| | | | Day 1 |
| 1 | Bonnie | | Betsy's cat. |
| | Betsy | Allgood | Narrator. |
| | Mrs. | Winter | One of Betsy's teachers. |
| | Miss | Lavery | One of Betsy's teachers. |
| | Elsie | Coe-Dacre | Betsy's classmate. |
| | Mrs. | Telford | Madge's mother. |
| | Madge | Telford | Betsy's best friend. Missing. |
| | Jack | Allgood | Betsy's father. |
| | Lizzie | Allgood | Betsy's mother. |
| | Mr. | Pontifex | Jack's landlord. |
| | Reverend | Disjohn | The school vicar. |
| | Josh | Puddle | One of Betsy's classmates. |
| | Tory | Simkin | One of the villagers. |
| | Jenny | Hardcastle | Missing. |
| | Benny | Lightfoot | The shy boy. The prime suspect. |
| | Mary | Wulfstan | Betsy's cousin. Missing. |
| | Arthur | Allgood | Mary's grandfather. |
| | Chloe | Wulfstan | Mary's mother. |
| | Cedric | Hardcastle | Jenny's father. |
| | Jed | Hardcastle | Jenny's brother. |
| | June | Hardcastle | Jenny's sister. |
| | Clark | | The town's police. AKA: Bobby The Nobby. |
| | Walter | Wulfstan | Mary's father. |
| | Arne | Krog | Wulfstan's singer. |
| | Inger | Sandel | Arne's pianist. |
| | George | Wulfstan | Madge's uncle. |
| | Geordie | Turnbull | The bulldozer driver. |
| | Tommy | Tiplake | Geordie's old business partner. |
| | Agnes | Lightfoot | Benny's grandmother. |
| | Peter | Pascoe | Dalziel's partner. |
| | Andrew | Dalziel | The Detective Superintendent. AKA: Fat Man. |
| | Elizbeth | Wulfstan | Walter and Chloe's adoptive daughter. |
| | Rosie | Pascoe | Peter's daughter. |
| | Zandra | Purlingstone | Rosie's school friend. |
| | Derek | Purlingstone | General Manager of Mid-Yorks Water. |
| | Ellie | Pascoe | Peter's wife. |
| | Miss | Martindale | The head of Edengrove Primary. |
| | Nina | | Rosie's imaginary friend. |
| | Caddy | Scudamore | The artist. |
| | Lorraine | Dacre | Missing. |
| | Tony | Dacre | Lorraine's father. |
| | Sally | Breen | Lorraine's neighbor. |
| | Mr. | Douglas | The veterinarian. |
| | Dora | Shimmings | The scool head. |
| | Marion | Lightfoot | Benny's mother. |
| | Jill | Purlingstone | Derek's wife. |
| | Edgar | Wield | A police sergeant. Peter's colleague. AKA: Wieldy. |
| | Mrs. | Martindale | A witness. |
| | Edwin | Digweed | An antiquarian bookseller. |
| | Gertrude | Guillemard | The commercial head. AKA: Girlie. |
| | Monte | | The monkey. |
| | Kerrigan | | The priest. |
| | Shirley | Novello | The Detective Constable. |
| | Zebedee | | Janet's dog. |
| | Janet | Dickens | The woman Novello interviewed. |
| | Joy | Kendrick | One of the witnesses. |
| | Simon | Kendrick | Joy's son. |
| | Geoff | Draycott | A possible witness. |
| | Maggie | Burroughs | Peter's colleague. |
| | | | Day 2 |
| | Dr. | Pottle | Peter's shrink. |
| | Molly | Hardcastle | Jenny's mother. |
| | Miss | Turner | Zandra's teacher. |
| | Miss | Blake | Lorraine's teacher. |
| | Margaret | Coe | Elsie's mother. AKA: Polly. |
| | Alma | Mahler | The composer's wife. |
| | Bella | Postlewaite | Jack's wife |
| | Jack | Spratt | Bella's husband. |
| | Joe | Telford | Madge's father. |
| | George | Telford | Joe's brother. |
| | Amanda | Marvell | Mahler's acquaintance. Andy's lover. AKA: CAP. |
| | Vernin | Kittle | Jed's mate. |
| | Jeannine | Plowright | Mrs. Lightfoot's niece. Head of Social Services. |
| | Mrs. | Quartermain | Geordie's assistant. |
| | Dick | Hoddle | Geordie's lawyer. |
| | Beryl | Blakiston | Amanda's friend. |
| | Curtis | | The pediatric consultant. |
| | | | Day 3 |
| | Josh | Puddle | One of Betsy's friends. |
| | Winifred | Fleck | Agnes's niece. |
| | Billie | Saltair | Agnes's doctor. |
| | Sally | | The youngest nurse. |
| | Willi | Noolan | A rugby-club member. |
| | Mrs. | Holmes | A camping business owner. |
| | Marion | Slater | Benny's mother. |
| | | | Day 4 |
| | Friedrich | Ruckert | A German poet. |
| | Alma | Schindler | Mahler's wife. |
| | Paula | Appleby | Betsy's psychiatrist. |
| | Larry | Lillingstone | The vicar. |
| | Hector | | A police constable. |
| | Dennis | Seymour | Novello's friend and colleague. |
| | Tig | | Lorraine's dog. |
| | Tom | Perriman | A police sergeant. |
| | Barney | | The man who looked like Benny. |
| | Jack | Slater | Barney's stepfather. |
