Aubrey Price is one of the protagonists of Anatomy of an Alibi. She is of medium height with black hair. Aubrey lives with her parents until she’s 16, when they die in a car accident caused by a drunk driver while Aubrey’s at a concert. Aubrey then lives with her aunt and uncle until she turns 18. Her aunt and uncle spend all the money her parents left behind, so Aubrey has to start over with nothing. Aubrey can’t afford school, so she works various jobs to survive. She finds housing in a shared rental, and there Aubrey meets Deacon, Eddie, Shane, and Serenity. Aubrey bonds with her housemates, and her closeness to her friends helps her character develop as the mystery of the narrative unfolds.

Aubrey meets Camille after Camille finds Aubrey’s information among Ben’s things. Camille accuses Aubrey of having an affair with Ben, but Aubrey doesn’t know who Ben is. Aubrey connects Ben to Paul Granger, the man convicted of causing the accident that killed her parents. Aubrey astutely realizes that Ben must have a connection to her parents’ deaths, so she and her housemates craft a plan to find the evidence that will prove Ben’s guilt.

Aubrey plans to use Camille to achieve her own goals, and she knows Camille plans to do the same. Aubrey heavily relies on Camille’s resources and access to Ben initially, but Aubrey regains the upper hand after the events of October 10, as she thinks, “There was a moment when I needed her more than she needed me, but not anymore. I used my time as ‘her’ today to make sure of that” (12). Aubrey takes her fate into her own hands, ensuring that while she appears to help Camille, she actually helps herself. Her trust in Camille is virtually nonexistent, and the divide between them yawns larger.

Aubrey yearns to make a better life for herself. She describes her shared house as a place for people “stuck between their pasts and their futures” and trapped by “the hope that living somewhere like this is temporary, and a positive life change is just around the corner” (14). Aubrey lives in the house for years, illustrating her own feelings of captivity about her life. Aubrey’s past haunts her, as she doesn’t feel that the police obtained justice for her parents, and she can’t move forward, or make “a positive life change,” because the past remains an open chapter. Aubrey’s motivation to uncover Ben’s involvement in her parents’ death stems from her desire to create a future in which she feels happy, settled, and secure.

Aubrey’s loyalty to her friends is a key element of her personality. Aubrey has close platonic bonds with her housemates, and they all jump at the opportunity to help her uncover the truth of her parents’ deaths. Aubrey works collaboratively with them to spy on both Ben and Camille, but Ben’s murder changes things. The investigation into the murder places additional stress on Aubrey, and she regrets putting those she loves at risk, thinking, “If I had any idea Ben was going to wind up dead that night, I never would have involved my friends” (194). Aubrey is selfless for those she cares about, and she’d rather face danger or even imprisonment alone than risk harming those who matter to her; she values others above herself, even as she struggles to let people get truly close to her.

Aubrey’s romantic relationship with Deacon serves as an important turning point in her character arc. When Deacon makes his romantic intentions clear, Aubrey realizes that the walls she thought she built around herself have already crumbled: “I’ve been alone for so long. So scared to let anyone in […] But then I realize I’ve already let Deacon in” (253). Aubrey’s trauma shapes her relationships with those around her, as her greatest fear is losing those she loves again. Though Aubrey tries to hide from her feelings for Deacon, she cannot push away her love forever. Aubrey decides to embrace her love for Deacon, and this choice pushes her closer to the future she wants.

The ending of the novel complicates Aubrey’s character arc. She chooses to save Deacon from jail instead of ensuring that Margaret faces the full weight of the justice system, and Silas enacts his own form of justice against Margaret. Aubrey doesn’t find fulfillment in Silas’s actions, as she thinks, “Did Silas think that by meting out his own form of justice he would sever this connection between us? We’re still irrevocably linked together. Connected forever in a twisted, ugly way” (337). Aubrey has hope for a better future with Deacon, but the ending of the novel doesn’t cleanly resolve her past. The ending doesn’t suggest that revenge can banish the lingering impacts of trauma, nor does it suggest that Aubrey can simply move on after Margaret’s death. Aubrey can forge a meaningful relationship with Deacon and start to build a new future, but the past doesn’t drift away entirely.

Hank Landry is a secondary protagonist in Anatomy of an Alibi. Hank is Ben’s friend and partner at Bayliss and Landry Law Firm. Hank and Ben meet while in college, and after law school, Ben becomes a defense lawyer while Hank joins the District Attorney’s office. Ben recruits Hank to join his firm, and Hank initially struggles with defending people who may be guilty, recalling, “The not-guilty verdict felt unsettling. I was so used to dreading that outcome that it took some time before I was relieved to hear it” (59-60). Hank is an honorable lawyer, and though Ben tries to corrupt Hank, Hank maintains his morality and code of ethics. As Hank refuses to engage in corruption to win cases, Ben tries to push Hank out of the partnership, but dies before the partnership dissolves. Hank struggles with guilt throughout the novel, especially since he directly benefits from Ben’s death and inherits the law firm.

Hank’s connection to Camille grows as the novel progresses. Camille hides the truth of her actions and involvement with Aubrey at first, but Camille slowly lets Hank see her true feelings about Ben and their marriage, which prompts Hank to think, “The silence between us stretches as I take in her words. Weigh them against the Camille I thought I knew and the Camille I’m discovering today. I wonder for the first time if I’m not the only one who felt that twinge of relief upon hearing Ben had died” (135).

Hank and Camille bond over their complicated feelings about Ben; as Ben’s wife and best friend, they were supposedly the closest people to him, but they both saw the darkness within him, even if they didn’t recognize its origin. Hank’s bond with Camille turns from platonic to romantic, as Hank realizes his protective instinct stems from his desire for Camille: “Camille is a weakness for me. More than I would have admitted when Ben was still alive” (281). Hank, as an ethical character, would never have let himself consider Camille as a romantic option while Ben lived. Ben’s death marks a turning point in both Hank and Camille’s lives, offering them the chance to start anew.

Ben Bayliss is Camille’s husband, Hank’s law partner, and an antagonist in Anatomy of an Alibi. He is handsome and charming, but he uses these elements of himself to hide the darker aspects of his life and character. Ben is a defense attorney who uses corrupt tactics to help obtain “not guilty” verdicts for his guilty clients. As Deacon explains, “[Ben]’s got a couple of judges in his pocket. A state senator too. Some credible rumors that he intimidates and blackmails witnesses to recant their testimony against his clients before trial” (113). Ben hides this secret well, with the help of Camille’s father, Randall. Randall helps Ben’s career through nefarious means in exchange for Ben providing an alibi for Silas after he allegedly caused the car accident that killed Aubrey Price’s parents.

Ben and Camille are high school sweethearts, and Ben exerts control over Camille after their marriage, tracking her every move while deceiving her about his career successes and involvement with Randall. When Camille finds out the truth, Ben tries to moralize his decision to extort Silas and Randall, telling Camille, “All I’m trying to do is to get out from under your dad…You assumed the worst of me so everything you saw and heard was twisted in a way to make it true. We still want the same things. For your dad to be out of our lives” (181). Ben attempts to make Camille feel responsible for his decisions, refusing to take accountability for his selfish decision to involve himself in Randall’s corruption.

Ben’s selfishness and deceptiveness are the cornerstones of his characterization. He is a relatively flat character, as he dies without experiencing meaningful internal growth. He does try to extricate himself from Randall’s evil influence, but Ben uses immoral methods. Ben’s willingness to harm Paul Granger, Aubrey and her housemates, and anyone else in his way illustrates the extent of the corruption within him.