Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Carl Mørk

    Male

    Inspector Carl Mørk lost interest in his job after two of his colleagues were shot – one of them fatally, the other was seriously injured. Nonetheless, he was put in charge of Department Q, the Danish police cold case group. He solves a series of crimes in collaboration with his closest co-workers, the secretary Rose Knutsen and Hafez el-Assad, in a string of books by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

    Further reading

  • Tom Reynolds

    Male

    A friendly, calm and humorous police detective in Dublin, who leads the investigations into brutal murders in books by Jo Spain. He is between 40 and 50 years old, with a slightly crooked nose and black hair going grey, and he is happily married to Louise: they have a daughter together, Maria, who is not entirely without problems. Tom Reynolds’ personality is based on the author’s husband, Martin, who is a journalist, however, not a police officer.

    Further reading

  • Maria Kallio

    Female

    She was only 23 when she got her first job with the police, but she has worked her way up to a senior post in the criminal investigation department in the Finnish town of Esbo. She has also grown older in Leena Lehtolainen’s books about her, got married to Antti Johannes Sarkela and had children. With her red hair and in good physical condition, Mario Kallio is a tough (and if necessary even harsh) feminist who appreciates a good whisky – in reasonable measures.

    Further reading

  • Peter Diamond

    Male

    Peter Diamond is a police officer, formerly stationed in London, and now working in Bath in Somerset. He is 50+, a widower and overweight with abominable dietary habits – ‘an ambulatory heart attack’, according to his creator Peter Lovesey. Already in the early books, Diamond left the police service, but returned after a couple of novels. Through his stubbornness and the way he ignores orders, he solves a number of sensitive cases.

    Further reading