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* EatTheDog: Garrett regularly threatens the Goddamn Parrot with this fate, although he daren't go through with it because it would alienate both Morley and the Dead Man.
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* DropTheHammer: Garrett throws a smithing hammer in a fight from ''Angry Lead Skies'', and admits he'd always liked this trope as a kid while recounting the event.
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* HeroesWantRedheads: And how! Garrett's longest-lasting girlfriend Tinnie is a FieryRedhead, and he's variously drooled over Carla Lindo Ramada [[spoiler: and several of her duplicates]], Maggie Jenn, and Katie Shaver. Kip Prose, a geek who fantasizes about being a hero, is in love with Kyra Tate.
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!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
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!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
Love Interests
[[folder:Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.Belinda Contague]]
The daughter of [=TunFaire=]'s biggest gangster.
[[folder:
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
The daughter of [=TunFaire=]'s biggest gangster.
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* {{Archenemy}}: Crask and Sadler, who are her chief rivals for control of the syndicate.
* BrainyBrunette: Is much more intelligent than most characters and has black hair.
* CartwrightCurse: Belinda Contague's drivers have a habit of falling for her, then getting killed protecting her from assassins. Comes with the territory when you work for the queenpin...
* CreepyCrossdresser: Belinda Contague has been known to dress up as a dapper young man when she needs to be anonymous.
* DaddysLittleVillain: {{Averted}} as Chodo wanted a daughter who wasn't interested in his criminal activities.
* DatingCatwoman: Both Belinda and Garrett would be perfect for one another if not for the fact that he's put off by the fact she's a crime boss and she's annoyed at his moral objections to murder.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Belinda has no truck with the Call and its racism.
* TheDon: Becomes the leader of the Contague syndicate after her father's stroke.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Belinda Contague, who plays up this trope with makeup to appear more intimidating.
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Belinda becomes this when she steals her father's comatose form and uses him as her puppet while taking over the syndicate.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: Wants nothing to do with the Call due to the fact that it disrupts the many nonhumans in her employ and businesses.
[[/folder]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
* BrainyBrunette: Is much more intelligent than most characters and has black hair.
* CartwrightCurse: Belinda Contague's drivers have a habit of falling for her, then getting killed protecting her from assassins. Comes with the territory when you work for the queenpin...
* CreepyCrossdresser: Belinda Contague has been known to dress up as a dapper young man when she needs to be anonymous.
* DaddysLittleVillain: {{Averted}} as Chodo wanted a daughter who wasn't interested in his criminal activities.
* DatingCatwoman: Both Belinda and Garrett would be perfect for one another if not for the fact that he's put off by the fact she's a crime boss and she's annoyed at his moral objections to murder.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Belinda has no truck with the Call and its racism.
* TheDon: Becomes the leader of the Contague syndicate after her father's stroke.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Belinda Contague, who plays up this trope with makeup to appear more intimidating.
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Belinda becomes this when she steals her father's comatose form and uses him as her puppet while taking over the syndicate.]]
* PragmaticVillainy: Wants nothing to do with the Call due to the fact that it disrupts the many nonhumans in her employ and businesses.
[[/folder]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
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Anything That Moves is a disambiguation
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* ServileSnarker: Dean. His reaction to Garrett's various supernaturally inclined, city/world saving endeavors? Nagging him about his [[TheAlcoholic love of the sauce]], his [[AnythingThatMoves taste in women]], and how he needs to get a steady job.
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* ServileSnarker: Dean. His reaction to Garrett's various supernaturally inclined, city/world saving endeavors? Nagging him about his [[TheAlcoholic love of the sauce]], his [[AnythingThatMoves taste in women]], women, and how he needs to get a steady job.
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* TrappedByGamblingDebts: Morley has a problem with this early in the series until he manages to get his gambling addiction under control.
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[[folder: Dean Creech]
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[[folder: Dean Creech]Creech]]
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!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
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A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who
Dean Creech is Garrett's housekeeper, valet, and cook. Dean is about seventy years old, and he manages the house while Garrett is doing business. He is generally critical of Garrett's girlfriends, with the exceptions of Tinnie Tate and Maya Stump, whom he adores. He has
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* TheMatchmaker: Dean spends several books trying to get Garrett interested in his homely nieces, without success. Barring that, he's not averse to pressuring Garrett to get married to Tinnie, Maya, Belinda, or indeed pretty much ''anybody'' who's not Winger.
* ThatOldTimePrescription: Dean brews willow-bark tea for Garrett after nights of heavy drinking.
* OneNoteCook: Dean's cooking in ''Cruel Zinc Melodies'' gets into a rut: he's been serving various forms of stew (fish, rabbit, beef, chicken) for enough days in a row that Garrett calls him out on it.
