Characters / Ragnatela

Patience Winslow

Perpetally poverty-stricken detective with one goal in mind: to bring down Leonardo Borghese, and by extension, the entire mafia.

• Affectionate Nickname: Leonardo calls her Pazienza which means patience in Italian, while Salvatore calls her Patty.
• Anti-Hero: Grows into one.
• Birds of a Feather: While there are obvious differences between her and Sal, their personalities and temper are nearly similar.
• Brainy Brunette
• Break the Cutie: And how.
• Broken Bird: She was Forced to Watch her parents get shot to death in front of her by Leonardo, was handed off to apathetic relatives, and when she finally graduated college and became a detective, her life got even worse.
• Child Hater: Not as bad as the trope image, but she definitely has a hard time dealing with children. Played straight given the way she treats Andrea..
• The Dog Bites Back: When she gains the upper hand on her many enemies, she takes full advantage of it.
• Freak Out: Patience is not the most mentally stable person.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Has some... problems with impulse control.
• Has a Type: She hits off really well with Michael in general, but she’s also given a bit of attention to Salvatore’s appearance.
• Iron Woobie
• Knight in Sour Armor
• Lady Swears-a-Lot: Very much so to the point that Leonardo frequently rebukes her for it, though she only does it when she’s aggravated.
• Lust Object: For Leonardo and Salvatore, to a lesser extent.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Throughout the story she’s gradually regretting ever going after Leonardo since it costed all of her friends’ lives, but a notable moment is once Leonardo brings up Andrea, she has a bit of a breakdown and is extremely regretful of murdering her own son.
• Not So Above It All: Unfortunately she is not immune to Leonardo and Salvatore’s influence on her.
• Offing the Offspring
• Older Than She Looks: Looks like a teenager but is actually 22 in the beginning of the story.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse
• Private Detective
• Rape as Drama: Happens to her multiple times through the course of the story, to a very bad effect on her psyche.
• Recurring Dreams: Of being chased by a plague doctor who turns out to be Vittoria.
• She Who Fights Monsters: Is so blinded by her revenge and hatred that she ends up doing some questionable things that make her seem more unsympathetic as the story goes on.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She falls for Michael who is overall a pretty decent guy, and softens around Salvatore when he shows more of his redeeming qualities.
• Stockholm Syndrome: Double subverted; in which she remains very cold and understandably frightened around Leonardo when she was his captive but ends up sympathizing with his backstory and admitting to herself that she held some affection for him despite everything.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: During the Midnight Hour Parlor arc.
• White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: Her family are of New England Puritan stock and she's ridiculously proud of it.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: In the beginning at least. For someone who was researching about the mafia all this time and aspiring to bring down the entire organization by herself. She’s shown to be very naive about how organized crime operates and only starts to learn more when she got to know Leonardo personally.
• Youthful Freckles

Leonardo Borghese

Well-known philanthropist, entrepreneur and aspiring politician, and secretly one of the most powerful mafia bosses in Garland City—the Don of the Borghese family.

• Abusive Parents: His father Silvio. His mother wasn’t much better either.
• Affably Evil
• Bait the Dog: How he usually treats Patience, with the promise of being kind only to show her cruelty much later.
• Bastard Bastard
• Big Bad
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He always has an ulterior motive behind every kindhearted facade he puts on.
• Child by Rape
• Churchgoing Villain: He's a fixture at the local Catholic church (and even financed the construction of a cathedral in his village in Italy) Whether he genuinely believes in God or if it's simply a nother way to promote his wholeseome politician's image in inconclusive.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: As Michael unfortunately found out.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Having Silvio as a father doesn’t make the best of childhoods for anyone, It’s almost no wonder Leonardo became so messed up.
• Despotism Justifies the Means
• Deuteragonist
• The Don
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: He’s a beautiful man who’s done some things that would make even the devil tremble.
• Lack of Empathy: Being a sociopath, the entire world revolves around him.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse
• Manipulative Bastard: Leonardo is very good at reading people to a frightening degree.
• Pet the Dog: His affection (whether genuine or not) towards his son is one of his few good points.
• Real Men Wear Pink: He’s got a knack for cooking and sewing, and also craves femininity in an obscenely unhealthy way.
• The Rival: His relationship with Salvatore resembles this as they despise each other, but has enough respect to act civil. This becomes more apparent when Patience is in the picture.
• Self-Made Orphan: Although considering who his father was, this is one of the few things you can't blame him for.
• The Social Expert: He manages to charm and manipulate his way to set a good image of himself in the public eye of Garland city.
• The Sociopath
• Soft-Spoken Sadist
• Stalker with a Crush
• Terms of Endangerment: One word: dolcezza.
• Tranquil Fury: He usually masks his anger with a barely veiled polite face and gentlemanly manner, it only serves to make him seem even more dangerous.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Only discussed. He was a far cry from being a normal child even without Silvio’s physical and mental abuse, but the abuse definitely made it worse.
• Villainous Breakdown: Andrea's death, and when he gets deported
• Villain with Good Publicity: As a well-loved fixture of the Garland City upper class, Patience has her work cut out for her exposing him as a villain.
• Would Hurt a Child: Not just hurt, but admits would kill if it benefits him..
• Yandere: Is willing to torture and kill anyone who Patience holds dear.

