Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Arto Söderstedt

    Male

    A Finland-Swedish top lawyer who tired of his job and moved with his family to Sweden where he trained to become a police officer. After a spell in Västerås, Arto Söderstedt was transferred to the Swedish Police Board’s special A-group unit, which Arne Dahl (pseudonym for Jan Arnald) has written about. After the group was split up, he returned in Dahl’s books about the international police force OPCOP.

    Further reading

  • Jack Reacher

    Male

    He is a former officer in the US Army military police, but after being discharged he lives as a vagabond who – usually in a violent manner – solves criminal cases and other problems in books by Lee Child. The well-built Reacher’s parents and only brother are dead, and he steers clear of permanent relationships. He sometimes suffers from claustrophobia and likes to listen to music that he can memorise in an unusual way.

    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

  • Alex Morrow

    Female

    Morrow is a working class detective from Glasgow. She is the mother of twins and the protagonist in a series of tartan noir books by Denise Mina. Morrow is not always very forthcoming or correct, but she struggles to combine her job with being a mother and against misogynous bosses and colleagues in a city characterised by increasing class differences and violent crime.

    Further reading