I always find it so hard to pick just one or two of anything but among my favourite characters are Jenny Cooper from the M.R.Hall books, she's a fierce champion for justice but her personal life is a real mess and I find myself cheering her on. A long lasting favourite is Dave Robicheaux from James Lee Burke, flawed and very humane as is Jackson Brodie, Kate Atkinson's protagonist but Brodie is also very funny at times which is a welcome counterpoint to the suspense of the stories. I could go on but I'll stop there...