Aaron Housley is a main character and the defendant on trial for Mae’s murder. Aaron, 22 years old, is Bea and Lloyd’s adopted Black son, and Mae’s on-again-off-again boyfriend. Aaron is an artist who dyes his hair bright colors, wears a nose ring, and has a tattooed cross on his neck. He is a “thinker” who doesn’t speak at length about anything. When Aaron does speak, he uses youthful slang and has an ironic sense of humor. Aaron grew up under Joe’s care on his farm, which made him very outdoorsy. He likes to be out in nature by himself, which helps him process his strong, unspoken feelings.

Aaron struggles with feeling different from his peers because of his race. Aaron claims he “always felt really alone, you know, being adopted, being Black” (475). He knows from growing up in a white family that not all white people are racist, but he deals with daily prejudice in Skageon. Aaron is nonconfrontational and a pacifist, refusing to engage in violence of any kind. Aaron develops pride in his Blackness, and he feels lucky to have received a second chance that few others get. Aaron builds connections with the Black community by attending the Black church in Kwaegon, headed by Pastor Donall Spruce, Aaron’s sobriety sponsor.

Aaron is a person recovering from a drug addiction who is out on probation for a felony drug conviction. Aaron turned to drugs in high school to deal with his feelings of isolation, and his habit intensified in college. Aaron’s addiction damaged his relationships with his family, which he tries to mend after his release. Aaron cherishes his sobriety and embodies Belief in the Potential for Personal Transformation; thus, he wants to help Mae recover in the same way. Aaron and Mae had an intense bond since junior high school, and the relationship made Aaron feel like “we were our own world” (475). Aaron kept trying to rekindle this spark with Mae, but he realized she wasn’t serious about their future together. Aaron is falsely accused of Mae’s murder, but he maintains his innocence throughout the text.

Bea Housley is a main character and Aaron’s adoptive mother. She’s in her late forties, has yellow eyes, a darker complexion, and curly black hair. Rusty is immediately drawn to Bea because she has “a bolt of intelligence, self-confidence and humor” (7). Bea has a PhD and is a principal at an elementary school, where she governs with compassion. Bea can find happiness in the simplest parts of life, and her infectious joy helps Rusty heal from his lifetime of trauma. Bea grew up in an abusive household, and she clings to the memory of her mother, who gave her a love for jazz music. Bea’s love for her mother prevents her from reconciling with her father, Joe, and she remains emotionally distant from him.

Bea measures her life in “before Rusty. And after” (270), since she believes their relationship completely changed her. Bea intuits Rusty’s needs, and he brings her comfort and stability. Bea had a decades-long secret sexual affair with Hardy, and she is sexually confident and curious. She was married to Lloyd Housley for 10 years, but they divorced because he was too pious. Bea’s secret exposes her capacity for “vanity and selfishness, even cruelty” (274), which makes Rusty reconsider the basis of their relationship. Bea and Rusty reconcile by the narrative’s end and plan to move away to Kindle.

Bea adopted Aaron with Lloyd when she couldn’t get pregnant naturally, and she blames herself for not better supporting Aaron’s Blackness. She feels responsible for how solitary Aaron is because she didn’t think to raise him in a place where there were more Black children. As the mother of a person recovering from addiction, Bea constantly worries about Aaron, but she would do anything to support and protect him.

Joe Mena is a minor dynamic character. He is Bea’s father and Aaron’s adoptive grandfather. Joe is the son of Mexican and Ho-Chunk migrating farm workers, but he grew up in foster care in Skageon. He is a Vietnam War veteran who was a “tunnel rat” who killed Vietcong soldiers in face-to-face combat. This experience deeply affected Joe, and he became an alcoholic and swore off the US military. Joe frequents the VFW post, where he argues with whoever will listen. Joe retired early from a Chrysler car plant as its union leader as a labor hero. Joe has terminal cancer, and by the end of the text, doctors give him months to live. Joe lives out his final days on his farm in home care.

