Sample of literary figures
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Steve Carella
Male
A central figure in Ed McBain’s (pseudonym for Evan Hunter) books about the 87th police district in Isola is Stephen ‘Steve’ Carella. He is of Italian extraction, and in one of the early books he marries the beautiful and deaf-mute Theodora ‘Teddy’ Franklin, with whom he has twin sons. Detective Carella is tall, dark and muscular without being athletic; he gives an impression of strength and energy.
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Maisie Dobbs
Female
Young, brave and intelligent private detective who started to work as a domestic when she was only 13 years old. Maisie Dobbs had a benevolent female employer, and got to study nursing and psychology. She fell in love with a doctor who was killed in the First World War, and in 1929 she started her own detective agency. Jacqueline Winspear has written more than a dozen books about her.
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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.
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Will Robie
Male
When the police and the military can’t stop the USA’s enemies, the government calls in its most skilful assassin. He never questions an order and never fails, David Baldacci ensures us. The well-built Will Robie has sharp facial features, dark hair and a lot of scars on his torso and arms. A weak point, however, is his feelings for Jessica Reel, she too a notorious and effective US agent.