History Characters / LincolnRhyme

* DropTheHammer: Uses a ball-peen hammer for personal murders.

* BuyThemOff: Tries to do this to the Bone Collector but he isn't after money and never ungags her anyway.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Rhyme and Amelia can't find her in time and the crime scene is pretty gruesome.

* MorallyBankruptBanker: Zigzagged. She's portrayed sympathetically and doesn't seem to have been unethical at work, but does think of herself as "The bitch of Morgan Stanley's third floor" when it comes to negotiations.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's a church Deacon and seen as a BenevolentBoss, while also acting quick to offer help to the police.

* HeroesWantRedheads: He admits as much when he tells Amelia, who is a redhead, that he was attracted to another girl with red hair in college.

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: She has supermodel-good looks and [[HeroesWantRedheads distinctive red hair]], but this tends to draw the killers she pursues in her direction.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Being a teenage boy, he does this every so often.

* WeaponOfChoice: Knives, obviously.

* BatterUp: At one point, he tries to attack Amelia with a bat.

* WeaponOfChoice: While helping Stephen, he starts carrying a baseball bat. [[spoiler: When he reveals himself, he uses a knife and a hunting rifle.]]

* KnifeNut: Usually uses a razor blade or another suitably sharp, small knife.

A ProfessionalKiller with an extreme penchant for [[KnifeNut knives]].He is assigned to eliminate the witnesses to a government assassination in the Bahamas.

* KnifeNut: He almost exclusively uses knives whenever possible and spends a lot of time thinking fondly about blades penetrating flesh.

* WeaponOfChoice: [[KnifeNut Knives]], obviously.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: He's a minor character in the scope of the series but he's the one who caused Rhyme's paralysis and gets Rhyme the consulting job he holds in the later books.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: [[spoiler:He's rarely, if ever, mentioned after the first book despite his major role and friendship with Rhyme]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: He's a minor character in the scope of the series but he's the one who gets Rhyme the consulting job he holds in the later books.

* BeeAfraid: He is linked to deaths involving beehives bursting and releasing swarms of bees on hapless victims. At one point, he was even spotted throwing one into a girl's face. [[spoiler: It turns out that all of these sans the girl's murder, which was a FrameUp by the police, were random accidents.]]

* BeeAfraid: [[spoiler: Garret shoves him into the cabin's basement, tosses in a beehive, and locks the door.]]

* PsychoSoldier: He used to be a soldier and uses his extensive training with all varieties of weaponry to accomplish his hits. He is also insanely imbalanced and delusional.

* BiggerBad: [[spoiler: He hired Boyd to kill a girl who stumbled on to evidence that her ancestor was framed for a robbery by [[GreaterScopeVillain Sanford]] so he could take the land and built a bank on it.]]

* ActionSurvivor: She doesn't survive but she makes a good effort. First RJ tries to break the window of the Bone Collector's taxi with a laptop to escape, and later she tries to saw through her handcuffs against a rusty bolt to escape the pipe.

* DecoyProtagonist: She's the first character to appear in the series, getting a fair amount of characterization and attention in her efforts to escape her DeathTrap, and survives for over 100 pages but ultimately she can't get out of her handcuffs before the steam starts blasting and dies.

* MorallyBankruptBanker: Zigzagged. She's portrayed sympathetically and doesn't seem to have been unethical at work, but does think of herself as "The btich of Morgan Stanley's third floor" when it comes to negotiations.

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He's first entioend as having contaminated a crime scene by smoking, to Rhymes great irritations, but is also the department sharpshooter, and a level-headed, reliable man who helps arrest the villains.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[sppoiler:She's really an intelligence agent using The cover of the Composer to investigates terrorists, but quickly turns out to be an UnwittingPawn after ''that'' reveal]].

* TortureIsInefficient: His group believes this, avoiding physical torture and primarily relying on drugs and threats.

* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: Amelia shoots him dead in the chaos of a firefight, leaving her horribly guilt stricken and facing possible charges. [[spoiler:Then it turns out Jesse was indeed tryout to kill her during that gun battle.]]

* AloneWithThePsycho: He gets a scene of this when he takes a local tourist to an isolated area. [[spoiler:SUbverted since he isn't a killer and actually means her no harm]].

* InsaneEqualsViolent: A schizophrenic who talks abou wishing he cold hear the crucifixion of Jesus in person and abducts people. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted though. He's really being used by American spies to disguise their kidnapping of terrorist suspects who aren't meant to be killed, and they describe Stefan as a harmless guy deep down]].

