Character List for "The Maidens"

Andros Family

Mariana Andros—a 36-year-old practicing group therapist in London; she was born and grew up in Athens, Greece, and moved to England when she was 18 years old

Sebastian—Mariana’s husband, who had died by accidental drowning off the coast of Naxos, Greece, the year before the events of the book; we never learn his surname, which would be Mariana’s married name

Zoe—Mariana’s niece, the daughter of her older sister, Elisa; Zoe was orphaned when Elisa and her husband died in a car crash in Greece, and when Zoe came to England to boarding school, Mariana and Sebastian “adopted” her; at the time of the events in the book, Zoe is a student at St. Christopher College, Cambridge, where Mariana and Sebastian had also gone

St. Christopher College, Cambridge

Edward Fosca—professor of classics at St. Christopher College whose prize group of students is known as “The Maidens”; he’s Zoe’s director of studies and also Mariana’s prime suspect for the murders

Tara Hampton-one of “The Maidens”; she is the first to be found murdered; she’s the daughter of Lord and Lady Hampton (of Scotland) and apparently a close friend of Zoe’s

Veronica Drake—one of “The Maidens” and the second to be found murdered; she’s the daughter of a U.S. Senator and has an ambition to become an actress

Serena Lewis—one of “The Maidens” and the third to be found murdered; she’s from Singapore but brought up in English boarding schools; Mariana believes she’s been having an affair with Morris

Carla Clarke—one of “The Maidens,” a tall blonde whose father is an actor

Natasha—one of “The Maidens” whose father is a Russian oligarch

Diija—one of “The Maidens” who’s described as an “Indian princess”

Lillian—one of “The Maidens”

Professor Clarissa Miller—Mariana’s director of studies when she was at St. Christopher College; Mariana has kept in touch with her since then

Morris—one of “the head porter at St. Christopher’s College, carrying on in his grandfather’s footsteps

Elsie—the “bedder” (makes beds, cleans rooms) for the court at St. Christopher College where Zoe lives

Other Cambridge Characters

Fred—a Trinity College student in theoretical mathematics who believes he has premonitions; he meets Mariana on the train to Cambridge and persists in trying to help her (or woo her?)

Conrad Ellis—thought by some to be Tara Hampton’s boyfriend and an early suspect in her murder because of his prior convictions for drug-dealing and aggravated assault

Characters Connected with Mariana’s Therapy Practice

Henry Booth—one of the members of Mariana’s therapy group who seems to have attachment issues

Ruth—Mariana’s training therapist and later her supervisor

Theo Faber—a forensic psychotherapist Mariana knows from her therapy-training days and whom she consults with about the murders at Ruth’s suggestion; his specialty is psychopathy

The Cambridge Police and Associates

Chief Inspector Sadhu Sangha—the lead detective on the murder cases

Julian Ashcroft—a forensic psychologist aiding the Cambridge police with the murder investigations; he and Mariana had studied psychotherapy together in London

Kuba—the police pathologist

July 2025 Author’s Video for NILIMA RAO

 

July 2025

Nilima Rao

A Disappearance in Fiji

Character List for A Disappearance in Fiji

Totogo Police Station, Suva Police Force

Sergeant Akal Singh—an Indian sergeant in the Suva Division of the Fijian Constabulary; he has been transferred to Fiji as a demotion from his position in the police department in Hong Kong as the result of a scandal

Corporal Taviti—a Fijian corporal in the Suva Division of the Fijian Constabulary and apparently Akal’s only friend there; also the nephew of a Fijian chief

Inspector-General Jonathan “John” Thurstrom—the British head of the Fijian Constabulary

Other British Officials in Fiji

David Keane—the Agent-General of Immigration

Father David Hughes—a Catholic priest and missionary in Suva; he’s the first to insist that Kunti was not a runaway indentured Indian

Dr. Robert Holmes—a British doctor living in Suva and responsible for visiting plantations to administer health exams and treatment to the Indian indentured workers

Plantation Owners and Associates

Henry Parkins—a disgraced Australian from a moneyed family who has been sent to Fiji after a scandal

Susan Parkins—Henry’s ambitious wife, the daughter of an important political family in Australia

John Brown—aka John Chalmers; the overseer for the Parkins plantation; he isn’t who he seems

Lewis Robinson—a British man living in Suva and having an affair with Susan Parkins

Indian Immigrants Indentured to the Parkins Plantation

Kunti—an indentured Indian woman who seems to have disappeared (either a runaway or kidnapped), leaving behind her husband Venkat and daughter Divya