Salvatore Mallozzi

The Don of the Di Scarpetta family, and Leonardo's main nemesis, as well as the third corner of Patience's destructive love triangle.

• The Don
• Enemy Mine: With Patience, although it eventually morphs into something more. And Leonardo, although solely for the Florida trarricking subplot.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Adores his niece and nephew.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Due to an incident in his past, Salvatore WILL NOT harm children. Grown men are fair game, though. He is also repulsed by some of the things Leonardo does as well.
• Foil: To Leonardo.
• Friend to All Children: Downplayed. He softens up around children and even goes berserk when Leonardo accused him of killing any.
• Functional Addict: At first, but as the story progresses cocaine takes over his life and he descends into an Addled Addict.
• Handsome Lech: Treats a lot of women like sex objects as seen with his first interaction with Patience.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He seems like the lesser of two evils when Leonardo’s around, but the things he does to Patience aren’t much better either. He often alternates between this and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
• Lean and Mean
• Sir Swears-a-Lot
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Between him and Patience, albeit a little more one-sided.
• Smoking Is Cool
• Street Smart: Otherwise he wouldn’t survive in the mafia for so long, let alone handle being a boss.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: His looks are frequently commented on by Patience to be this.
• Torture Technician: Having been a pig farmer, he's had a lot of experience slaughtering warm bodies.
• Unstoppable Rage: Is prone to having fits of violence when angered.
• Would Not Hurt A Child: See Even Evil Has Standards above.

Charles Sawyer

The consigliere of the Borghese family, and close friend and personal lawyer of Leonardo.

• Amoral Attorney
• The Consigliere
• Dirty Coward
• Silver Fox: Or at least, he believes himself to be.

Michael Sheehan

One of Patience's first allies, a journalist of Irish descent who wants to take down the mafia as bad as she does.

• First Love: For Patience.
• Generic Guy: in comparison to the other two love interests, he’s definitely normal.
• Intrepid Reporter
• Love Confession: To Patience through a phone call and it was their final interaction.
• Mercy Kill
• Nice Guy: He treats Patience with decency and it’s the reason why she likes him so much, though it’s not that hard to be nice when you’re being compared to the likes of Leonardo and Salvatore.
• Satellite Love Interest

Flora Haywood

Patience's landlady, confidante and erstwhile ally.

• Bedlam House: is put in one when Leonardo kidnaps Patience to Sicily.
• Driven to Suicide
• The Woobie

Andrea Borghese

Leonardo and Patience’s infant son.

• Child by Rape
• Kill the Cutie: He was just an innocent baby...
• Morality Pet: To Leonardo.
• Walking Spoiler
• We Hardly Knew Ye

Benjamin Nizzola

Leonardo's main rival for the position of Mayor of Garland City. After the death of his father at the hands of Leonardo's faction, he teams up with Patience to make sure it never happens.

• Deal with the Devil: After offering immunity to Salvatore's gang in exchange for helping him win the mayoral race. When their deal goes kaput he's visibly relieved.
• Despair Event Horizon: When Leonardo kills Paula in front of him.
• Henpecked Husband: Georgina gives him no end of grief.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Paula's death, he abandons his designs on defeating Leonardo and moves his family out of state.

Marie Thibodeaux

A fire-and-brimstone lawyer from Louisiana who takes on the mafia via trial.

• Crusading Lawyer
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Agamemnon.
• Ragin' Cajun
• Reformed Criminal: Used to be a professional gambler in New Orleans.
• The Snark Knight

Gabriele Mallozzi

Salvatore’s younger brother.

• Sibling Yin-Yang: He leads a normal and peaceful life in contrast to Salvatore’s chaotic and dangerous one.
• Strong Family Resemblance: He looks almost exactly like Salvatore.

Agamemnon Turner

FBI Agent in charge of investigating Leonardo Borghese.

• By-the-Book Cop: Which is why when Leonardo threatens his family, it causes him a lot of grief.
• Dark and Troubled Past
• Deep South: Is from Mississippi.
• Disappeared Dad: Is one, and it bothers him immensely.

Candace Kingley

A regular client of Patience's, a showgirl whose cattiness disguises a deep familiarity with the Garland City underground.

• Femme Fatale
• Gold Digger
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Patience.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Again, her and Patience.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Is never heard from again after she and Patience separate in Sicily, although a line in the last chapter indicates she may have become the First Lady of Yugoslavia.

Silvio Borghese

Leonardo's father, and the former head of the Borghese Family.

• The Dreaded
• Torture Technician: An old man relates his method of torturing rival gangsters to death to a terrified Patience during the Midnight Hour Parlor arc. Suffice to say, there's a reason the Irish Mob left Garland City so quickly.
• The Unseen: As he died before the story starts. A good thing, too.

Vittoria Gagliardi

Leonardo's mother, a disgraced Count's daughter.

• Blue Blood
• Drivento Madness
• Hysterical Woman: Part of the reason she was locked away.
• Madwoman in the Attic: Or rather, asylum.
• Rape as Drama
• Teen Pregnancy: Was only 15 when she gave birth to Leonardo.