* ServileSnarker: Dean. His reaction to Garrett's various supernaturally inclined, city/world saving endeavors? Nagging him about his [[TheAlcoholic love of the sauce]], his [[AnythingThatMoves taste in women]], and how he needs to get a steady job.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: For Dean, it's tea.
[[/folder]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
* ThatOldTimePrescription: Dean brews willow-bark tea for Garrett after nights of heavy drinking.
* OneNoteCook: Dean's cooking in ''Cruel Zinc Melodies'' gets into a rut: he's been serving various forms of stew (fish, rabbit, beef, chicken) for enough days in a row that Garrett calls him out on it.
* ServileSnarker: Dean. His reaction to Garrett's various supernaturally inclined, city/world saving endeavors? Nagging him about his [[TheAlcoholic love of the sauce]], his [[AnythingThatMoves taste in women]], and how he needs to get a steady job.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: For Dean, it's tea.
[[/folder]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
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* {{Archenemy}}: Garrett and they dance around one another with both believing the other will be their downfall.
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* OutGambitted: Belinda Contague manages to seize control over her father from them.
* PuppetKing: They plan to rule the Outfit using the comatose form of Chodo Contague once he has a series of strokes.
* PuppetKing: They plan to rule the Outfit using the comatose form of Chodo Contague once he has a series of strokes.
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[[/folder]]
[[folder: Crask and Sadler]]
Crask and Sadler are Chodo Contague's bodyguards and lieutenants. They have an uneasy relationship with Garrett that goes from friendly to temporary truce to enemies.
----
* BodyguardBetrayal: They turn against Chodo Contague in ''Dread Brass Shadows'', attempting (and succeeding) in taking over the Outfit.
* CoDragons: Crask and Sadler are this for Chodo for several of the early novels. Subverted as of ''Dread Brass Shadows'', when they become Co-Dragons With An Agenda, after which they're on the run from Contague payback.
* TheDon: They become this once they manage to take over the Outfit.
* {{Gayngster}}: Both of them are homosexual men, involved with each other, as well as criminal masterminds.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Their opinion of Garrett after they take over the Outfit from Chodo.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Subverted by Crask and Saddler. Turns out they're just life partners.
* LondonGangster: They're not from London but are modelled specifically on the Kray Twins.
* NoNameGiven: Garrett himself is briefly floored to hear Sadler address Crask by his first name: he'd always assumed even Crask's mommy called him "Crask".
[[folder: Crask and Sadler]]
Crask and Sadler are Chodo Contague's bodyguards and lieutenants. They have an uneasy relationship with Garrett that goes from friendly to temporary truce to enemies.
----
* BodyguardBetrayal: They turn against Chodo Contague in ''Dread Brass Shadows'', attempting (and succeeding) in taking over the Outfit.
* CoDragons: Crask and Sadler are this for Chodo for several of the early novels. Subverted as of ''Dread Brass Shadows'', when they become Co-Dragons With An Agenda, after which they're on the run from Contague payback.
* TheDon: They become this once they manage to take over the Outfit.
* {{Gayngster}}: Both of them are homosexual men, involved with each other, as well as criminal masterminds.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Their opinion of Garrett after they take over the Outfit from Chodo.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Subverted by Crask and Saddler. Turns out they're just life partners.
* LondonGangster: They're not from London but are modelled specifically on the Kray Twins.
* NoNameGiven: Garrett himself is briefly floored to hear Sadler address Crask by his first name: he'd always assumed even Crask's mommy called him "Crask".
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* NoOneSeesTheBoss: Crime boss Chodo Contague has a stroke and his daughter Belinda takes over his organization, claiming to relay his orders. [[spoiler: Also how Tama Montezuma manipulated the Call and the Wolves, by "passing on" faked orders in Marengo North English's name.]]
to:
* HeelFaceTurn: Never really a face but eventually turns on Garrett over the spellbook in ''Dread Brass Shadows.''
* NoOneSeesTheBoss: Crime boss Chodo Contague has a stroke and his daughter Belinda takes over his organization, claiming to relay his orders. [[spoiler: Also how Tama Montezuma manipulated the Call
* PuppetKing: Becomes one of these for Crask andthe Wolves, Sadler before they are replaced by "passing on" faked orders in Marengo North English's name.]]his own daughter.
* NoOneSeesTheBoss: Crime boss Chodo Contague has a stroke and his daughter Belinda takes over his organization, claiming to relay his orders.
* PuppetKing: Becomes one of these for Crask and
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* ConvenientComa: Chodo Contague.
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* ConvenientComa: Chodo
* DebtDetester: Chodo owes his position to Garrett eliminating a powerful crime lord rival of his and several other actions that benefited him (through no desire of Garrett).
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[[/folder]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
* ConvenientComa: Chodo Contague.
