Europe's Top Literary Cops Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oxford, England

Inspector Morse - his first name was never mentioned until the end of his career - was the creation of Colin Dexter. The novels were set in Oxford, where Morse and his sidekick Detective Sergeant Lewis found there were many murders set against the dreaming spires of the University town.
Morse was a solitary man who enjoyed good beer and classical music. Although unmarried, he did have several relationships - and of course a classic car.
Morse appeared in 13 novels between 1975 and 1979. Many were adapted for British television, with John Thaw in the role.

Answer: Edinburgh, Scotland

Moody and brilliant - aren't all fictional cops? - Rebus was created by Ian Rankin and policed the streets of Edinburgh. Rebus rose and fell through the ranks, and even returned to the police after formal retirement.
Rebus had a troubled upbringing and a broken marriage and was not always enamoured of his bosses.
Personal traits included a love of beer - taken in the Oxford Bar - and of rock music, particularly the Rolling Stones.
The first novel appeared in 1985 and the 22nd in 2015. (There were also collections of short stories). The novels were adapted for British television. Ken Stott - an Edinburgh native - is best remembered as Rebus, with John Hannah less fondly remembered for the first season.

Answer: Oslo, Norway

Harry Hole was a functioning alcoholic who brought brilliant insights to investigating murderers in Oslo.
The character was created by Jo Nesbo, who brought Hole to life in novels set in Australia and Thailand and then eight more in Oslo.
Hole was seen as an expert on serial killers. He was often deeply affected by nightmares from his investigations.

Answer: Sweden

Kurt Wallander was created by Henning Mankell and appeared as the main character in 11 novels between 1997 and 2011. Wallander was a loner with a daughter and an ex-wife. He had a love of opera.
Novels and stand-alone dramas were broadcast on Swedish television between 1997 and 2013.
Initially Rolf Lassgård starred as Wallander, with Krister Henriksson taking over the role in 2008. As if that was not enough, between 2011 and 2016 the BBC produced three seasons of Wallander cases in English, starring Kenneth Branagh. (Confusingly, the original Swedish language shows were also broadcast in the UK.)

Answer: Hamburg, Germany

Jan Fabel was created by the Scottish author Craig Russell, a former policeman. Fabel appeared in seven novels between 2005 and 2015. The novels were set in Hamburg where Fabel, who was of Scottish/German birth, was called on to investigate chilling cases involving serial killers.
Fabel was an historian-turned policeman who was frequently personally affected by his cases. In an interview, Craig Russell said: "I would say that Jan Fabel is a sympathetic and, most of all, credible investigator. He is smart and insightful; is politically liberal but a little conservative socially." [Shots Crime & Thriller Ezine.]
Three of the cases were turned into dramas on German TV, with Peter Lohmeyer in the title role.

Answer: Paris, France

The Paris-based police commissioner was created by Georges Simenon. He appeared in 76 novels and 28 short stories between 1931 and 1972.
Generally known to his friends and family as simply 'Maigret', numerous cases were adapted for television, radio and the big screen. Maigret became a big international franchise, with adaptations in English, French, Russian and Japanese, among others.
Oft-times dubbed 'The Sherlock Holmes of France', Maigret has been described by reviewers as enigmatic. Personality traits included smoking a pipe and a love of good food. He also did not like driving - nor did he possess a driving licence. Unlike many leading fictional detectives, he seemed to have a quiet but satisfying domestic life.

Answer: Sicily

Inspector Salvo Montalbano was created by Andrea Camilleri and appeared in 23 novels and several collections of short stories starting in 1994.
In 1999, Italian TV started showing episodes based on the novels, with Montalbano played by Luca Zingaretti. In 2012, a prequel series "The Young Montalbano", starring Michele Riondino was aired.
The books were set in Sicily. Montalbano was seen as a deft operator, but also as a bit of a maverick by his bosses.

Answer: Ireland

Benedict Devlin was an inspector in An Garda Siochana, the police service of the Republic of Ireland.
The stories of murder investigations were set on the Northern Ireland/ROI border in Counties Tyrone Donegal and Derry.
The character was created by Brian McGilloway, himself a native of Derry/Londonderry.
Five books were published between 2007 and 2012.

Answer: Moscow, Russia

Arkady Renko was created by the American author Martin Cruz Smith.
He operated in Moscow, and eight novels were published between 1981 and 2013.
The son of a soldier, Renko was a disappointment to his father for not following him into the army. The novels were set in the post-Communist era, at a time when - allegedly - crime and corruption were rife among the new ruling classes, including those involved in law and order. Arkady's job was to expose corruption and dishonesty among the new elite.

Answer: Amsterdam, Holland

Thirteen books about Piet Van der Valk were written by the English author Nicholas Freeling. They were set in Amsterdam. Freeling killed off (literally) his lead character in 1972, and then had his wife take over for another series of novels.
In an obituary for Freeling in 2003, the "Daily Telegraph" said he "liberated the detective story from page-turning puzzle into a critique of society and an investigation of character."
The character, although not the novels, was taken on for a British television series which ran for four seasons with varying times between them from 1972 to 1992. Barry Foster played the role.