Characters / Crimes of Passion

Below are the major and minor characters for Crimes of Passion. Warning, spoilers ahead!

Protagonists

Cameron Rose A.K.A. The Main Character

The main character of the story who originally a cop before they became a Private Detective.

• Private Detective: Cameron is one of these, a former NYPD police officer turned private, working for the Ginovesi Detective Agency.
• Supporting Protagonist: In Book 2, as it revolves around Drakovia and the murder of Trystan's fiancee Juliana, even though Cameron is still the Player Character.

Trystan Thorne

A prince/ss from Drakovia who lives in New York after being exiled.

• The Exile: Trystan is exiled from Drakovia, with the tabloids guessing why the prince(ss) was kicked out of their country. A premium scene in Chapter 1 has Cameron guess why they were exiled: murder, defying their parents, or gambling debts. If Cameron chooses gambling, Trystan bet it all on the horses. Trystan says if they were going to go in debt, they would do it in poker. Later chapters reveal that it is due to them supposedly causing the death of their fiancee, Juliana Georgescu.
• Gender-Blender Name: Trystan's middle name changes depending on gender: Sebastijan for a male, Valerija for a female.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: Trystan's profile in Chapter 2 that they're the oldest child out of nine siblings. In Book 2, it is revealed that 3 of those siblings are half siblings who share the same father as Trystan.

Ginovesi Agency

Mafalda Ginovesi

Cameron's boss

• Put on a Bus: She doesn't appear after Book 2, Chapter 2 due to Cameron and Trystan leaving for Drakovia. The bus trip ends in Chapter 16 when she and Uncle Tommy are invited to Trystan's coronation as King/Queen of Drakovia.

Luke Watanabe

The tech specialist of the team

• Boxed Crook: A premium scene in Chapter 3 reveals that Luke is only allowed to use his hacking skills in service of law enforcement. Cameron points out that due to a loophole in New York state law, private agencies qualify.
• Playful Hacker: He is the hacker to the Ginovesi Private Detective Agency. He's able to hack social media feeds which provide Dossiers on the characters you meet, and hacks the traffic cams while looking for Sonja.

Ruby Webster

The forensics expert of the team

• Black and Nerdy: She is a forensic expert for the NYPD, is into scientific subjects, wears glasses, and is black. Her profile reveals she graduated from Johns Hopkins University at 21.

Book 1 Characters

Sonja Dormer

The first murder victim in the series

• Decoy Protagonist: Chapter 1 has you play as her trying to get away from the killer, but no matter what you do, she dies.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Her murder is what brings Cameron and Trystan together into untangling a conspiracy and bringing in a serial killer.

Nick Bastion

A prolific mystery novelist

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's Ruby's favorite author, but in Chapter 10, he turns out to be one of the leaders of the Hand of Mahra cult known as Vosegus.

Anika Desphande

A businesswoman who is part of the Hand of Mahra cult.

• Corrupt Corporate Executive: She's publicly known as the VP of Operations of a pharmaceutical company. She's also a high ranking Hand of Mahra cultist known as Devona.

Winston Reese

A professor at Manhattan University

Tony Kowalski

A blacksmith who's later revealed to be the Serial Killer Cameron and co are tracking down in Book 1.

• Obfuscating Stupidity: When Cameron and Trystan first meet him in Chapter 7, he claims he doesn't know anything about the Hand of Mahra. In reality, he's the serial killer they were looking for.
• Red Baron: He's known as the Heartache Killer since Chapter 11.
• Serial Killer: His victims include Sonja Dormer, Bethany Delgado and Winston Reese, as well as dozens, if not hundreds more.
• Younger Than They Look: Tony Kowalski is said to be 24, but he looks about 40.

Eleanor St Claire

A socialite who's later revealed to be the mastermind behind the serial killings in Book 1.

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She comes off as a friendly socialite, but in reality, she's a Serial Killer and the true Big Bad of Book 1.
• The Reveal: Chapter 16 reveals her real name is Eleanor Blake, and that her father was Mathus Blake, founder of the original Hand of Mahra.
• The Woman Behind the Man: She's the one Tony answers to, and is thus the true Big Bad of Book 1.

Drakovian Royal Family

As a whole

• Big, Screwed-Up Family: According to Marguerite, the Drakovian royal family are a bunch of psychopaths, and she and Trystan are the only sane members.

