Character List for Conviction

The McDonalds

Anna McDonald (aka Anna McLean, aka Sophie Bukaran)—the narrator

Hamish McDonald—Anna’s “husband” (it turns out they weren’t legally married) and father of her two daughters

Jessica McDonald—Anna and Hamish’s 8-year-old daughter

Lizzie McDonald—Anna and Hamish’s 7-year-old daughter

The Cohens

Estelle Cohen—Anna’s “best friend” who runs off with Hamish

Fin Cohen—Estelle’s anorexic husband, famous lead for a now-defunct-but-once-popular band; starts a new podcast sequel to the Death and the Dana podcast to report Anna’s investigation

The Parkers (and Parker-Adjacent)

Gretchen Teigler—a rich and powerful heiress; owner of a football club and Sophie’s (and Anna’s) nemesis; married to Leon Parker

Dauphine Loire—Gretchen’s personal assistant

Leon Parker—a man Anna met when she worked at the castle (Skibo) and whom she considers a friend

Violetta Parker—Leon’s 21-year-old daughter by a previous marriage (to Julia Parker)

Mark Parker—Leon’s 17-year-old son from a previous relationship (with Daniela)

Julia Parker—a former Italian supermodel; Leon’s first wife and mother of Violetta; she lives in Venice

Daniela—a social worker; one of Leon’s long-time girlfriends and mother of Mark

Lillie Harkan—Leon’s Dutch girlfriend when he’s at Skibo Castle; he leaves her there

Other Characters Introduced in the Death and the Dana Podcast

Trina Keany—an admin at the BBC and the podcaster for the Death and the Dana podcast

Amila Fabricase—(born Rosa Luxembourg Berghoff) chef on the Dana who leaves early and is later accused, convicted, and imprisoned for murdering the three Parkers

Sabine—Amila’s partner in both life and a bakery business

Other Characters From Anna’s Past (Sophie) and Present (Anna)

Patricia Hummingsworth—police detective who investigated the attack on Sophie Bukaran; later jailed for taking bribes from Dauphine Loire

Adam Ross—a friend of Sophie’s who helped her get a new ID (Anna McLean) and the job at Skibo Castle; an addict

Albert McKay—Anna’s boss at Skibo Castle

Pretcha—Hamish’s nosey neighbor who takes and posts pictures of Anna and Fin on the front porch of Hamish’s house

Demy——(aka Yergey) a hired assassin from Georgia (the country); story-teller on train from Venice to Paris with Anna and Fin

Zvaid——a hired assassin from Albania; followed Anna and Fin on train from Venice to Paris; murdered by Demy

“Scarface”——the man who attacked Sophie (in her mother’s home) and later Anna (in Teigler’s home)

For those of you on Zoom today, many apologies for the tech problems.

But with the use of other technologies,

  we can put it up on the Blog.

Author Video for Adrian McKinty

The Island

September 2023

Just for fun, here is a video which shows how to desalinate water

 if you are on a desert island like Owen tried to do.

Character List for The Island

The Baxters

Heather Baxter—a fairly recently married 20-something who grew up in an artists’ commune on Goose Island, WA (the real Goose Island is uninhabited) and has recently been a massage therapist in Seattle

Dr. Thomas “Tom” Baxter—Heather’s fairly new 44-year-old husband, an orthopedic surgeon in Seattle, WA; father of Olivia and Owen

Olivia Baxter—Tom’s 14-year-old daughter

Owen Baxter—Tom’s 12-year-old son

Judith Baxter—Tom’s first wife (a biologist with a PhD); she was from a wealthy family and died in mysterious circumstances

The O’Neills

Ma O’Neill—the matriarch of Dutch Island, Australia

Terry O’Neill—Ma’s deceased husband

Matt Watson—married to Tara O’Neill, Ma’s second-youngest child; she has left the island (she doesn’t appear in the book)

Jacko—unclear whether he’s Matt’s brother or one of Ma’s sons

Ivan O’Neill—one of Ma’s sons; runs the small ferry that runs between Dutch Island and the mainland

Kate O’Neill—Ma’s youngest daughter

Brian O’Neill—another of Ma’s sons

Danny O’Neill—Ma’s youngest son; married to Ellen

Ellen O’Neill—the deaf girl on the bicycle whom the Baxters crash into and kill

Ned—runs food stand on the mainland and is an unexplained part of the family

Jamie—unexplained part of the family

Janey—unexplained part of the family

Lenny—the O’Neill’s blacksmith; unclear if he’s part of the family

Niamh—one of the children on Dutch Island

Freddie—one of the young boys on Dutch Island (his name is only mentioned once, but perhaps he’s “the boy” who seems to accompany Ivan in searching for the Baxters)

Gillian—a former nurse who tends to Tom Baxter’s wounds; unclear if she’s an O’Neill

Friends and Others

Carolyn Moore—Heather Baxter’s long-time friend from Goose Island

Ray—an Aboriginal man the Baxters encounter near Alice Springs; he trades a penknife he’s made for Heather Baxter’s earrings; the penknife becomes important

Chloe—Ray’s wife

Nikko—Ray’s granddaughter

Jenny Brook—conference representative assigned to Tom Baxter in Melbourne

Hans—a retired auto engineer from Leiden, Netherlands; he and Petra tag along with the Baxters to see wildlife on Dutch Island

Petra—a retired sociologist, wife of Hans

Rory—a retired Irish policeman who was once employed by the now-abandoned prison on Dutch Island; he lives there with permission of the O’Neills