1 | Isabelle | Lacoste | One of Gamache's most experienced officers. |
| Armand | Gamache | The Chief Inspector. Protagonist. |
| Myrna | Landers | A bookstore owner. Clara's best friend. |
| Sarah | | Friend and neighbor. |
| Billy | Williams | Armand's neighbor. |
| Jean-Guy | Beauvoir | One of Gamache's officers. Armand's son-in-law. |
| Abigail | Robinson | A professor and statistician. Aka: Abby. |
| Reine Marie | Gamache | Armand's wife. |
| Debbie | Schneider. | Abby's assistant. |
2 | Ruth | Zardo | Gamache's friend. A poet. |
| Eric | Viau | The building's caretaker. |
| Florence | | Armand's granddaughter. |
| Zora | | Armand's granddaughter. |
| Daniel | Gamache | Armand's son. |
| Henri | | The Gamache's dog. |
| Clara | Morrow | The artist. Myrna's best friend. |
| Rosa | | Ruth's duck. |
| Annie | Beauvoir | Armand's daughter. Jean-Guy's wife. |
| Idola | | Annie's daughter. |
| Julian | Of Norwich | Gamache's favorite author. |
3 | Fred | | One of Gamache's dogs. |
| Stephen | Horowitz | Gamache's godfather. |
| Gloria | | Gamache's horse. |
| Gracie | | One of Gamache's dogs. |
4 | Collete | Roberge | The chancellor. Gamache's friend. |
| Jean-Paul | Roberge | Collette's husband. |
7 | Edouard | Tardif | A gunman. |
8 | Olivier | | Gamache's neighbor and friend. A bistro owner. |
| Gabri | | Olivier's co-owner. |
| Haniya | Daoud | A human rights advocate. |
9 | Honore | Beauvoir | Jean-Guy and Annie's son. |
| Roslyn | Gamache | Daniel's wife. Florence and Zora's mother. |
11 | Otto | Pascal | The school's President. |
14 | Paul | Robinson | Abby's father. |
15 | Maitre | Lacombe | Tardif's lawyer. |
16 | Marc | Gilbert | Gamache's friend. A spa owner. |
| Mr. | Beliveau | The grocer. |
| Dominique | Gilbert | Marc's brother. |
| Vincent | Gilbert | A doctor. Marc and Dominique's father. Aka: The Asshole Saint. |
20 | Sharon | Harris | The head of the crime laboratory unit. |
22 | Jacques | Brodeur | The boy who found the dead body. |
23 | Wolsey | | The cardinal. |
24 | Honore (2) | Gamache | Armand's father. |
| Zora (2) | Gamache | Armand's grandmother. |
25 | Alphonse | Tardif | Edouard's brother. |
| Susan | Horton | Reine's client. |
| Enid | Horton | Susan's mother. |
26 | James | Horton | Susan's brother. |
| Maria | | Abby's sister. Deceased. |
29 | Mary | Hague-Yearl | The head of Osler library. |
30 | William | Osler | The library owner. |
| Simon | Tardif | Edouard's son. |
| Felicite | Tardif | Edouard's daughter. |
31 | Ewen | Cameron | The President of the American Psychiatric Association. |
| Rudolf | Hess | A Nazi member. |
33 | Peter | Morrow | Clara's husband. |
37 | Kathleen | Robinson | Abby's mother. |
38 | Barry | Filmore | A police sergeant. |
39 | Henry David | Thoreau | An American naturalist. |
40 | Tyler | Vigen | Collete's alias. |