Johnny is initially characterized through his relationship to the wilderness surrounding Six Rivers. James describes Johnny as “a creature of quiet, unnerved by the buzz of the city” (5). He knows that he belongs in Six Rivers and, unlike his sister, has no desire to “escape” the isolated nature of small-town life. Like Micah, he feels a deep connection to the wilderness and derives his sense of self from his rural upbringing. 

Although James initially describes him as a quiet outdoorsman with a close link to nature, she later reveals that Johnny is also emotionally volatile, irresponsible, and prone to violence. As a teenager, he kills Griffin in anger and in a separate incident he gets into a car accident while under the influence. Both times, James and Micah protect him after. His poor choices earn him a reputation in town for being the “bad twin.” Johnny’s behavior is in part rooted in his troubled upbringing: He and James were abandoned by their mother in infancy, and their father moved away while they were still in high school. Their fractured family leaves Johnny with anger issues and poor coping skills. 

Johnny is also characterized by his close but unhealthy relationship with James. The two can sense each other’s feelings and care deeply about each other, but Johnny’s volatility is difficult for James to manage. Moreover, Johnny is jealous when James develops other close bonds, which is why he tries to end her relationship with Micah. However, James and Johnny’s relationship is complex and Johnny is also sometimes a positive influence in James’s life. For instance, he urges her to get out of Six Rivers and go to art school because he knows that it is what she truly wants. Similarly, he sees Autumn’s photographic talents and wants to help her succeed. Although gossip swirls around the pair, their relationship is never inappropriate, with Johnny only trying to help the young girl, seeing her as a reflection of James. This shows that Johnny is not entirely selfish and felt genuine affection for James.

Micah is James and Johnny’s close friend from high school and James’s love interest. He is characterized by both his calm, quiet nature and his willingness to speak directly when the situation requires it. James observes: “Micah was never one to hide things. He didn’t pretend” (130). Unlike Johnny, he is grounded and not emotionally volatile. He has a stability that both Johnny and James are drawn to, and he becomes a quietly supportive presence in James’s life when she returns to Six Rivers to investigate her brother’s death. 

Micah is also an avid outdoorsman whose identity is tied to nature. He is at home in the area’s forests and on its waterways, so he becomes a fishing guide. He enjoys this line of work because it allows him to spend the bulk of his time in the wilderness that he loves. He has this in common with Johnny, who also enjoys the natural world. Micah is also characterized by his desire to remain in Six Rivers. He feels tied to the town as well as its surrounding forests, and unlike James and Olivia, he does not define “success” as leaving the small town behind. 

Micah shares a deep bond with both James and Johnny. The three become close as teenagers, and Micah remains devoted to the twins even during periods in their life when they have limited contact. His relationship with Johnny, however, is complicated since both Micah and James enable Johnny by helping him avoid the consequences for his poor decisions. Micah, like James, eventually takes an emotional step back from Johnny in order to pursue his personal happiness.

Olivia Shaw is one of James’s high school friends. As a teenager, she always struck James as “cool in a lazy kind of way” (51), and as an adult, James observes that she still possesses this quality. The two bonded initially over their shared passion for art. While in high school, both dreamed of fine arts careers far away from Six Rivers. However, while James achieved her career goals, Olivia did not. James theorizes that Olivia’s failure to succeed as an artist is rooted in her lack of drive and ambition and her inability to withstand criticism of her work. Olivia becomes the town’s high school art teacher, and she spends her days mentoring young people who still harbor the dreams that she has been forced to give up. 

Olivia is initially characterized by her warmth toward both James and her students. She is depicted as a kind, open-minded individual who is happy to dedicate her life to helping others. Yet it turns out that there is much more to Olivia than meets the eye, highlighting the theme of The Weight of Buried Secrets: Olivia is ultimately revealed as Autumn’s killer. Although she did recognize and appreciate Autumn’s talent, she was also secretly jealous. She nursed a grudge against James for having succeeded in the art world and was bitterly disappointed with how her own life had turned out. Autumn reminded her of James, and Olivia could not bear that the talented young woman outperformed her artistically. So, she killed her.