* TheDon: Chodo is the head of all organized crime in [=TunFaire=].
* EvilCripple: Chodo Contague is confined to a wheelchair after his stroke.
* FriendlyNeighborhoodGangster: {{Deconstructed}} with the fact Chodo is friendly to Garrett but that does nothing to make him less of a dangerous crime lord or someone that our protagonist loathes.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Chodo Contague reputedly started out as a street-gang kid, but was recruited into the Outfit and rose to dominate it. The fathers of Raver Styx and Amiranda Crest rose from humble beginnings to become pretty terrifying even by Hill standards.
* NoOneSeesTheBoss: Crime boss Chodo Contague has a stroke and his daughter Belinda takes over his organization, claiming to relay his orders. [[spoiler: Also how Tama Montezuma manipulated the Call and the Wolves, by "passing on" faked orders in Marengo North English's name.]]
!! Citizens of [=TunFaire=]
[[folder: Chodo Contague]]
A powerful gangster in [=TunFaire=] who has an unusual fondness for Garrett.
----
* ConvenientComa: Chodo Contague.
* TheDon: Chodo is the head of all organized crime in [=TunFaire=].
* EvilCripple: Chodo Contague is confined to a wheelchair after his stroke.
* FriendlyNeighborhoodGangster: {{Deconstructed}} with the fact Chodo is friendly to Garrett but that does nothing to make him less of a dangerous crime lord or someone that our protagonist loathes.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Chodo Contague reputedly started out as a street-gang kid, but was recruited into the Outfit and rose to dominate it. The fathers of Raver Styx and Amiranda Crest rose from humble beginnings to become pretty terrifying even by Hill standards.
* NoOneSeesTheBoss: Crime boss Chodo Contague has a stroke and his daughter Belinda takes over his organization, claiming to relay his orders. [[spoiler: Also how Tama Montezuma manipulated the Call and the Wolves, by "passing on" faked orders in Marengo North English's name.]]
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* EvilVegetarian: Morley is Garrett's friend and sometimes accomplice but a cold blooded killer as well as thief. He also doesn't eat meat.
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* StraightEdgeEvil: Morley doesn't eat meat, smoke, or drink alcohol. He is, however, a gambling addict and a HandsomeLech.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Morley is ''significantly'' more ruthless than Garrett and not above murder or robbery when it suits his purposes.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Morley is ''significantly'' more ruthless than Garrett and not above murder or robbery when it suits his purposes.
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* {{Telepathy}}: Dead Man communicates this way.
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* MoreThanMindControl: Dead Man can peek into people's heads, move objects around, and generally screw around with people. He just doesn't because he's lazy.
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* SpiritualAdvisor: Serves this role to Garrett due to being a vastly knowledge psychic being who is, also, a ghost.
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* SpiritualAdvisor: SpiritAdvisor: Serves this role to Garrett due to being a vastly knowledge psychic being who is, also, a ghost.
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* RagsToRiches: Garrett himself, who over the course of 13 books goes from sleeping on a cot in his office to owning his own house to living in a mansion, and from tracking down brewery malfeasance and buying help from juvenile street gangs to owning shares in [=TunFaire=]'s thriving new manufactory and turning down job offers from Prince Rupert.
* ReallyGetsAround: Garrett has a nearly endless parade of lovers throughout the books.
* SemperFi: Garrett is an ex-Marine, and has a bit of an attitude about it.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Garrett was traumatized by his military service and it affects much of his day to day interactions.
* TouchedByVorlons: Garrett himself appears to have picked up a mild sensitivity to mind-reading, due to his long-term association with (and training by?) the Dead Man.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Garrett loves beer to an absurd extent without being TheAlcoholic.
* UnreliableNarrator: Garrett edits or omits some of his own dialogue and we have to rely on other character's reactions to figure out what's going on. For example he will often insist he muttered something like "Um," "Uh," or "Huh?" when it's obvious he said something much dumber/insensitive. He also downplays his own hobbies to cover up his BadassBookworm and (possible) ClosetGeek status while gleefully telling us about the bad or embarrassing habits of his friends. Another trait is his tendency to greatly abbreviate his sexual history. Garrett's anecdotes about the dangers his Marine unit faced in the Cantard island's swamps may or may not be an example. On one hand, snakes "as long as anchor chains" ''sounds'' like one of his usual exaggerations, but on the other, he does live in a world where dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts are still around, so ''Megaboa'' isn't out of the question...
* Part of Garrett's backstory. Five years in the Marines, most of it stuck in a swamp.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Garrett ''does'' avert this a couple of times, but once it was to chastise a female mastermind who'd shamelessly tried to blame an innocent murder victim for another victim's death, and the other time he didn't realize it was a woman following him until after his punch connected. In the former case, he mentally assures himself she's no lady in any sense but the biological. He also whups Winger when she tries to haul him off in ''Dread Brass Shadows'', and is willing enough to fight rough against female magic-users like the Serpent. Really, it's only ''unarmed'' women Garrett's hesitant to strike.
