The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 14 books · 1993 to 2010 · Mostly set in the fictional Maardam

Håkan Nesser

Crime and mysteryThriller and suspenseLiterary and generalPolice proceduralPsychological suspenseLiterary fiction

Swedish writer Håkan Nesser created Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, who works in the invented town of Maardam, and later the philosophical Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti of Kymlinge.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Years are of the Swedish editions.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Håkan Nesser books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Van Veeteren

10 books · Set in the fictional MaardamPolice proceduralLiterary fiction
  1. 1The Mind's Eye1993With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Borkmann's Point1994With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Return1995With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Woman with Birthmark1996With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Inspector and Silence1997With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Münster's Case1998With MünsterBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Carambole1999With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Ewa Moreno's Case2000With Ewa MorenoBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Strangler's Honeymoon2002With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The G File2003With Van VeeterenBuy on Amazon

Gunnar Barbarotti

4 books · Set in the fictional Kymlinge, SwedenPolice proceduralPsychological suspense
  1. 1The Darkest Day2006With Gunnar BarbarottiBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Root of Evil2007With Gunnar BarbarottiBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Secret Life of Mr Roos2008Buy on Amazon
  4. 4The Lonely Ones2010With Gunnar BarbarottiBuy on Amazon

Characters

6 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Maardam police

Kymlinge