| Pro | Corcoran | O'Connor | The sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota. aka: Cork. |
| | Jo | | Cork's wife. |
| | Rose | | Cork's sister-in-law. |
| | Sam Winter | Moon | Liam O'Connor's good friend. |
| | Henry | Meloux | A healer. aka: Old Mide. |
| | Ed | Larson | Cork's deputy. |
| | Corcoran Liam | O'Connor | Cork's father. |
| | Lyle | | A police officer. |
| | | | Part I Suicide Summer 1963 |
| 1 | Jorge | Patterson | An artist. Cork's friend. |
| | James | Arness | American actor. |
| | Matt | Dillon | A fictional U.S. marshal. |
| | William | Downwind | Cork's friend. aka: Billy. |
| | Big John | Manydeeds | Billy's uncle. |
| | Dilsey | | Cork's grandmother. |
| 2 | Joe | Meese | Tamarack County deputy sheriff. |
| | Colleen | | Liam O'Connor's wife. |
| | Oscar | Manydeeds | Big John's brother. |
| | Jackson | | Cork's dog. |
| 3 | Johnny | Weissmuller | American swimmer, water polo player and actor. |
| | Elsie | Broom | The uncomplimentary epithet. aka: Broomstraw |
| | Willis | | Billy's grandfather. |
| 5 | Cameron | Ferguson | A priest. |
| 6 | Christopher | Lee | English actor, author, and singer. |
| | Peter | Cushing | English actor. |
| | Daisy | Wintermoon | Sam's niece. |
| | Duncan | MacDermid | Owner of the North Star Iron Mine. |
| | Mary Margaret | MacDermid | Duncan's wife. |
| 8 | Babette | Pflugleman | A pharmacist's wife. |
| | Sarah | Andersen | One of the owners of Borealis Outfitters. |
| | Kim | Krabill | One of the owners of Borealis Outfitters. |
| | Abby | Manydeeds | One of Big John's cousins. |
| | Skipper | Manydeeds | One of Big John's cousins. |
| 9 | Jeanette | | Billy Downwind's mother. |
| 10 | Mr. | McCreary | The distribution manager. |
| 12 | Elizabeth | Taylor | British-American actress. |
| 13 | Aurelia | McDemid | Duncan's mother. |
| | Carla | | Jorge's mother. |
| 14 | Ben | Svenson | The barkeeper. |
| 15 | Makwa | | Meloux's dog. |
| 16 | Sandie | Herron | A bookstore owner. |
| | Astrid | Lankinen | One of Sandie's customers. |
| | Agatha | Christie | English mystery and detective writer. |
| | P. D. | James | English crime writer. |
| | Charles | Lindbergh | American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. |
| | James | Stewart | American actor. |
| | Anne M. | Lindbergh | Charles
Lindbergh's wife. |
| | Robert Louis | Stevenson | Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. |
| 17 | Calvin | LaRose | Sam's acquaintance. |
| | Louise | LaRose | Calvin's granddaughter. |
| 19 | Andrew | MacDemid | Duncan's grandfather. |
| 21 | Patrick | O'Connor | Cork's grandfather. |
| 22 | Ruth | Rustad | An employee at the sheriff department. |
| | Cy | Borkman | Tamarack County deputy. |
| 23 | Colby | Kogut | A big athletic kid. |
| | Roy | Orbison | American singer-songwriter. |
| 24 | Donna | Markle | A psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. |
| 26 | Terrance | Leonardi | Cork's acquaintance. |
| | William | Shakespeare | English playwright and poet. |
| 28 | Ollie | Grimson | Sarah Andersen's acquaintance. |
| 31 | Arne | Tikkanen | The county
commissioner. |
| | Bud | Fassbinder | The county lawyer. |
| 32 | Mr. | Jorgenson | A judge. |
| | Mickey | Broom | The grandnephew of old Broomstraw. aka: Boom-Boom Broom. |
| 34 | David | Svenson | A veterinarian. |
| | Nightingale | | A cat. |
| | Sharon | Crane | Dr. Svenson's assistant. |
| | Mrs. | Bailey | Owner of Nightingale. |
| 35 | Wheaton | | An ex-sheriff. |
| | Dr. | Haines | A physician. |
| | | | Part II Murder |
| 36 | Argus | Friar | One of Cork's customer. |
| 37 | Sherwin | Kingfisher | One of the men who found Louise's body. |
| | Stoney | Bright | One of the men who found Louise's body. |
| 42 | Rusty | Blaine | One of Cork's acquaintances. |
| | Buzz | Saari | One of Cork's acquaintances. |
| | Zack | Pelton | One of Cork's acquaintances. |
| 45 | Otto | Pendergast | One of the night-duty officers. |
| 48 | Elaine | Christiansen | The church secretary. |
| | Nelda | Griffin | Father Cameron's housekeeper. |
| | Father | Newton | A priest. |
| | Peggy | Lee | American recording artist; singer, songwriter, composer, actress. |
| | Moira | | Dr. Svenson's wife. |
| 50 | Leroy | Kingbird | A thief. |
| | Hector | St. John | Leroy's cousin. |
| 51 | Roosevelt | | Astrid's cat. |
| 52 | Thunder | | Kingfisher's dog. |
| 53 | Neil | Sedaka | American musician. |
| | Sylvia | Jonsdottir | A barmaid. |
| Epi | Dr. | Braddlock | Liam O'Conner's physician. |
