Carson is the handsome, mysterious butler at the Wentworth Estate, but he quickly becomes a heroic figure and one of Sloan’s most important allies in one of the novel’s most extensive plotlines. As both a guide and potential love interest, Carson is a primary example of The Deceptive Nature of Appearances. His initial identity as a servant is only a disguise; he’s secretly a powerful werewolf who has infiltrated the household to find and rescue his sister, whom the Adventurous Eaters Club captured. His character doesn’t change much over the story, as his mission began before Sloan’s arrival. However, the novel gradually unveils his loyalty, courage, and kindness.

Carson’s primary role is to act as a guide and protector, offering Sloan a path to survival among the human monsters of the dinner party. His cryptic warning, “You are in danger” (81), is the first sign that the sophisticated gathering isn’t what it seems. Unlike many other characters Sloan can choose to trust, Carson wants to help her. Choosing to follow him offers one of the few instances in the novel where placing trust in a stranger is rewarded with safety rather than betrayal.

Carson’s supernatural identity also complicates the novel’s exploration of monstrosity. In a house full of human cannibals, the literal monster—the werewolf—is one of the most moral and heroic characters present. This contrast reinforces the idea that true monstrosity is defined by actions and cruelty, not by one’s physical form or species. However, Carson isn’t harmless. In one ending, his hunger overwhelms him, and he devours Sloan after she spills gravy on herself and cuts her hand. Ultimately, this, too, underscores the emphasis on choice: Carson’s werewolf nature makes him capable of real violence, but his usual actions show loyalty, restraint, and a desire to protect others. Carson’s danger comes from instinct and a loss of control, in contrast to Wenworth, Jacques, and Jasper, who deliberately plan their violence.

Carson’s relationship with Sloan is one of mutual protection and budding romance, though it’s shaped by danger. He saves her from both the cannibals and Avery’s betrayal, while her trust in him allows his plan against the club to succeed. In the endings where they escape together, he reveals a gentle and principled nature, as when he uses his Bitcoin fortune for good. Though the ending in which he eats her prevents him from becoming idealized, his character provides a contrast with the predatory masculinity of the other male figures in the cannibal plotline, offering a vision of strength rooted in justice and protection rather than exploitation.

Jasper, the hitchhiker whom Sloan encounters on the road to Peyton’s Peak, serves as a recurring antagonist and a symbol of misplaced kindness. He initially appears as vulnerable and pitiable, as he’s a grieving widower, is dressed inappropriately for the cold, and has been stranded for hours. This persona is a deliberate act meant to exploit Sloan’s compassion. His character develops the themes of both The Deceptive Nature of Appearances and The Danger of Misplaced Trust and Compassion. He seems harmless and even caring, as he tells a story about carrying his late wife’s ashes. He says, “I carry her ashes everywhere I go. That way everything I see, she sees too” (25). This detail encourages Sloan and the reader to trust him, making his eventual turn to violence more of a twist.

Jasper is a deadly variable in several narrative paths. Depending on Sloan’s choices, an encounter with him can lead to her being strangled, attacked with an ax, or followed to the Wentworth Estate or her apartment. He is a static and flat character, driven by a single, hidden motivation. In the Epilogue, the reader learns that he’s been hunting Sloan specifically. His wife, Lorna, was killed in a freak accident by a giraffe that Sloan freed from a zoo during an act of misguided activism. This transforms him from a random predator into a figure of calculated vengeance. The story recasts their chance encounter as a deliberate, planned confrontation, twisting the novel’s exploration of randomness and control. His seemingly random appearance on the roadside is, in fact, the result of a patient hunt.

His role highlights the novel’s cynical perspective on altruism, though the outcomes of helping him aren’t always simple. Choices that involve trusting Jasper usually expose Sloan to danger, though the branch where Sloan lets him inside the Wentworth Estate complicates this pattern. Avery stops Jasper from killing Sloan, and the club eats him instead, implying that her compassion “works” only because someone else absorbs its cost. Sloan gets her rent money and avoids becoming the main course. However, nearly every other ending where Sloan trusts Jasper leads to her death. His presence forces the reader to weigh the moral imperative to help against the instinct for self-preservation, as compassion may lead to danger.

