Sample of literary figures
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Beate Stein
Female
A young police detective in Dortmund, blond and with green eyes, and tough enough (or more than so) to survive and thrive in a male-dominated workplace. Beate Stein is a heterosexual feminist who prefers to put men behind bars rather than women, but she never cheats in her work. Through the books by Sabine Deitmer, she has become something of a figurehead for what is known as <i>Frauen-Krimis</i>.
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Tony Hill
Male
Anthony ‘Tony’ Hill is a qualified psychologist as well as a skilful ‘profiler’ often used by the police in Bradford in a suite of crime novels by Val McDermid. He works with Detective Chief Inspector Carol Jordan, and they have a complicated private relationship. Hill is sickly, sexually dysfunctional and there are details that mention an unhappy and mentally stressful childhood and youth.
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Harry Bosch
Male
He is actually called Hieronymus Bosch, but calls himself – for understandable reasons – Harry. His mother was a prostitute and was murdered; his father is a well-known lawyer whom he first met as an adult. Harry Bosch was a soldier and then became a police officer, mainly in Los Angeles. And he was also the main character in a whole row of detective stories by Michael Connelly.
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Kay Scarpetta
Female
Patricia Cornwell’s protagonist is a forensic scientist based in Virginia, USA. She has been described as just over forty years old, blond with several love interests and a few female competitors who do not appreciate her confidence. She is a highly competent forensic investigator and crack shot, which is useful since she is often under threat. Scarpetta likes to cook in her spare time.