* ThePromisedLand: He is convinced that his crimes are in service of the Greek God of music and that he will get to enter her realm afterwards. [[spoiler:This is just his delusions interpretation of the intelligence agencies he's working for promising to put him in another mental hospital where he'll have access to music if he helps them]].

* KidsAreCruel: She and her brother would kick over ant hills, something which she looks back on with a sense of guilt as an adult.

* SayYourPrayers: She does some praying throughout her page-time. Interestingly, it isn't for her own safety but that of her coworker (who was abducted with her, and unknown to TJ was murdered).

* TheDeterminator: He's relentless while working a case, to the pointt of obsession.

* ForgottenFallenFriend: [[spoiler:He's rarely, if ever, mentioned after the first book]].

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:He's stabbed to death by the Bone Collector]].
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He's a minor character in the scope of the series but he's the one who gets Rhyme the consulting job.

[[folder:Sonny Li]]
!!Sonny Li

A Chinese police detective who stowed away aboard the Ghost's ship in the guise of a passenger in order to capture him. After the boat's destruction, he ends up joining Rhyme's investigative team, though he has wildly different methods to Rhyme.

* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler: Has a brief MyGodWhatHaveIDone? Moment after meeting Geneva in person but quickly shrugs it off after reminding himself how much privilege and luxury he stands to lose if she succeeds in her goal]].

* GlamorousSingleMother: She has an eleven year old son.

* GoodIsNotNice: To quote a lawyer involved in another caseRhyme gets involved in describes him as this:

* {{Pride}}: He could give Rhyme a run for his money there. Spiro resents his ideas being openly questioned. He also only allows Rhyme and Sachs on the case due to some reporters praising him for being a big enough man to ask for help from the people most qualified and feeling he would lose face to go back on that.

* TroubledSympatheticBigot: He has a deep grudge against Americans due to his grandfather being an Allied soldier who was mistaken for an Axis one by Americans and put into a prison amp with Nazi soldiers who saw him and his unit as traitors and tortured most of them to death while the guards stood and watched. The fact that the senior American officers responsible for the mistake refused to apologize didn't help. The lingering stress of this incident hurt his mother's mental health, and Spiro himself admits that while he knows his resentment for Americans isn't entirely rational he has a hard time getting over it.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Initially presented as a reasonable, intelligent man who sees something in Ercole, it is shown at the end that, [[spoiler:He is a members of an Italian Alt-Right political group and has been sabotaging the case due to his own hatred of illegal immigrants, while setting Ercole up as TheScapegoat to take the blame for the cases the failure. Ercole, Rhyme Sach and even people who have know Rossi longer -such as his own, genuinely pleasant and highly competent NumberTwo Silvio- are completely taken in]].

* ShipperOnDeck: Lets Ercole know that her attractive friend and colleague Daniela is single (albeit with a faint warning), although it ultimately turns out Ercole doesn't like Daniela, but rather Beatrice herself.

A ProfessionalKiller with an extreme penchant for [[KnifeNut knives]]. Shreve Metzger assigns him to eliminate the witnesses to a government assassination in the Bahamas.

* BadassGay: Thom is gay. In the first book where that's made explicit (''The Empty Chair''), he [[spoiler: sprints through a hail of gunfire from Rich Culbeau's gang with Rhyme in tow, despite being shot himself, and only collapses from his gaping wound when Rhyme is safe.]] He also dives unhesitatingly into a bay full of toxic runoff [[spoiler: to save a drowning Rhyme]] in ''The Kill Room'', coming out with little more than irritated eyes.

* ArmoredClosetGay / BadassGay: [[spoiler: It turns out that he is a closeted gay man, and he develops an attraction to Jodie as the novel goes on. This gets him killed when he drops his guard.]]

* BadassBystander: She tries to break the window of the Bone Collector's taxi with a laptop, and then tries to saw through there handcuffs against a rusty bolt to escape the pipe.

* BadassGay: He used to be a Scotland Yard inspector and has a husband. [[spoiler:Except no, not really, he lied about that because he sensed Rhyme would be more trusting and tolerant of a minority individual]]

* LackOfEmpathy: When confronted with the impact of his actions up close an shown the ugly details, he simply doesn't care.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's a church Deacon and seen as a decent local employer.

* OnlyOneName: Nathan is the only name he gets and it isn't even clear if its his first or last name (although the former seems more likely).

* NotQuiteDead: He's assumed drowned when the ship goes down after acing a baby he hands to Sam Chang, but turns up alive in an air pocket later on when divers explore the ship.