Robert, the abominable snowman, is a central figure in the storyline branching from the left fork in the road and becomes one of the novel’s most powerful illustrations of The Deceptive Nature of Appearances. He first appears to be a terrifying, creature who attacks Sloan after her car becomes stuck in the snow. However, his fearsome exterior hides a gentle, intelligent, and lonely soul. Robert doesn’t change over the course of the novel, but Sloan’s understanding of him changes dramatically. At first, he seems like a mindless beast. Later, Sloan discovers that he’s kind, articulate, lonely, and surprisingly funny. He reveals that he rescued Sloan from freezing to death and protected her from Jasper, who is the true threat in the cave.

Robert’s character challenges traditional monster tropes. He speaks perfect English, enjoys hockey, eats Frosted Flakes, and is grieving his wife, Nicole, who was captured and eaten by the Adventurous Eaters Club. His polite and friendly nature contrasts with the human villains of the novel. When Sloan fears that he will eat her, he dismisses the notion with dry humor: “You humans always think we want to eat you, like you’re so delicious. Seriously, you are so full of yourselves” (58). This line flips the expected predator-prey dynamic and jokes about human self-importance. By making the abominable snowman a heroic figure and the sophisticated humans the true monsters, the narrative argues that monstrosity is a matter of behavior.

Robert’s presence in the cave provides Sloan with a unique set of choices that explore themes of trust and interspecies connection. The paths that involve trusting Robert lead to some of the most surreal and positive endings in the book, including one where Sloan stays to live with him and another where the experience inspires her to write a best-selling novel. Robert represents an alternative to the cruel human world and a sanctuary where kindness is rewarded, and the supposed monster becomes her protector. However, the revelation that he cooks Jasper for breakfast keeps this sanctuary darkly comic rather than completely innocent.

The Adventurous Eaters Club, led by the charming but sinister Davenport Wentworth, is the collective antagonist for the Wentworth Estate plotline. This group of wealthy, elderly elites develops the theme of The Deceptive Nature of Appearances on a grand scale. On the surface, they appear civilized and refined. They’re all older, sophisticated, and well dressed, and they’re gathered for an elegant dinner party. Beneath this facade, however, they are cannibals who lure victims to their estate under the pretense of employment. Their club shows how wealth and social status can hide moral decay and predatory behavior. Even the club’s name is deceptive. The phrase “Adventurous Eaters” makes their violence sound like a gourmet hobby, reducing sentient lives to just another exotic dish.

Wentworth, as the group’s host and primary representative, is polite in a deeply threatening way. His interactions with Sloan are filled with double meanings and veiled threats. He is incongruously cheerful as he weighs her and photographs her, rituals performed on all their “meals” before consumption. His pride in his collection of consumed creatures, including an abominable snowman, reveals a complete lack of empathy. When confronted, he frames being eaten by the club as a perverse honor, telling Sloan, “It’s a great honor to be served by the Adventurous Eaters Club” (149-50).

The other club members are mostly flat characters, defined by their shared depravity. They represent a form of human evil that is methodical, detached, and made more horrifying by the fact that their evil is merely a form of entertainment. In this, they’re important to the novel’s social commentary; their cannibalism is a leisure activity that reflects their boredom and corruption. They’re the human monsters who contrast with the more sympathetic supernatural figures like Robert and Carson, reinforcing the idea that the most dangerous predators are often those who appear the most civilized.

Avery is Sloan’s oldest friend and the character who draws her into the novel’s main plotline. She initially appears to be a lifeline, offering Sloan a high-paying waitressing job when she’s most desperate. However, this act of friendship is a deception. Avery is a classic betrayer archetype, a character whose friendly exterior conceals selfish and dangerous motives. She knowingly lures Sloan to the Wentworth Estate to be the main course for the Adventurous Eaters Club in exchange for a large sum of money. Her betrayal is one of the most direct and personal examples of The Danger of Misplaced Trust and Compassion.

As a static and flat character, Avery serves the narrative by propelling the plot and illustrating a key theme. Her motivation is purely financial. When her betrayal is revealed, she confesses, “They offered me so much money […] You know I’ve always wanted a loft, Sloan” (149). This justification shows her lack of loyalty and demonstrates how easily she sacrifices a long-standing friendship for personal gain. Her actions force Sloan, and the reader, to question the reliability of even the most trusted relationships. In a world driven by self-interest, no one is truly safe. Avery’s betrayal makes the Wentworth Estate not just a physical trap but an emotional one as well.