| 1 | Vera | Stanhope | A Detective Inspector. Aka: Vee. |
| | Hector | | Vera's father. |
| | Jack | Devanney | Vera's neighbor. |
| | Joanna | Tobin | Jack's partner. Aka: Jo. |
| | Chris | | One of Joanna's acquaintances. |
| | Arthur | | One of Joanna's acquaintances. |
| | Tommy | Wooler | Vera's acquaintance. |
| 2 | Miranda | Barton | The head The Writers' House. |
| | Joe | Ashworth | A sergeant. |
| 3 | Alex | Barton | Miranda's son. |
| | Tony | Ferdinand | A professor of English literature. |
| | Giles | Rickard | One of the tutors. |
| 4 | Lenny | Thomas | The working-class guy. |
| 5 | Sarah | | Joe Ashworth's wife. Aka: Sal. |
| | Holly | Clarke | One of the detectives. |
| | Charlie | | One of the detectives. |
| 6 | Billy | Wainwright | A manager. |
| | Paul | Keating | A pathologist. |
| 7 | Nina | Backworth | Tony Ferdinand's colleague. |
| | Chrissie | Kerr | Runs a small publishing company. |
| 9 | Enid | Blyton | An English children's writer. |
| | Mark | Winterton | A retired police inspector. |
| 12 | Ron | Mason | The superintendent. Vera's boss. |
| | Paul | Rutherford | Joanna's ex-husband. |
| 15 | Roy | | Paul Rutherford's father. |
| | Charles | Dickens | English writer and social critic. |
| | William | Shakespeare | English playwright, poet, and actor. |
| 16 | Helen | Thomas | Lenny Thomas' ex-wife. |
| | Gill | | Helen's colleague. |
| | Daniel | | Lenny and Helen's son. |
| 17 | Ophelia | | Miranda's cat. |
| 19 | Sally | Wheldon | A poet. |
| 27 | Simon | Cowell | English television personality, entertainment manager. |
| 30 | Dennis | | Nina's neighbor. |
| 36 | Ollie | | Sally's acquaintance. |
| | Jonathan | Barnes | St. Ursula's senior librarian. |
| 39 | Lucy | | Winterton's daughter. |
| | Margaret | | Winterton's ex-wife. |
