Meny

Sample of literary figures

  • Tom Ripley

    Male

    He is charming, handsome and cultivated as well as being a ruthless serial killer and psychopath totally lacking in empathy, the main character in five classic thrillers by Patricia Highsmith. Thomas ‘Tom’ Ripley became an orphan when he was five years old, and was brought up by a callous female relative. He later marries the wealthy Héloïse Plisson, but nevertheless has successfully continued his criminal career.

    Further reading

  • John Madden

    Male

    Scotland Yard detective John Madden suffered from an explosion during the First World War, but nevertheless in 1921 still solves the murder of four persons in the Surrey countryside. After that, he and his wife, Dr Helen Blackwell, settle as farmers in Surrey, but for various reasons Madden nevertheless takes part in investigations of several brutal murders in England during the Thirties and Forties in a suite of novels by Rennie Airth.

    Further reading

  • Münster

    Male

    Whether the middle-aged detective superintendent in the fictive Maadam has a first name, is unknown – his creator, Håkan Nesser, keeps quiet about that. But Münster’s wife is called Synn, and they live in a happy marriage with two children – which doesn’t prevent him from silently admiring other women. He plays badminton for the exercise, and he succeeds his boss Van Veeteren when the latter leaves the police force.

    Further reading

  • Fredrik Beier

    Male

    A Norwegian police detective who struggles against anxiety and guilty feelings after the youngest of his three children has died. His wife, Alice, left him for another man – but author Ingar Johnsrud reveals that Fredrik Beier still has a sexual relationship with her despite having acquired a new girlfriend, Bettina. He is around 50 years old, thin with streaks of grey in his hair, and has a narrow moustache.

    Further reading