Joe is cantankerous and “a completely impossible human being” (30). At 84, Joe is short with sparse grey hair. His speech is laden with expletives, and he doesn’t care if he contradicts himself. Joe lies about any situation to make himself look right. He was abusive to Bea’s late mother, but when Aaron joined the family, Joe became a loving grandfather. Joe claims Aaron is the only person who ever loved him because they are both “dark men.” Joe hates Mae because of the pain she causes Aaron, so when he confronts her at Ginawaban, he uses her accidental hanging to his advantage and strangles her. Joe is not remorseful about his actions, since he sees them as self-defense, nor does he have a Belief in the Potential for Personal Transformation for Mae; this motivates his decision to kill her.

Hiram Jackdorp is the Marenago County Prosecuting Attorney and the text’s major antagonist. Although Jackdorp is respected, he is antisocial and has few friends. He prefers to stay on his farm with his cats to read “weighty volumes of history” (277). Jackdorp is a widower, and he didn’t seek other companionship after his wife’s death. He has a permanent skin condition that leaves him with “large boils and patches of roseola” all over his face (277). He isn’t self-conscious, but he thinks this makes him less desirable. In court, Jackdorp wears an old wool suit and acts “irretrievably grim.”

Jackdorp takes his job as a prosecutor seriously, but he doesn’t exert himself unnecessarily. Rusty describes Jackdorp’s prosecutorial style as straightforward but like “an avenging Old Testament God—unsparing, and uninterested in excuses from those who cross the line” (171). Jackdorp presents his evidence and acts dismissively, either shooing with his hand or shrugging to signal the irrelevance of the defense’s theories. Jackdorp relies on the emotional impact of his witnesses rather than the strength of their evidence. He has an antagonistic relationship with Judge Wendy Carrington, which makes him act snidely during the trial. He is immediately combative with Rusty in their first meeting, since he sees it as his professional duty to completely oppose the defense. When the trial nears its end and Jackdorp realizes he’s likely to lose, he’s much friendlier with Rusty, and even compliments him on a case well fought.

Mae Potter is a minor, static character who isn’t actively present in the novel. Mae is Aaron’s 22-year-old on-again-off-again girlfriend and the daughter of Hardy and Charmaine. She is “uncommonly beautiful” with white-blonde hair, blue eyes, and “angelic features.” Characters who knew Mae describe her as intelligent, resourceful, and magnetic. As a child, she liked being the center of attention, which only grew in her young adult years. Mae dropped out of college and moved to New York to become a model, and her most recent dream was to become a TikTok influencer. She learned mixed martial arts and tried to open a studio in Mirror.

Mae has borderline personality disorder, which causes her mood to swing rapidly. Like Aaron, Mae started using drugs in high school, but she never stopped her substance use, which exacerbated her erratic and impulsive behavior. Mae could be cruel just because, and she tried to make people “hate her as much as she hated herself” (241). Mae had a volatile relationship with her family, especially her father. Mae manipulated people to have her way, like when she blackmailed Hardy into letting her go to New York. Mae also frequently threatened to harm herself so Aaron would take her back. Mae planned to fake her death by suicide after her fight with Aaron, but Joe strangled her with the noose instead. The unknown truth of Mae’s last moments haunts the narrative.

Hardy and Charmaine Potter are minor, static characters and Mae’s parents. Hardy is Mansy’s second-oldest son and reluctantly took his brother Mark’s place as Skageon County Prosecuting Attorney after Mark died in Afghanistan. Unlike his family of blondes, Hardy is broad with dark hair. Hardy is a coarse “loudmouth” who spends the duration of the text trying to ensure that Aaron goes to prison. Rusty claims that “the worst thing I can say about Hardy is that he seems to have learned nothing from his father” (60). Unlike Mansy’s even-handedness, Hardy pursues convictions like a quota. His prejudice against Aaron interferes with Mae’s murder investigation, as he helps make major, often illegal, decisions with Lieutenant Glowoski behind the scenes. Hardy has an “inferiority complex” and feels powerless in most aspects of his life. The only place he feels in control is in his sex life, where he’s a known adulterer. Hardy and Bea carry on a secret affair for decades, but Hardy has affairs with numerous other women.

