Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Archie Goodwin

    Male

    The voluminous private detective Nero Wolfe, created by Rex Stout, rarely leaves home. He lets his secretary, Archie Goodwin, do the legwork, and Goodwin is not a bad detective either. He is good looking, polite, tough when he needs to be, quick-witted and he can memorize interrogations word for word. He is usually the narrator in the Nero Wolfe books. His employer would never have been able to solve crime as elegantly as he does without him.

    Further reading

  • Vesper Johnson

    Male

    Detective Inspector Vesper Johnson is a unique, and very entertaining, character. He is vain with a “beaver” face and rakish moustache; he wears high heels and dyes his hair. Johnson solves crime in a string of novels by Stieg Trenter in which the protagonist is the photographer Harry Friberg. After Trenter’s death, his wife Ulla continued to write her own books about Friberg and Johnson.

    Further reading

  • Paul Hjelm

    Male

    Police officer in Huddinge, Stockholm, who was wrongly suspended and then transferred to the Swedish Police Board’s special A-group unit where he became a central figure. When the group is split up, Paul Hjelm and some of the others are transferred to an international force OPCOP. He is married to Cilla and the couple have two children. The books about him are written by Arne Dahl (pseudonym for Jan Arnald).

    Further reading

  • Anders Knutas

    Male

    A detective inspector of thirty years, Knutas is working for the Visby police on the Swedish island of Gotland in a series of books by Mari Jungstedt. Knutas is in his fifties, he is experienced, cautious and detailed in his investigations. He was married to a Danish midwife, Line. They have two children, twins, that in the most recent books are adults. He is devastated by his and Line’s divorce.

    Further reading