Venkat—an Indian indentured worker who serves as a sirdar (an Indian supervisor) for the Parkins plantation

Satish—an Indian indentured worker who interprets for English-speakers with the other Indian immigrants

Other Foreigners

Ravendra Choudry—an Indian member of a British delegation (Delegation for India’s Relations with Fiji) visiting Fiji to review the Indian indentured servitude program

June 2025 Author’s Video for Tom Bouman

 

June 2025

Tom Bouman

Dry Bones in the Valley

May 2025 Author’s Video for Sulari Gentill

 

May 2025

Sulari Gentill

The Woman in the Library

Character List for The Woman in the Library

The Correspondents

Hannah Tigone—Australian author, writing a novel about a writer-in-residence who’s drawn into the mystery of a woman murdered in the Boston Public Library

“Leo Johnson”/Wil Saunders—a fan of Hannah’s work and self-appointed “sounding board” and U.S. fact checker for her current novel; he’s an aspiring writer who also hopes Hannah can persuade her agent to take on his “opus”

Special Agent Michael Smith—FBI agent investigating “Leo Johnson”

Characters from the Boston Public Library Reading Room

Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid—the 27-year-old narrator, a writer from Australia who is in Boston as a writer in residence on a Sinclair Fellowship

Whit Metters—aka “Heroic Chin”; Harvard Law student who’s trying to fail so as not to be absorbed in the family firm

Cain McLeod/Abel Manners—aka “Handsome Man”; 30-year-old published writer from North Carolina where he has a possible criminal past (his defense attorney was Jean LeMarque)

Marigold Anastas—aka “Freud Girl”; a Harvard psychology student

Carolyn Palfrey—the dead woman in the library; a sometime reporter for The Rag (and the granddaughter of the judge in McLeod/Manner’s case)

Occupants of Carrington Square

Leo Johnson—a writer in residence from Alabama who’s in the Sinclair Fellowship program

Katerina Wolanski—a British speculative-fiction writer in the Sinclair Fellowship program

Dr. Briton Ibe—a writer of political satire from Somalia in the Sinclair Fellowship program

Joe—the main doorman for Carrington Square

Mrs. Elias/Dr. Irma Weinbaum—a widow who sometimes represents herself as a doctor; she lives with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Gladys Jackson

Related Characters

Frank and Jean LeMarque Metters—Whit’s parents; both are lawyers whose law firm, Metters & Putnam, represents the Palfreys

Isaac Harmon—a homeless man who helped McLeod/Manners when McLeod/Manners first arrived in Boston as a 15-year-old runaway; Harmon has since died, and McLeod/Manners may be writing a book about him

Shaun Jacobs—aka Boo; a homeless man and friend of Harmon’s who blames McLeod/Manners for Harmon’s death

Lauren Penfold—a photographer from The Rag who knew Palfrey

Authorities

Detective Kelly—the Boston Police detective working the Palfrey case

Detectives David Walker and Justine Dwyer—Boston Police detectives investigating McLeod/Manners in connection with Boo’s death

Jarod Stills and Liam McKenny—attorneys with Zackheim & Associates, a law firm retained by the estate of Dr. Elias Wienbaum that represents Irma from time to time when she poses as a doctor

April 2025 Author’s Video for John Banville

 

April 2025

John Banville

April in Spain

Character List for April in Spain

Quirke’s Family and Associates

Dr. Quirke—an Irish state pathologist; Quirke was “rescued” from an orphanage by Judge Garrett Griffin and wife when he was young and raised as their son (although it appears he never took the Griffin name)

Dr. Evelyn Blake Quirke—Quirke’s second wife and a professional psychiatrist; she’s Austrian and the widow of a “sometime colleague” of Quirke

Phoebe Griffin—Quirke’s daughter by his first wife, who died when Phoebe was quite young, so Phoebe was raised by Quirke’s “sister” and thought Quirke was her uncle for most of her childhood; she is in her late 20s

Dr. Paul Viertel—Evelyn’s nephew and Phoebe’s boyfriend

The Latimers and Associates

Dr. Angela Lawless/April Latimer—seemingly, a doctor at the hospital in the Spanish town where Quirke and Evelyn are vacationing, but Quirke soon suspects her to be the “dead” friend of his daughter

Dr. Jeronimo Cruz—another doctor at the hospital, who despite his age seems to be Lawless’s boyfriend

Oscar Latimer—April’s brother, who confessed to murdering her and then killed himself by driving Quirke’s car over a cliff

