Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • 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

  • Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg

    Male

    Adamsberg is a Paris detective inspector. His pace is slow, he is contemplative, he is well acquainted with the human character, he relies on his intuition, and he solves every case he is confronted with. These are generally full of mysteries, but Adamsberg’s unorthodox methods and competent colleagues are a great help to him. Adamsberg is the creation of Fred Vargas, pseudonym for the French author Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau.

    Further reading

  • Dave Robicheaux

    Male

    After having been a soldier in Vietnam and a detective in New Orleans, he struggled for many years with his addiction to alcohol. He managed it, and became a boat renter and a private detective in Louisiana. Time after time, he is caught up in murder cases, described in a long row of novels by James Lee Burke. The middle-aged Dave Robicheaux has married three times: his first wife was murdered, the second died from tuberculosis.

    Further reading

  • Ruth Galloway

    Female

    Her age is 40+ and she lives with her daughter Kate and her cat close to the sea in Norfolk. But forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway has a lot of friends, including the married detective chief inspector, Harry Nelson, the father of her daughter. She is independent, humorous, attractive with a nice figure – she weighs around 80 kg. Elly Griffiths (pseudonym for Domenica Maxted) has written a suite of detective stories about her.

    Further reading