| 1 | Ronald | Parsons | Margaret's husband. |
| | Mike | Burden | The police inspector. Wexford's colleague. |
| | Margaret Iris | Parsons | Murdered. Mr. Parsons's wife. Aka: Minna, Meg. |
| | Jean | Burden | Burden's wife. |
| 2 | Wexford | | The chief inspector. Protagonist. |
| | Mrs. | Johnson | Margaret's next-door neighbor. |
| 3 | Thomas | Hood | A publisher. Poet and Humorist. |
| | Mr. | Prewett | The owner of the farm where Margaret's body was found. |
| | Bryant | | One of Wexford's police. |
| | Gates | | One of Wexford's police. |
| | Dr. | Crocker | The post-mortem doctor. |
| | Martin | | One of Wexford's police. |
| | Mrs. | Prewett | Mr. Prewett's wife. |
| | John | Draycott | Mr. Prewett's farm manager. |
| | Edwards | | Draycott's companion. |
| | Dorothy | Sweeting | Mr. Prewett's land girl. |
| | Mrs. | Creavey | The farm's cook and caretaker. |
| | Jimmy | Traynor | Mr. Prewett's pig man. |
| | Bysouth | | Mr. Prewett's cow man. |
| 4 | Miss | Clements | One of the lipstick customers. |
| | Mrs. | Darell | One of the lipstick customers. |
| | Helen | Missal | One of the lipstick customers. |
| | Inge | Wolff | Helen's nanny. |
| | Dymphna | Missal | Helen's daughter. |
| | Priscilla | Missal | Helen's daughter. |
| | Pat | Burden | Mike's son. |
| | John | Burden | Mike's son. |
| | Peter | Missal | Helen's husband. |
| 5 | Camb | | The police sergeant. |
| | Mrs. | Jones | Burden's neighbor. |
| | Doon | | The mysterious man who wrote letters to Margaret/Minna. |
| 7 | Douglas | Quadrant | A solicitor. Helen's family friend and lover. |
| | Fabia | Quadrant | Douglas's wife. |
| 8 | Arthur | Godfrey | Margaret's father. |
| | Iris | Drusilla | Margaret's mother. |
| | Ethel Mary | Ives | Iris's sister. Margaret's aunt. |
| | Geoffrey | Ives | Ethel's husband. |
| | Wilburt | Stobart-Katz | Anne's husband. |
| | Miss | Fowler | The school's headmasters. |
| | Mrs. | mortlock | The school's secretary. |
| | Anne Mary | Ives | Margaret's cousin. Ethel and Geoffrey's daughter. |
| 9 | Mr. | Spellman | Owner of Spellman's nursery. |
| | Clare | Clarke | A member of the teaching staff. Margaret's classmate. |
| | Helen | Laird | Margaret's former classmate. |
| | Fabia | Rogers | Margaret's former classmate. |
| | Mrs. | Griswold | The chief constable. |
| | Margaret | Dolan | Margaret's former classmate. |
| | Anne | Kelly | Margaret's former classmate. |
| | Diana | Stevens | Margaret's former classmate. |
| | Dudley | Drury | Margaret's former boyfriend. |
| 10 | Di | Plunkett | Clare's companion. |
| 11 | Kathleen | Drury | Dudley's wife. |
| | Janet | Tipping | The girl at the swan. |
