Character guide

Mr. J. G. Reeder

major

Also known as John G. Reeder, Reeder, Mr. Reeder, J. G.

Reeder works quietly for the Director of Public Prosecutions, sidling into rooms and letting people underestimate him while he remembers everything. He is drawn to sensible people and unremarkable streets, and he treats detection as a private hobby rather than a public triumph. When Lord Sellington's five-thousand-pound swindle lands on his desk, Reeder already knows more about the family than the peer suspects.

Art Lomer

supporting

Also known as Arthur Lomer, Mr. Lomer, Lomer

Lomer runs a profitable operation out of Buffalo and has brought his troupe to London at the tail end of the season, which is exactly the sort of timing Reeder notices. He is cool under pressure until a stranger in the street asks after Leoni and lifts his watch and albert without breaking stride. His pursuit of Bertie Claude Staffen's money makes him a useful lens on how the book's swindles are actually staged.

Bertie Claude Staffen

supporting

Also known as Bertie, Mr. Staffen, Al

Bertie is the son of a manufacturer rich enough to buy cotton mills as a sideline and stingy enough to take the bus. His fishlike vacancy makes him the ideal mark for Art Lomer's troupe, and his father's money makes him worth the groundbait of an expensive Bloomsbury suite. He matters because he shows how the book's criminals choose their victims, and how little the victims understand what is being done to them.

Miss Margaret Belman

supporting

Also known as Margaret, Miss Belman, Belman

Miss Belman is the kind of woman Reeder likes precisely because she is sensible rather than merely pretty, and their shared journeys home turn into animated debates about the Prince of Wales and the cost of living. Through her he learns about her fellow boarder Mrs. Carlin, the deserted wife of Lord Sellington's nephew, long before the Foreign Office ever sends for him. She is the quiet hinge between Reeder's ordinary life and the Sellington affair.

Mo Liski

supporting

Also known as Liski

Liski receives Reeder with the composure of a man who has rehearsed his answers, dismissing an anonymous letter about Paris jewel sales as a cock-and-bull story. He is careful about times and weather, and Reeder's gentle agreement with details Liski has not quite stated is the tell. His neglected lodge and three thousand acres give the investigation a geography to walk, and his account of that Dover crossing refuses to sit still.

Lew Kohl

supporting

Also known as Kohl

Kohl belongs to the shadow world Reeder maps through private files and old police records, the men whose watches turn up in the wrong pockets years later. He is the sort of adversary who justifies Reeder's habit of working in an office where the clock ticks and the paper rustles, rather than announcing himself. His presence raises the stakes of the Sellington swindle from a family embarrassment into something with teeth.

Mr. Sidney Telfer

supporting

Also known as Telfer, Sidney

Sidney Telfer heads a grand City firm he never earned, drifting into his Threadneedle Street office only when the mood suits and sniffing at a cambric handkerchief while his underwriting turns reckless. Painfully thin, with a head too small for his height, he is at once pitiable and repellent, and his clumsy, unwanted advances toward his secretary, Miss Belman, make her dread the boudoir atmosphere of his rooms. Roy Master calls him a halfwitted weakling, and the rumors of Telfers' shaky finances suggest his weakness may be more dangerous than merely sad.

Sir James Tithermite

minor

Also known as James Tithermite, Sir James

A gentleman involved in the story's events.

Stan Bride

minor

Also known as Mr. Bride, Bride

A person of interest in Reeder's detective work.

Miss Magda Grayne

minor

Also known as Magda's

A woman involved in Reeder's investigations.

Tommy Fenalow

minor

Also known as Mr. Fenalow, Tommy

A minor criminal or associate appearing in Reeder's cases.

Mr. Harry Carlin

minor

Also known as Harry Carlin, Carlin, Mr. Carlin

A figure connected to the criminal elements Reeder confronts.

Lord Sellington

minor

Also known as Sellington

An aristocrat who appears in Reeder's investigations.

Mr. Liski

minor

Also known as poor Mr. Liski

A victim or suspect in one of Reeder's cases.

Ras Lal

minor

Also known as Mr. Ras Lal, Ras Lal Punjabi

A character of Indian origin appearing in Reeder's world.

Mr. Lambton Green

minor

Also known as Green

A minor character encountered during Reeder's inquiries.

Mr. Stephen Billingham

minor

Also known as Billingham, Mr. Billingham

A character involved in the plot's criminal aspects.

Mr. Joseph Bracher

minor

Also known as Bracher, Mr. Bracher

A figure connected to the story's criminal network.

Police Constable Burnett

minor

Also known as Burnett, Constable Burnett

A uniformed policeman assisting in Reeder's cases.

Arthur Malling

minor

Also known as Malling

A suspect or witness in Reeder's investigations.

Carter

minor

A minor character mentioned in the narrative.

Willie Eiter

minor

Also known as Eiter

A criminal associate appearing in Reeder's world.

Marylou Plessy

minor

Also known as Marylou

A female character involved in the story's events.

Mr. de Silvo

minor

Also known as de Silvo

A character of interest in Reeder's detective work.

Mr. Arthur Lassard

minor

Also known as Lassard, Mr. Lassard

A person connected to the criminal underworld.

Mrs. Rebecca Welford

minor

Also known as Mrs. Welford, Rebecca Alamby Mary Welford

A female character appearing in the narrative.

Lady Tithermite

minor

Wife of Sir James Tithermite, appears briefly.

El Rahbut

minor

Also known as Rahbut, the Moor Rahbut

A mysterious figure encountered by Reeder.

Ike Walker

minor

Also known as Mr. Walker, the vengeful Walker

A criminal with a grudge in Reeder's cases.

Mr. Mills

minor

Also known as Sergeant Mills

A police officer assisting Reeder.

Roy Master

minor

Also known as Roy Masters

A minor character in the story.

Mrs. Athbell Marting

minor

Also known as Mrs. Marting

A female character appearing briefly.

Mrs. Sidney Telfer

minor

Also known as Mrs. Telfer

Wife of Sidney Telfer, appears in the narrative.

Mr. Charles Boyson Middlekirk

minor

A character mentioned in Reeder's investigations.

Mr. John Baston

minor

Also known as John Baston, Mr. Baston

A person of interest in the story.

Ernest Bracher

minor

Also known as Mr. Ernest Bracher, the younger Mr. Bracher

A younger relative of Joseph Bracher.

Ram

minor

A minor character of Indian origin.

Chief Inspector Pyne

minor

Also known as Inspector Pyne, Mr. Pyne

A senior police officer working with Reeder.

Mrs. Kerrel

minor

A female character appearing in the story.

Teddy Alfield

minor

Also known as Alfield

A minor criminal or associate.

Detective Constable Wilshore

minor

Also known as Wilshore

A police detective assisting Reeder.

Mr. Eiter

minor

A relative of Willie Eiter, appears briefly.

Harry Salter

minor

A minor character in the narrative.

Madame Lemaire

minor

Also known as Madame

A female character of French origin.

Mr. Y

minor

A mysterious figure referred to by that initial.

Inspector Holford

minor

Also known as Holford

A police inspector involved in cases.

Smith Sahib

minor

Also known as Smith

A European figure in India mentioned in the story.

Miss Elver

minor

A female character appearing briefly.

Mr. Raikes

minor

Also known as Raikes

A minor character in the narrative.

Leoni

minor

A character with a foreign name, appears briefly.

Mrs. Jackson

minor

A minor female character.