Marguerite Thorne

Trystan's fashion designer half sister

• The Baby of the Bunch: She's the youngest Thorne sibling, as Juliana's dossier reveals she will be last in line to the throne should she be legitimized.
• The Fashionista: Marguerite runs a high end boutique and provides Cameron outfits that help them gain an advantage throughout the series.
• Heroic Bastard: She's the Token Good Teammate among King Maksim's bastards. Overlaps with Women Are Wiser, as she is her mother's only daughter.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's a princess, ambassador and fashion designer.

Lydea Thorne

Captain of the Guard and 2nd in line to the throne. She becomes Queen of Drakovia at the end of Book 2.

• Bastard Angst: She doesn't take being her mother's bastard well.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's Captain of the Guard as well as a princess.
• You Are in Command Now: Trystan names her the new Queen of Drakovia in their place in Book 2 Chapter 16.

Kaspar and Emika Thorne

Trystan's twin siblings

• Covert Distress Code: If you buy their profile, you find out the word "magpie" is theirs.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Emika is the planner and the one who keeps Kaspar's sticky fingers in check. If he does get caught, they have to come to his defense, legal or otherwise.
• Twin Banter: The two have their own language that even the world's best codebreakers can't crack.

Sebastyan Thorne

Trystan's half brother who's also a lawmaker

• Politically-Active Prince: He's a parliamentarian as well as a prince.
• Red Herring: His temperament makes it easy to suspect him of murder, and he's also suspected to have a relationship with Juliana. However, after spending 2 chapters as the prime suspect, he gets killed himself in Chapter 12.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the red oni of Trystan's half brothers, as he's often quick to anger.
• Slashed Throat: Sebastyan is found killed this way in Book 2 Chapter 12.

Vasili Thorne

Trystan's other half brother

• Bastard Bastard: He's one of King Maksim's bastards, and in Chapter 14, he is revealed to be the Big Bad of Book 2 who killed Juliana, Nadja and Sebastyan.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: He may be cool and collected, but in reality he's a cunning strategist who killed Juliana, Nadja and Sebastyan so that he could seize the throne.
• Evil Genius: Being a cunning strategist, he plants evidence that points to his siblings to throw Cameron and Trystan off his trail throughout the book.
• Greater-Scope Villain: While he's the Big Bad of Book 2, since his murder of Juliana happened 8 years ago, he can be considered this for the series.
• Karmic Death: In Chapter 15, you can kill him by giving him a lethal injection of glitter, the same way he killed Juliana.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted the Act for Heir Equity to pass so that he could seize the throne.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the blue oni of Trystan's half brothers who often keeps Sebastyan's temper in check.
• Wicked Cultured: His dossier reveals that he's a patron of the arts.

Astrid Thorne

One of Trystan's sisters who is said to have a long list of dead lovers

• Depraved Bisexual: She has been described as "a serial monogamist who tends to leave a trail of dead lovers in her wake", she's dated both men and women, and she killed one of her ex-girlfriend's ex-boyfriend after he wouldn't stop harassing them (since he was bitter about his girlfriend leaving him for a woman).
• Red Herring: Her reputation as a Black Widow and the fact that she's one of the legitimate siblings makes it easy to suspect her of Juliana's murder, and she's also suspected to be the bastard of Queen Viktoria. However, Chapter 14 reveals the killer to be Vasili, while the bastard is revealed to be Lydea.

Patryk Thorne

One of Trystan's younger brothers who is a notorious prankster and "party bro"

• Out of Focus: By far, he's the Thorne sibling with the least screentime and plot relevance. He's one of three siblings who aren't suspected^note the other two being Marguerite (who has been on Trystan's side since Book 1) and Vasili (who was beneath suspicion until his status as the Big Bad was revealed), he doesn't get his own dossier when just about every other Thorne sibling does (save for Marguerite), and his only real appearance is in Chapter 6, with a brief appearance in Chapter 13 (which features every Thorne sibling anyway), and everything else related to him is either off-screen appearances or passing mentions.

Other Book 2 Characters

Juliana Georgescu

Trystan's late fiancee

• The Lost Lenore: Her death is this for Trystan, especially when they're publicly blamed for her death.