* ReallyGetsAround: Garrett has a nearly endless parade of lovers throughout the books.
* SemperFi: Garrett is an ex-Marine, and has a bit of an attitude about it.
* ShellShockedVeteran: Garrett was traumatized by his military service and it affects much of his day to day interactions.
* TouchedByVorlons: Garrett himself appears to have picked up a mild sensitivity to mind-reading, due to his long-term association with (and training by?) the Dead Man.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Garrett loves beer to an absurd extent without being TheAlcoholic.
* UnreliableNarrator: Garrett edits or omits some of his own dialogue and we have to rely on other character's reactions to figure out what's going on. For example he will often insist he muttered something like "Um," "Uh," or "Huh?" when it's obvious he said something much dumber/insensitive. He also downplays his own hobbies to cover up his BadassBookworm and (possible) ClosetGeek status while gleefully telling us about the bad or embarrassing habits of his friends. Another trait is his tendency to greatly abbreviate his sexual history. Garrett's anecdotes about the dangers his Marine unit faced in the Cantard island's swamps may or may not be an example. On one hand, snakes "as long as anchor chains" ''sounds'' like one of his usual exaggerations, but on the other, he does live in a world where dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts are still around, so ''Megaboa'' isn't out of the question...
* Part of Garrett's backstory. Five years in the Marines, most of it stuck in a swamp.
* WouldntHitAGirl: Garrett ''does'' avert this a couple of times, but once it was to chastise a female mastermind who'd shamelessly tried to blame an innocent murder victim for another victim's death, and the other time he didn't realize it was a woman following him until after his punch connected. In the former case, he mentally assures himself she's no lady in any sense but the biological. He also whups Winger when she tries to haul him off in ''Dread Brass Shadows'', and is willing enough to fight rough against female magic-users like the Serpent. Really, it's only ''unarmed'' women Garrett's hesitant to strike.
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* HypercompetentSidekick: As much as he can be termed a sidekick, Morley is a dangerous killing machine that Garrett often hires for his cases.
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* SharpDressedMan: Morley prefers fine clothing compared to Garrett's ambivalent attitude to dress.
* WallOfWeapons: Morley has an arsenal concealed behind a movable wall-panel in his office. Garret originally kept his weapons (mostly those taken off of guys trying to kill him) in a spare room of his house before moving it to an upstairs closet. The Stantnor mansion is decorated in Late Medieval Arsenal.
* WallOfWeapons: Morley has an arsenal concealed behind a movable wall-panel in his office. Garret originally kept his weapons (mostly those taken off of guys trying to kill him) in a spare room of his house before moving it to an upstairs closet. The Stantnor mansion is decorated in Late Medieval Arsenal.
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* TheAgeless: On the account of being dead and not going anywhere.
* CreepyGood: An undead EldritchAbomination that is, nevertheless, on Garrett's side.
* CreepyGood: An undead EldritchAbomination that is, nevertheless, on Garrett's side.
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* PsychicPowers: Can communicate telepathy, read minds, and alter people's memories among other abilities.
* RestrainingBolt: Garrett bluffs a bad guy with a lurid description of "Loghyr mindworms" in ''Whispering Nickel Idols'', only for the Dead Man to (apparently) start implanting them ''for real''. [[spoiler: At least, "for real" enough to make one of the implanted villains go OffTheRails and start attacking his own Outfit associates on the Dead Man's behalf, desperate to get it removed.]]
* SpiritualAdvisor: Serves this role to Garrett due to being a vastly knowledge psychic being who is, also, a ghost.
* SpockSpeak: The Dead Man's mental communication uses highly formal grammar and refrains from contractions. Singe has to work at it to remember to use contractions, and John Stretch has yet to master them.
* StrawMisogynist: Dead Man has nothing but disdain for the female sex. Garrett speculates that it is because Dead Man used to be very randy and is now CantHaveSexEver due to being a ghost.
* RestrainingBolt: Garrett bluffs a bad guy with a lurid description of "Loghyr mindworms" in ''Whispering Nickel Idols'', only for the Dead Man to (apparently) start implanting them ''for real''. [[spoiler: At least, "for real" enough to make one of the implanted villains go OffTheRails and start attacking his own Outfit associates on the Dead Man's behalf, desperate to get it removed.]]
* SpiritualAdvisor: Serves this role to Garrett due to being a vastly knowledge psychic being who is, also, a ghost.