Conor Latimer—Oscar and April’s father, a hero of the 1916 Rising and later a successful heart surgeon, who is rumored to have sexually molested both Oscar and April

William “Bill” Latimer—current Minister of Defense; Conor’s brother and Oscar and April’s uncle

The Assassin and Associates

Terry Tice—aka Pinkie; an Irish orphan, ex-British Navy seaman, and sometime drifter who does “fixing” for those who can afford him

Percival “Percy” Antrobus—an aristocrat-adjacent gentleman who recognizes Tice’s potential and introduces him to people who need jobs done; Percy seems to live off an inheritance from his mother (deceased, thanks to Tice)

Dublin Officials and Associates

Detective Chief Superintendent Hackett—head of police detectives and an associate of Quirke to whom Phoebe Griffin appeals for advice on whether to travel to Spain

Detective Inspector St. John Strafford—the police detective that Hackett assigns to accompany Phoebe to Spain

Ned Gallagher—a civil servant in the office of the Taoiseach (the head of government; the Irish equivalent of a prime minister) who is known to some members of the government as “the fixer’s fixer”; Bill Latimer pressures him to “deal with” the problem of April’s possible reappearance

Lenny Marks—an illegal arms dealer to whom Gallagher entrusts the hiring of a person to “deal with” the problem of April; Marks hires Tice

Dick “Fitz” FitzMaurice—the Chief Whip of the Dáil (lower house of Irish legislature) who investigates the events in Spain and metes out consequences for Gallagher and Bill Latimer

March 2025 Author’s Video

 

March 2025 Author’s Video for Liv Constantine

March 2025

Liv Constantine

The Senator’s Wife

Character List for The Senator's Wife

The Chase and Montgomery Families

Sloane (Emerson) Chase Montgomery—the wife of Senator Whitaker Montgomery; she is the widow of Senator Robert Chase, who was killed in an accidental domestic shooting

Emmy Chase—Sloane and Robert Chase’s adult daughter

Rosemary Chase—Robert Chase’s mother, Sloane’s mother-in-law, and Emmy’s grandmother

Camille Chase—Rosemary’s daughter and Robert’s sister

Senator Whitaker “Whit” Montgomery—Sloane’s current husband; he is the widower of Peg Montgomery

Peg (Barkley) Montgomery—former wife of Whit, cousin of Robert Chase, and Rosemary’s niece; she was killed in the same accidental domestic shooting that killed Robert Chase

The Politicians, Donors, and Lobbyists

President Marshall Beckermann—current POTUS and a former senator

Anne Beckermann—current FLOTUS and a good friend of Sloane

Vice President Chester Bishop—current Vice President recently appointed by Beckermann to replace the elected VP who died a year before; a friend of Whit who seems to be working with him on a project

Congresswoman Faye Chambers—congresswoman and a friend of Rosemary Chase; she seems to be working on a project with Whit Montgomery

Congressman Frank Horner—congressman who seems to be working on a project with Whit Montgomery

Dominic Peterson—a lobbyist for, and president of, Redstone Consulting who seems to be working on a project with Whit Montgomery

Fred Sawyer—a lobbyist who has contributed heavily to Senator Whitaker Montgomery’s campaigns and career and who also seems to be working on a project with Whit Montgomery

Madelyn Sawyer—Fred Sawyer’s wife, who’s involved with Whit Montgomery

Others

Athena Karras—aka Athena Pamfilis; a young widow hired to be a home health aide and assistant to Sloane Montgomery while she recovers from hip surgery

Clint Winston—an associate of Athena

Yvette—the cook for the Montgomerys

Doris—the housekeeper for the Montgomerys

Dr. Porter—Sloane’s rheumatologist who treats her lupus

Mac Slade—an old friend of Rosemary Chase’s; she asks him to investigate Whit

Character List for The Princess of Burundi

The Jonsson Family

John Harald “Little John” Jonsson—the first murder victim; an unemployed welder whose hobby and passion is tropical fish, specifically Princess of Burundi cichlids from Lake Tanganyika in Africa

Berit Jonsson—Little John’s wife; a part-time in-home attendant for social services

Justus Jonsson—Little John and Berit’s 14-year-old son

Lennart Albert “Brother Tuck” Jonsson—Little John’s older brother; a man who’s had previous interactions with the Uppsala police

Albin Jonsson—Little John and Lennart’s father; died when he either slipped or jumped from a cathedral roof where he was welding

Aina Jonsson—Little John and Lennart’s mother; still living, but in early stages of dementia