Sadie is one of James’s high school acquaintances and the owner of Six River’s only café. She is revealed to be Johnny’s killer. Sadie is characterized initially by the work that she does at her café and by her status as one of the town’s insular, cliquish residents. She, like many of the other townspeople, is not particularly open to outsiders and closes ranks around her inner circle when she perceives danger. She demonstrates this when she becomes combative with James during their initial conversation when they discuss Micah and the rest of the townspeople. Since James has been gone for 20 years, Sadie perceives her as an outsider. 

Sadie is also characterized by the ferocity of her maternal bond to her son Ben. Ben is likely Johnny’s son, but Sadie does not allow Ben to pursue a relationship with Johnny because she has deemed Johnny an unfit father. She would rather deprive Ben of the chance to get to know Johnny than risk Johnny interfering in her parenting or becoming a negative influence on Ben. Ultimately, Sadie is so protective of her son that she is willing to kill for him: She believes, albeit erroneously, that Ben has killed Autumn, so she kills Johnny because she believes Johnny was suspicious of Ben and might discover his crime.

Quinn is James’s on-again, off-again romantic partner in San Francisco. A secondary character, he is important for his relationships with James and Johnny. Quinn is influential in both research and philanthropic circles in San Francisco. He has an important position in CAS, the scientific research body Johnny works for through James’s recommendation. Although James suspects Quinn early on of being somehow involved in the accident that led to Johnny’s death, this is a red herring. Quinn is a kind, caring man whose intentions toward both James and Johnny are helpful and benign. 

Although he and James are romantically involved, Quinn ultimately comes to symbolize a life that she no longer wants. Quinn is a polished, professional urbanite, and James realizes that her home is in the rural forests of northern California and that her true love is Micah. Despite her choice to pursue a relationship with Micah, Quin remains friendly with James.

Amelia Travis is the town’s park ranger and law enforcement officer. She has a teenage child and wants to become an integrated part of the small, Six Rivers community. Her character highlights the town’s insularity: She is not widely liked or accepted and is considered an outsider even after years of living in town. Amelia’s predecessor was never accepted even after decades of being a ranger in Six Rivers, and no one in town seems poised to change their ways now that they have a “new” ranger. 

Amelia is also illustrative of the town’s complex dynamics: The people of Six Rivers would prefer to solve their own problems and investigate their own mysteries. They would rather operate outside the boundaries of the law and take matters into their own hands rather than putting their trust in Amelia. Despite these obstacles, Amelia does her best at her job. Although she initially strikes James as kindly and even bumbling, James comes to see that Amelia is a skilled law enforcement officer and an astute judge of character.

Griffin died before the events of the novel, but he plays a key role in its suspense structure and narrative. Griffin was a classmate of James, Micah, and Johnny, and he was “the town’s golden boy” who was “handsome in an all-American kind of way” (43). He was a star on the soccer team and, like James, had secured a scholarship at a prestigious school. Griffin was the first person James told about her acceptance to Byron, and he developed feelings for her shortly afterward. He felt a kinship with James because they had both found a way out of Six Rivers. 

However, James did not return his feelings, and when she rejected his advances, he responded with anger. Griffin tried to kiss James while they were camping with Johnny and Micah, and after she pushed him away, he drank a large quantity of whisky and then pointed a gun at James. This resulted in Johnny pushing him off a cliff and the three later claiming the death was an accident. Since James was privy to Johnny’s thoughts at the time of Griffin’s death, she knew that Johnny pushed him on purpose, intending to kill Griffin. As a result, she feels afraid of Johnny and leaves the town.

Autumn Fischer is dead during the events of the novel, but she still plays an important role in the narrative. She was a gifted art student whose talent and Johnny’s influence have secured her a scholarship to Byron, the same prestigious art school James attended in San Francisco. Autumn, like James, had a troubled home life but was a talented artist, which is why Johnny tried to help her. Olivia, too, saw these parallels and killed Autumn out of spite.