* SpockSpeak: The Dead Man's mental communication uses highly formal grammar and refrains from contractions. Singe has to work at it to remember to use contractions, and John Stretch has yet to master them.
* StrawMisogynist: Dead Man has nothing but disdain for the female sex. Garrett speculates that it is because Dead Man used to be very randy and is now CantHaveSexEver due to being a ghost.
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A former Marine turned private investigator in the city of TunFaire. He is frequently caught up in all of the intrigues within the city and its nobility or underworld (or both).
to:
A former Marine turned private investigator in the city of TunFaire.[=TunFaire=]. He is frequently caught up in all of the intrigues within the city and its nobility or underworld (or both).
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** Garrett ''loathes'' green bell peppers, claiming they're one of the few things even pigs won't eat.
Becomes plot-relevant in ''Faded Steel Heat'', when Morley's guys try to play a joke by serving Garrett a dish full of the things. "Garrett" tucks right in, unwittingly outing himself as a shape-changed impostor.
Becomes plot-relevant in ''Faded Steel Heat'', when Morley's guys try to play a joke by serving Garrett a dish full of the things. "Garrett" tucks right in, unwittingly outing himself as a shape-changed impostor.
to:
** Garrett ''loathes'' green bell peppers, claiming they're one of the few things even pigs won't eat.
eat. Becomes plot-relevant in ''Faded Steel Heat'', when Morley's guys try to play a joke by serving Garrett a dish full of the things. "Garrett" tucks right in, unwittingly outing himself as a shape-changed impostor.
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[[foldercontrol]]
!! Garrett, PI
[[folder: Garrett, PI]]
A former Marine turned private investigator in the city of TunFaire. He is frequently caught up in all of the intrigues within the city and its nobility or underworld (or both).
----
* BrilliantButLazy: Garrett avoids work whenever possible and often passes on cases when he's not desperate for cash.
* BadassBookworm: Believe it or not, Garrett. Not only can he read and write in a world where literacy is a hot commodity, but the Dead Man's room (arguable the most secure place in the city) houses a treasure trove of books (being dead he can't really read, so who are they ''really'' for?). He's frequented the local library enough to finish a long trilogy of psuedo-history books and ''Deadly Quicksilver Lies'' opens with him in his office reading a philosophy book for pleasure. That being said, [[ClosetGeek he does try to downplay his hobby]] [[UnreliableNarrator to the reader]].
* CarryABigStick: Garrett's preferred weapon is his "head-knocker", a heavy wooden nightstick with a pound of lead embedded in its striking end.
* CombatPragmatist: Garrett, big time, in the first book he defends himself with what he even calls "A girlish kick to the shins."
* DeadpanSnarker: Garrett has a wise crack to everyone he meets, internal or external. Given that Garrett is also the narrator, just about every other line is filled with snark.
* DisproportionateReward: Garrett suffers this at the hands of [[TheSyndicate Chodo Contague]] after inadvertently helping him eliminate a threat and (later) saving his life. Chodo feels indebted to him, and wouldn't hesitate to kill off any number of mooks to be square. Garrett is ''not'' happy about this, seeing as how Chodo [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame personifies everything he despises]].
* DoesNotLikeSpam:
** Garrett absolutely despises vegetarian cuisine and Morley's attempts to turn him on it.
** Garrett ''loathes'' green bell peppers, claiming they're one of the few things even pigs won't eat.
Becomes plot-relevant in ''Faded Steel Heat'', when Morley's guys try to play a joke by serving Garrett a dish full of the things. "Garrett" tucks right in, unwittingly outing himself as a shape-changed impostor.
* DropTheHammer: Garrett throws a smithing hammer in a fight from ''Angry Lead Skies'', and admits he'd always liked this trope as a kid while recounting the event.
* EatTheDog: Garrett regularly threatens the Goddamn Parrot with this fate, although he daren't go through with it because it would alienate both Morley and the Dead Man.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Garrett has a definite liking for (ahem) savoring the view, particularly when the young lady in question is walking away from him.
* FascinatingEyebrow: A favorite of Garrett, he refers to it as his "eyebrow trick" and considers it his one true skill.
* FirstPersonSmartass: Garrett almost never foregoes a chance to quip at everyone and everything.
* HandsomeLech: Garrett is always up for some female company and is good looking enough that he usually gets it.
* HeroesWantRedheads: And how! Garrett's longest-lasting girlfriend Tinnie is a FieryRedhead, and he's variously drooled over Carla Lindo Ramada [[spoiler: and several of her duplicates]], Maggie Jenn, and Katie Shaver. Kip Prose, a geek who fantasizes about being a hero, is in love with Kyra Tate.
* HeroicBSOD: In ''Old Tin Sorrows'', Garrett has one of these after dealing with a particularly sad ghost with a {{t|earJerker}}ragic [[KillTheCutie history]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Morley and Garrett always have each other's back but are both deeply into women.
