wife dies in the books by Håkan Nesser. When alone, Barbarotti has long conversations with God.

    Further reading

  • Kathy Mallory

    Female

    Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Mallory is a tall, green-eyed, beautiful blonde. She is also – according to her creator Carol O’Connell – a sociopath who can be both callous and ruthless. At the age of six, after witnessing the murder of her mother Kathy Mallory, she lived on the streets until she was adopted by a police officer. Encouraged by him, she becomes a police detective. She doesn’t lack admirers, but lives on her own.

    Further reading

  • Christian Hammar

    Male

    Born in the little town of Eslöv, but has lived for many years in the city of Lund where he studies History. He is the main character in three novels by K. Arne Blom. In the first, his wife Monica is murdered, and with the help of police officer Gunnar Mellberg, Christian Hammar can discover the perpetrator. His mistress Margareta Turèll has quite an important role, and like Mellberg, she returns in the following two books.

    Further reading