Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • 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

  • Barry Duckworth

    Male

    Middle-aged Detective who has everything from a main role to small bit parts in Linwood Barclay’s books about the town Promise Falls. Barry Duckworth tries unsuccessfully to lose weight, and to hide his receding hairline by combing his hair over the bald part. He is happily married, doesn’t have a shady past, and has such an everyday appearance that nobody really notices him. But he is stubborn and he solves his cases!

    Further reading

  • Stephanie Plum

    Female

    A 30-year-old bounty hunter, quick-witted and sexy, with brown curly hair. She works in Trenton, New Jersey, her creator Janet Evanovich tells us. She stumbled into her profession by chance when she was unemployed. She is single – although she co-habits with her hamster Rex – and has two handsome admirers in the police officer and childhood friend Joe Morelli and her professional colleague Carlos ‘Ranger’ Mañoso.

    Further reading

  • John Dortmunder

    Male

    He is one of the most cunning thieves in the USA: he carefully plans the most fantastic coups, and has only been caught twice when he was young. Unfortunately, John Archibald Dortmunder is dogged with bad luck: his ingenious plans often go wrong at the last moment for the most incredible reasons. His adventures are described in more than a dozen entertaining – often farcical – novels by Donald E. Westlake.

    Further reading