* CategoryTraitor: He's viewed as this by several of his old colleagues for helping with a case agains t corrupt cops, with Amelia striving to make up to him for that.

* NativeGuide: He's the local assigned to lease with Rhyme and Sachs and show them around.

* GoodIsNotNice: TO quote a lawyer involved in another caseRhyme gets involved in describes him as this:
--> ''Lawyer" The prosecutor is handling the case against Garry is a brilliant man, it's not disputed, but he can be difficult and vindictive and he is cold as ice.
--> '''Rhyme:''' [[OhCrap I his name, by any chance, Dante Spiro?]]

* MostWritersAreWriters: He turns out tone a big western fan who writes stories of his own.
* {{Pride}}: He could die Rhyme a run for his money there. Spiro resents his ideas being openly questioned. He also only allows Rhyme and Sachs on the case due to some reporters praising him for being a big enough man to ask for help form the people most qualified and feeling he would lose face to go back on that.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: At the end of the day he is a shrewd and ultimately reasonable man.

* TroubledSympatheticBigot: He has a dep grudge against Americans due to his grandfather being an Allied soldier who was mistaken for an Axis one by Americans and put into a prison amp with Nazi soldiers who saw him and his unit as traitors and tortured them to death while the guards stood and watched. The fact that the Americans responsible for the mistake refused to apologize didn't help. The lingering stress of this incident hurt his mother's mental health, and Spiro himself admits that while he knows his resentment for Americans isn't entirely rational he has a hard time getting over it.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Initially presented as a reasonable, intelligent man who sees something in Ercole, it is shown at the end that, [[spoiler:He is a members of an Italian Alt-Right political group and has been sabotaging the case due to his own hatred of illegal immigrants, while setting Ercole up as TheScapegoat for the failure. Ercole, Rhyme Sach and even people who have know Rossi longer -such as his own, genuinely pleasant and highly competent NumberTwo Silvio, are completely taken in]].

[[folder:Charlotte McKenzie]]
!!Charlotte [=McKenzie=}

[[folder:The Bomber]]
!!The Bomber, aka [[spoiler: Carol Ganz / Charlotte Willoughby]]

A RightWingMilitiaFanatic MadBomber who detonates a bomb in an embassy at the end of ''The Bone Collector'', killing numerous attendees. [[spoiler: It's really Charlotte Willoughby, who was attacked and waylaid from her goal by the Bone Collector under the guise of Carol Ganz.]]

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: She abuses and neglects Pam, and when told that she would have to give up her fanatical conspirators or never see her daughter again, she unhesitatingly chose the latter.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: The sweet, innocent victim and loving mother is really an abusive, delusional crank.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: After evading capture in ''The Bone Collector'', they return a full nine years later for ''The Cold Moon''.
* MadBomber
* ManBehindTheMan: Returns in ''The Cold Moon'' as the Watchmaker's employer.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The first depicted in the series and a representative of a particular militia branch that reappears several times.
* WalkingSpoiler: You're not even supposed to know this character exists, let alone who they are.

[[folder:Jodie]]
!!Joe D'Oforio, aka Jodie[[spoiler:, aka The Coffin Dancer]]

A homeless drug peddler who, by a strange twist of fate, holds Stephen Kall hostage at gunpoint just as the police are ready to track him down. After escaping together, Jodie ends up accompanying Stephen and assisting him in his ventures as the two rapidly develop a close bond. [[spoiler: In reality, "Jodie" is the Coffin Dancer, and he was the one who hired Stephen, purposefully meeting him as part of his plan.]]