* IndyPloy: As often as not, Garrett "solves" mysteries by engineering collisions between his own investigation and the various suspects, then living through the resulting crossfire. Garrett himself admits this is because he can't puzzle out the answer by brains alone, so he just stirs the pot and ramps up the pressure until the villain cracks and does something stupid.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Along with UnreliableNarrator, Garrett rarely (if ever) censors profanities. Instead he leaves out bits of his own dialogue or will insist he said something else in order to make himself look like less of a fool. Other characters reactions to him will betray that he said or did something incredibly dumb though.
* NayTheist: Garrett expresses no particular disbelief in the gods, per say, but has no use for them or religion.
* TheNicknamer: Garrett. He usually winds up calling people whose names he doesn't know things like 'Weasely Guy' and the like.
* NoNameGiven: Nobody uses Garrett's first name, ever. Oddly enough, nobody in story seems to notice, or at least not to care. He ''must'' have a first name, because references to his family make it clear "Garrett" is the ''family'' name, but he isn't letting on. [[TeasingCreator Cook's a tease about this]], as Garrett's childhood and marine-corps ''nicknames'' have both been revealed. Tinnie likewise invents a pet name for him, right at a point in their relationship when you'd expect her to drop "Garrett" and start using his given name. Actually becomes plot-relevant in ''Wicked Bronze Ambition'', when [[spoiler: Hagekagome doesn't realize he's not ''Mikey'' Garrett.]]
* NotAMorningPerson: Garrett resents being woken up even in the afternoon, usually because he's hung over.
* PrivateInvestigator: Garrett's profession. He finds missing people, objects, and negotiates with criminals on behalf of his clients. When he can be bothered.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Garrett engages in this regularly. His standard operating procedure is into pretend to stumble and bungle his way through the case while strategically positioning his opposition to take ''themselves'' out. The Dead Man points out that Garrett is actually quite a good detective, but simply lacks motivation.
* OncePerEpisode: Garrett [[DrinkingGame WILL]] get knocked out and/or beaten up at least once per novel.
* PapaWolf: Garrett may not want kids, but he's got a protective-father streak a mile wide for his daughter-surrogates. He delivered a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Maya's molesting stepfather when they first met, and he's likewise highly protective of Singe's dignity and virtue.
[[/folder]]
!! Associates and Allies
[[folder: Morley Dotes]]
A vegetarian half-dark elf assassin and compulsive gambler.
----
* BadGuyBar: Morley's Joy House is a Bad Guy ''Restaurant'', which ironically doesn't serve alcohol.
* TheGamblingAddict: Morley, early in the series, has a mountain of debts due to this.
* GivingThemTheStrip: Morley gets his brand-new shirt caught on something when he and Garrett climb down a wall in ''Deadly Quicksilver Lies''. As Morley's such a clotheshorse, it causes him real pain (and Garrett, immense amusement) when he has to cut the cloth to get loose.
* HandsomeLech: As an elf, he is easily able to find female company and is happy to get it.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Morley and Garrett always have each other's back but are both deeply into women.
* HiddenDepths: Garrett sometimes considers Morley to be this, due to his Bizarre Dark-Elven Psychology.
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Garrett will never, ever, let Morely forget about the time he made Garrett drag around a half-starved vampire in his attempt to assassinate a crime boss to whom Morely owed money.
* PunnyName: Morley Dotes is a reference to the "Mares Eat Oats" nursey rhyme.
* PardonMyKlingon: Morley Dotes, while he seldom swears in Karentine, cusses a blue streak in Low Elvish on occasion.
* ProfessionalKiller: Morley Dotes. There are plenty of mooks and secondary characters paid to kill/bruise people up, but he's the most prominently featured one. Might also coincide with HitmanWithAHeart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Dead Man]]
A long-dead Loghyr, who serves as Garrett's business partner.
----
* EldritchAbomination: Dead Man died centuries ago but remains on, annoying Garrett with his powerful abilities and inscrutable knowledge.
* EmotionBomb: The Dead Man can fiddle with others' mental state, most often by making them distracted or intoxicated so they're no use as witnesses. The Luck of A-Lat generate an aura of mellow euphoria that's powerful enough to suppress an imminent gang war.
* GoshDangItToHeck: In a rare departure from his usual SpockSpeak, the Dead Man's psychic voice says ''Oh, sugar!'' in ''Gilded Latten Bones''. Garrett wonders what the h-e-double-broomsticks brought that on.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: One of the Dead Man's abilities is to provide this to people. It helps protect Garrett's secrets.
* NoNameGiven: The Dead Man's name is never revealed in the series.