Charmaine is a typical politician’s wife who is constantly under scrutiny for her husband’s behavior, but she handles the pressure well. Charmaine has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, but despite her condition, she remains “completely calculating.” Charmaine thought Mae would be throwing her life away if she married Aaron. Despite her belief in Aaron’s guilt, Charmaine shares a powerful moment of grief with Aaron during his testimony.

Mansy Potter is a minor, dynamic character and Mae’s grandfather. Mansy is 83 years old and the retired Skageon County Prosecuting Attorney. He is Rusty’s closest friend in Skageon, who introduced him back to work and society. He has “a full mane of white hair” and “cool-blue eyes” (11), and he is well-mannered. Mansy is genteel and diplomatic in his speech, and he doesn’t dwell on crass topics. Rusty respects Mansy’s measured temperament and his professional dedication to fairness. Rusty and Mansy have lunch together every Wednesday, where they talk politics and local news.

Mansy endured several tragedies in his life, like the death of his eldest son, Mark, and his wife, Kathleen. Mae’s death completely changes Mansy’s deportment. His old age begins to show, and he becomes delusional with grief. He replaces his usual moderateness with pure hatred toward Aaron, whom he is convinced is guilty. Mansy is so adamant in his position that he threatens to end his friendship with Rusty, which demonstrates The Impacts of Crime on Personal Relationships. Mansy and Rusty’s conversations grow increasingly hostile, but when the dust settles from the trial, Mansy apologizes for his anger.

Lieutenant Vanda Glowoski, a Special Agent of the State Patrol, is a minor antagonist. Rusty describes Glowoski as “all business” due to her “frighteningly precise” appearance. Glowoski is always cleanly dressed with perfectly arranged short hair. Glowoski is a long-time friend of the Potters, since she was deployed with Hardy’s late brother, Mark, and helped Mark’s widow after his death. Glowoski intensely displays The Influence of Personal Biases on Legal Justice in her investigation of Mae’s death and makes many decisions with Hardy behind the scenes. Rather than confess to these mistakes, Glowoski deflects blame or feigns ignorance. She doesn’t like to be challenged, especially by Rusty, who prevents her from stretching the rules. Despite her unlawful behavior, Glowoski has a glowing professional record, and her colleagues speak of her admirably.

Judge Wendy Carrington is a minor character who presides over Mae’s murder trial. She is “sharp, funny, highly intelligent and eminently sensible” (136). Her friendly relationship from working with Rusty helps the defense throughout the trial, and Judge Carrington often can’t suppress her smile when Rusty reveals a courtroom trick. Conversely, she is sharp with people she doesn’t like, like Jackdorp and Dr. Rogers. Despite these biases, Judge Carrington carries out the trial with strict adherence to the law, forcing both men to adhere to her rulings. The pressure of the high-profile trial makes Judge Carrington occasionally nervous. The trial is the most important of her career, so Judge Carrington gussies up her appearance, since she knows the courtroom will be full. At the end of the text, Judge Carrington plans to put her name in the running for Jackdorp’s job.

Susan DeLeo is a minor static character and the staff investigator for Aaron’s defense. Susan wears “a fringed rawhide jacket and matching skirt, with an array of turquoise jewelry” (173), and she has a rainbow-colored mohawk. Despite her loud exterior, Susan is very private. She ran away from home in her youth and partied until she married her husband, Al, and became a stepmother. She is part of a motorcycle group, and she arrives at court each day in her biker gear. Susan prizes her independence and often performs tasks without informing Rusty beforehand. Susan came out of retirement to work on Aaron’s case. She is resourceful, thorough, and can pick up on the smallest threads of possible investigation. She doesn’t reveal her theories to Rusty until she can prove them with corroborating evidence. Rusty claims that Susan is the real reason for their success, since she does most of the investigative legwork.