Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Rebecka Martinsson

    Female

    Beautiful and well-educated lawyer – who first works in a law firm and later becomes a public prosecutor – who has a central role in all of Åsa Larsson’s crime stories. In the first books, Rebecka Martinsson is living in Stockholm, but her work takes her to Kiruna, where she grew up, and she later moves back there. She has quite a lot of problems at work as well as in her private life, but is supported by friends, including the police officer Anna-Maria Mella.

    Further reading

  • Gordianus

    Female

    He is called Gordianus the Finder, and is a private investigator in ancient Rome in the days of Julius Caesar. ‘Lawyers’ and orators like Cicero are some of the people who use his services in historical crime novels by Steven Saylor. Gordianus’ wife is the Egyptian Bethesda, previously his concubine whom he had bought as a slave. He lives in Rome until he inherits a farm in Etruria, but later moves back to the city.

    Further reading

  • Nestor Burma

    Male

    Private eye Nestor Burma is a famous character in French 20th century crime fiction. He runs his own detective agency, Fiat Lux, in Paris with his secretary Hélène Chatelain, who is hopelessly in love with him. They feature in a string of hardboiled, humorous books by Léo Malet. Burma also features in films, television dramas and a cartoon.

    Further reading

  • Malcolm Fox

    Male

    He isn’t loved by his colleagues in the police force, because his job is to investigate occurrences of professional misconduct. Malcolm Fox is a well-built and divorced middle-aged man, who worries about his father’s delicate health and his alcoholic sister – he, himself, has been a teetotaller for a long time. He works in Edinburgh, where he cooperates with another of author Ian Rankins’ main characters: John Rebus.

    Further reading