Meny

Literary figures

Sample of literary figures

  • Reginald Wexford

    Male

    Inspector Reginald “Reg” Wexford, who operates in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham in Sussex, was a traditional detective when Ruth Rendell first introduced him. He is overweight and has a foul temper, which leads to conflicts with his superiors, but he has a pleasant and understanding family. Wexford has become more tolerant over the years and has developed into a major authority on human character.

    Further reading

  • Frank Frølich

    Male

    Frølich is a sergeant with the Oslo Police, where – in a suite of novels by Kjell Ola Dahl – he works together with a cynical and disillusioned Chief Inspector Gunnarstranda. The two are each other’s opposites, for better or worse. The somewhat younger, extrovert and impulsive Frølich is especially interested in women which often lands him in embarrassing situations in his private life as well as in his work.

    Further reading

  • Terry Quinn

    Male

    When he worked as a police officer, he accidentally killed a colleague. As a result, the green-eyed Irishman Terry Quinn left the police force and instead got a job in a shop in Silver Spring, Maryland, which sells second-hand paperbacks and vinyl records. However, he also does some extra work as an active assistant to another former policeman, Derek Strange, who is now a private detective, in books by George P. Pelecanos.

    Further reading

  • Barbara Havers

    Female

    Contrary to many other female police officers in crime fiction Barbara Havers is not a good-looking woman. Her creator, Elizabeth George, claims she made her deliberately unattractive and unkempt. Havers has cooperation issues and she is moody, stubborn and temperamental. Yet she has a functional working relationship with her complete opposite, the well bred, neatly turned out Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley.

    Further reading