* NotAMorningPerson: The Dead Man, thanks to dead Loghyrs' marathon sleeping habits, is more of a Not A This-Month Person.
* OncePerEpisode: In ''nearly'' every book set in [=TunFaire=], the Dead Man falls asleep right when his assistance would wrap up the case.
* OrificeInvasion: When the Dead Man first appears in the series, he's a bit neglected, to the point where a spider has set up housekeeping in one of his nostrils. It peeks out at Garrett, then ducks back inside.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: The Dead Man is a StrawMisogynist to the core, for comedic reasons -- largely something else for him and Garrett to bicker [[HypocriticalHumor like old women]] over.
* ProperlyParanoid: Nobody with secrets to hide wants to come anywhere ''near'' the Dead Man, with good reason.
[[/folder]]
!! Garrett, PI
[[folder: Garrett, PI]]
A former Marine turned private investigator in the city of TunFaire. He is frequently caught up in all of the intrigues within the city and its nobility or underworld (or both).
----
* BrilliantButLazy: Garrett avoids work whenever possible and often passes on cases when he's not desperate for cash.
* BadassBookworm: Believe it or not, Garrett. Not only can he read and write in a world where literacy is a hot commodity, but the Dead Man's room (arguable the most secure place in the city) houses a treasure trove of books (being dead he can't really read, so who are they ''really'' for?). He's frequented the local library enough to finish a long trilogy of psuedo-history books and ''Deadly Quicksilver Lies'' opens with him in his office reading a philosophy book for pleasure. That being said, [[ClosetGeek he does try to downplay his hobby]] [[UnreliableNarrator to the reader]].
* CarryABigStick: Garrett's preferred weapon is his "head-knocker", a heavy wooden nightstick with a pound of lead embedded in its striking end.
* CombatPragmatist: Garrett, big time, in the first book he defends himself with what he even calls "A girlish kick to the shins."
* DeadpanSnarker: Garrett has a wise crack to everyone he meets, internal or external. Given that Garrett is also the narrator, just about every other line is filled with snark.
* DisproportionateReward: Garrett suffers this at the hands of [[TheSyndicate Chodo Contague]] after inadvertently helping him eliminate a threat and (later) saving his life. Chodo feels indebted to him, and wouldn't hesitate to kill off any number of mooks to be square. Garrett is ''not'' happy about this, seeing as how Chodo [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame personifies everything he despises]].
* DoesNotLikeSpam:
** Garrett absolutely despises vegetarian cuisine and Morley's attempts to turn him on it.
** Garrett ''loathes'' green bell peppers, claiming they're one of the few things even pigs won't eat.
Becomes plot-relevant in ''Faded Steel Heat'', when Morley's guys try to play a joke by serving Garrett a dish full of the things. "Garrett" tucks right in, unwittingly outing himself as a shape-changed impostor.
* DropTheHammer: Garrett throws a smithing hammer in a fight from ''Angry Lead Skies'', and admits he'd always liked this trope as a kid while recounting the event.
* EatTheDog: Garrett regularly threatens the Goddamn Parrot with this fate, although he daren't go through with it because it would alienate both Morley and the Dead Man.
* EatingTheEyeCandy: Garrett has a definite liking for (ahem) savoring the view, particularly when the young lady in question is walking away from him.
* FascinatingEyebrow: A favorite of Garrett, he refers to it as his "eyebrow trick" and considers it his one true skill.
* FirstPersonSmartass: Garrett almost never foregoes a chance to quip at everyone and everything.
* HandsomeLech: Garrett is always up for some female company and is good looking enough that he usually gets it.
* HeroesWantRedheads: And how! Garrett's longest-lasting girlfriend Tinnie is a FieryRedhead, and he's variously drooled over Carla Lindo Ramada [[spoiler: and several of her duplicates]], Maggie Jenn, and Katie Shaver. Kip Prose, a geek who fantasizes about being a hero, is in love with Kyra Tate.
* HeroicBSOD: In ''Old Tin Sorrows'', Garrett has one of these after dealing with a particularly sad ghost with a {{t|earJerker}}ragic [[KillTheCutie history]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Morley and Garrett always have each other's back but are both deeply into women.
* IndyPloy: As often as not, Garrett "solves" mysteries by engineering collisions between his own investigation and the various suspects, then living through the resulting crossfire. Garrett himself admits this is because he can't puzzle out the answer by brains alone, so he just stirs the pot and ramps up the pressure until the villain cracks and does something stupid.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Along with UnreliableNarrator, Garrett rarely (if ever) censors profanities. Instead he leaves out bits of his own dialogue or will insist he said something else in order to make himself look like less of a fool. Other characters reactions to him will betray that he said or did something incredibly dumb though.
* NayTheist: Garrett expresses no particular disbelief in the gods, per say, but has no use for them or religion.
