Sample of literary figures
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Barry Duckworth
Male
Middle-aged Detective who has everything from a main role to small bit parts in Linwood Barclay’s books about the town Promise Falls. Barry Duckworth tries unsuccessfully to lose weight, and to hide his receding hairline by combing his hair over the bald part. He is happily married, doesn’t have a shady past, and has such an everyday appearance that nobody really notices him. But he is stubborn and he solves his cases!
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Maria Wern
Female
Maria Wern is a young sergeant who balances crime investigations with family life, including an insufferable husband. She later moves to the island of Gotland where she continues to solve crime. The author, Anna Jansson, has also written a number of young adult detective novels that feature Wern’s son, Emil.
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Myron Bolitar
Male
Promising, attractive basketball player, who damaged his knee and instead sports agent – and an amateur detective. Myran Bolitar solves a row of murder cases, which usually take place in sports circles, in books by Harlan Coben. He often has girlfriends (but only one at a time) as assistants. He also has a nephew, Mickey, who solves cases in a handful of detective stories for young adults in which his uncle features as a minor character.
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Kathy Mallory
Female
Kathleen ‘Kathy’ Mallory is a tall, green-eyed, beautiful blonde. She is also – according to her creator Carol O’Connell – a sociopath who can be both callous and ruthless. At the age of six, after witnessing the murder of her mother Kathy Mallory, she lived on the streets until she was adopted by a police officer. Encouraged by him, she becomes a police detective. She doesn’t lack admirers, but lives on her own.