The Police

Chief Ottosson—the head of the Homicide Division of the Uppsala police

Ola Haver—the lead police detective on the Little John murder case

Rebecka Haver—Ola Haver’s wife, on maternity leave from public health job

Beatrice Andersson—one of the police detectives sent to investigate the original call about Little John’s murder; she makes initial visit to Berit Jonsson

Allan Fredriksson—one of the police detectives sent to investigate the original call about Little John’s murder; also called to the scene of the attack on Gunilla Karlsson

Sammy “Rasbo” Nilsson—police detective who seems to have theories about cases that are not usually shared by his fellow detectives; he’s also been part of a youth street crime project

Ann Lindell—police detective out on maternity leave but so eager to return to duty that she becomes inexplicably involved in the Little John case; her baby is Erik; (in a probable foreshadowing of later books in the series, she seems to have romantic feelings for Ola Haver and has been in a past relationship with Edvard Risberg)

Berglund—an older police detective with long-time ties in Uppsala

Riis—the police detective who does forensic accounting investigations

Peter Lundin—a germaphobic police detective

Eskil Ryde—the police’s forensic specialist

Lisolette Rask—the head of public relations for the police

Jan-Erik Hollman—a policeman killed by Vincent Hahn during Vincent’s arrest

Karolina Wittåker—the psychologist assigned to evaluate Vincent Hahn

Little John’s Friends, Classmates, and Other Associates

Mikael “Micke” Andersson—a childhood friend of Little John’s, whom Little John had visited the night he was murdered; he had sometimes given Little John information on part-time work in snow removal

Oskar Pettersson—an old timer who knew the Jonsson family when Little John was growing up

Vincent Hahn—a troubled classmate of Little John’s who has grown up to be a troubled man with a vendetta against former classmates and others

Gunilla Karlsson—one of the classmates against whom Vincent Hahn has a vendetta for ignoring him and taunting him in school

Vivan Molin—Vincent Hahn’s sister-in-law, formerly married to his brother Wolfgang Hahn (decamped to Israel); she’s another of Vincent’s victims

Mossa—an Iranian gambler with information about Little John’s big poker win

Ove Reinhold Ljusnemark—unemployed airplane mechanic who was in the poker game that Little John won; he gives the police eight names, but after interviews, only three—Lindstrom, Rosengren, and Mossa—are considered possible suspects in Little John’s death

Dick Lindström—one of the poker players in the game that Little John won; Lennart Jonsson believes that Berit had an affair with Lindström; he’s now disappeared and believed to be in Holland

Allan Gustav “The Lip” Rosengren—one of the poker players in the game; he’s also disappeared

Little John’s Former Co-Workers

Agne “Sagge” Sagander—the owner of Sagander’s Mechanical Workshop where Little John had been employed as a welder until he was laid off, ostensibly because of lack of work

Ruben Sagander—Agne’s twin brother

Erki Karjalainen—another welder at Sagander’s who had worked closely with Little John and was a friend

Meeting Reminder for February Mystery Books

 

Our Next Meeting

Is

February 10, 2025

At

12 Noon

If you are interested, here is a 10 minute video about the care and feeding of the Princess of Burundi Cichlids

https://youtu.be/ZtjppFAhxF8?si=pPUFqm8Y3Bmq4OGu

Hello Fellow Fish Keepers,

In this video we take a closer look at Neolamprologus brichardi a great fish from Lake Tanganyika. It goes well with many of the fish from that lake and shows some very interesting fry care.

January 2025 Author Video for Ruth Ware

 

January 2025

Ruth Ware

The Turn of the Key

Character List for The Turn of the Key

Mr. Wrexham—barrister to whom contents of the story are written

Rowan Caine & Rachel Gerhardt—one of these is the narrator of the story, the most recent live-in nanny hired by the Elincourts; the other is the narrator’s former roommate, now traveling in Southeast Asia

Bill & Sandra Elincourt—Owners of a home called Heatherbrae House in Scotland, as well as partners in a design firm; they seem to have trouble retaining nannies for their daughters

Rhiannon Elincourt—14-year-old eldest daughter of the Elincourts

Maddie Elincourt—8-year-old daughter of the Elincourts

Ellie Elincourt—5-year-old daughter of the Elincourts

Petra Elincourt—18-month-old daughter of the Elincourts

Jack Grant—a driver and handyman for the Elincourts who lives on the property

Jean McKenzie—a local woman who comes in during the day to wash up, pick up, and sometimes prepare food