* TheNicknamer: Garrett. He usually winds up calling people whose names he doesn't know things like 'Weasely Guy' and the like.
* NoNameGiven: Nobody uses Garrett's first name, ever. Oddly enough, nobody in story seems to notice, or at least not to care. He ''must'' have a first name, because references to his family make it clear "Garrett" is the ''family'' name, but he isn't letting on. [[TeasingCreator Cook's a tease about this]], as Garrett's childhood and marine-corps ''nicknames'' have both been revealed. Tinnie likewise invents a pet name for him, right at a point in their relationship when you'd expect her to drop "Garrett" and start using his given name. Actually becomes plot-relevant in ''Wicked Bronze Ambition'', when [[spoiler: Hagekagome doesn't realize he's not ''Mikey'' Garrett.]]
* NotAMorningPerson: Garrett resents being woken up even in the afternoon, usually because he's hung over.
* PrivateInvestigator: Garrett's profession. He finds missing people, objects, and negotiates with criminals on behalf of his clients. When he can be bothered.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Garrett engages in this regularly. His standard operating procedure is into pretend to stumble and bungle his way through the case while strategically positioning his opposition to take ''themselves'' out. The Dead Man points out that Garrett is actually quite a good detective, but simply lacks motivation.
* OncePerEpisode: Garrett [[DrinkingGame WILL]] get knocked out and/or beaten up at least once per novel.
* PapaWolf: Garrett may not want kids, but he's got a protective-father streak a mile wide for his daughter-surrogates. He delivered a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Maya's molesting stepfather when they first met, and he's likewise highly protective of Singe's dignity and virtue.
[[/folder]]
!! Associates and Allies
[[folder: Morley Dotes]]
A vegetarian half-dark elf assassin and compulsive gambler.
----
* BadGuyBar: Morley's Joy House is a Bad Guy ''Restaurant'', which ironically doesn't serve alcohol.
* TheGamblingAddict: Morley, early in the series, has a mountain of debts due to this.
* GivingThemTheStrip: Morley gets his brand-new shirt caught on something when he and Garrett climb down a wall in ''Deadly Quicksilver Lies''. As Morley's such a clotheshorse, it causes him real pain (and Garrett, immense amusement) when he has to cut the cloth to get loose.
* HandsomeLech: As an elf, he is easily able to find female company and is happy to get it.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Morley and Garrett always have each other's back but are both deeply into women.
* HiddenDepths: Garrett sometimes considers Morley to be this, due to his Bizarre Dark-Elven Psychology.
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Garrett will never, ever, let Morely forget about the time he made Garrett drag around a half-starved vampire in his attempt to assassinate a crime boss to whom Morely owed money.
* PunnyName: Morley Dotes is a reference to the "Mares Eat Oats" nursey rhyme.
* PardonMyKlingon: Morley Dotes, while he seldom swears in Karentine, cusses a blue streak in Low Elvish on occasion.
* ProfessionalKiller: Morley Dotes. There are plenty of mooks and secondary characters paid to kill/bruise people up, but he's the most prominently featured one. Might also coincide with HitmanWithAHeart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Dead Man]]
A long-dead Loghyr, who serves as Garrett's business partner.
----
* EldritchAbomination: Dead Man died centuries ago but remains on, annoying Garrett with his powerful abilities and inscrutable knowledge.
* EmotionBomb: The Dead Man can fiddle with others' mental state, most often by making them distracted or intoxicated so they're no use as witnesses. The Luck of A-Lat generate an aura of mellow euphoria that's powerful enough to suppress an imminent gang war.
* GoshDangItToHeck: In a rare departure from his usual SpockSpeak, the Dead Man's psychic voice says ''Oh, sugar!'' in ''Gilded Latten Bones''. Garrett wonders what the h-e-double-broomsticks brought that on.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: One of the Dead Man's abilities is to provide this to people. It helps protect Garrett's secrets.
* NoNameGiven: The Dead Man's name is never revealed in the series.
* NotAMorningPerson: The Dead Man, thanks to dead Loghyrs' marathon sleeping habits, is more of a Not A This-Month Person.
* OncePerEpisode: In ''nearly'' every book set in [=TunFaire=], the Dead Man falls asleep right when his assistance would wrap up the case.
* OrificeInvasion: When the Dead Man first appears in the series, he's a bit neglected, to the point where a spider has set up housekeeping in one of his nostrils. It peeks out at Garrett, then ducks back inside.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: The Dead Man is a StrawMisogynist to the core, for comedic reasons -- largely something else for him and Garrett to bicker [[HypocriticalHumor like old women]] over.
* ProperlyParanoid: Nobody with secrets to hide wants to come anywhere ''near'' the Dead Man, with good reason.
[[/folder]]