* ArchEnemy: [[spoiler: He was Rhyme's in the past after one of his bombs killed someone Rhyme loved.]]
* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler: His entire plot hinges around Rhyme and the police being so worried about Stephen Kall that they send him -- a supposedly coerced accomplice -- and his targets to a secure safehouse where he can pick them off at his leisure. It almost works, too.]]
* BatterUp: At one point, he tries to attack Amelia with a bat.
* BigBad: [[spoiler: The real antagonist of ''The Coffin Dancer''.]]
* BookSafe: Jodie's Bible, which contains [[spoiler: a large knife.]]
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: How does he decide to eliminate his targets? He tracks down and anonymously hires another skilled ProfessionalKiller for the same job, goes into deep cover as a homeless drug dealer for several weeks, sets up a seemingly random meeting with the other killer, stays with him to monitor his progress, and waits for the idea of a safehouse to come up before covertly disposing of the other killer and heading off to finish his task in an environment with no danger of intervention.]]
* CrazyHomelessPeople: He initially comes off this way, holding Stephen at gunpoint and generally seeming twitchy, but he warms up and normalizes quickly. [[spoiler: Both of these attitudes are an act.]]
* EyeScream: [[spoiler: Amelia shoots him through the scope of his rifle, filling his eye with glass and bullet fragments.]]
* FireForgedFriends: With Stephen Kall. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for Stephen, this is an act.]]
* MasterOfDisguise: [[spoiler: The Coffin Dancer is most notorious for being able to completely change his appearance and blend in anywhere.]]
* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler: He denies Rhyme's request for his real name.]]
* ProfessionalKiller: [[spoiler: He's the one Rhyme and Amelia have really been meaning to track, and the one the book is named for.]]
* TattooedCrook: Jodie is a drug peddler and he has a tattoo on his arm. [[spoiler: It's of TheGrimReaper dancing with a woman.]]
* TheSpook: [[spoiler: Nothing is ever revealed about his true identity or his past; he laughs in Rhyme's face when asked to reveal them.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: He's more than just a random homeless man, to say the least.
* WeaponOfChoice: While helping Stephen, he starts carrying a baseball bat. [[spoiler: When he reveals himself, he uses a knife and a hunting rifle.]]

[[folder:Ron Talbot]]
!!Ron Talbot

Business and operations manager for Hudson Air in ''The Coffin Dancer''.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: He hired the Coffin Dancer to kill the Carneys so he can take over their airline.]]

[[folder:Jim Bell]]
!!Jim Bell

Roland Bell's cousin, the county sheriff where Garret Haldon lives. When Garret absconds with two local women just as Rhyme is arriving in the state for experimental surgery, Bell calls on Rhyme's help in consulting for the investigation.

* BigBad: [[spoiler: The real main antagonist of ''The Empty Chair'', the mastermind behind the conspiracy and the murderer of Garret's family.]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Friendly SouthernGentleman and veteran policeman on the outside, [[DirtyCop corrupt crook]] and remorseless murderer on the inside.]]
* DirtyCop: [[spoiler: The leader of a department full of them, and he was the one who initially took the deal with the pesticide company.]]
* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler: Lincoln set up the entire [[AloneWithThePsycho confrontation with Bell]] to record Bell's confident motive speech and have him arrested in the sting operation.]]
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler: He's not the nice, friendly sheriff he pretends to be.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: [[spoiler: He maintains his charm and politeness even when he's pouring what he thinks is toxic pesticide on Lincoln's face.]]
* TheSheriff
* SouthernGentleman: Even more so than his cousin, due to continuously living in the DeepSouth rather than moving away.
* WalkingSpoiler

[[folder:Lucy Kerr]]
!!Lucy Kerr

A policewoman on Jim Bell's force present in both manhunts for Garret. During the second, she develops a vendetta against Amelia for [[spoiler: [[AccidentalMurder accidentally shooting]] fellow cop Jesse Corn]] and develops the desire to kill her.

* ACupAngst: She lost her breasts to cancer and experiences some angst over their current size.
* {{Revenge}}: She wants revenge against Amelia for freeing Garret and [[spoiler: killing Jesse Corn]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler: She is neither an AntiHero asshole like Mason nor a DirtyCop like the rest of her department, making her the only pure-hearted person under Jim Bell.]]

[[folder:Mary-Beth McConnell]]
!! Mary-Beth [=McConnell=]
A local girl Garrett is obsessed with and a kidnapping victim.

* DisappearedDad: Her dad died when she was young and her mom is [[MyBelovedSmother overprotective]].
* LivingMacGuffin: She spends a lot of the story as a hostage or potential witness.

[[folder:Mason Germain]]
!!Mason Germain

A rough, rude cop on Jim Bell's force. During the manhunt for Garret, he is dead set on killing the kid for reasons unknown.

* AntiHero: [[spoiler: He wants Garret dead because he genuinely believes that the boy is a remorseless murderer, not because he is involved in Bell's conspiracy.]]
* CowboyCop: He goes into both manhunts looking to shoot Garret dead.
* DirtyCop: Painted as one. [[spoiler: Isn't actually one.]]
* GoodAllAlong: [[spoiler: Despite being set up as a DirtyCop, his vendetta against Garret is for completely unrelated reasons to the conspiracy, which he is instrumental in exposing to Rhyme and the FBI.]]
* RedHerring: [[spoiler: He has nothing to do with the pesticide conspiracy and the cover-up that resulted in Garret's family's deaths.]]

[[folder:Rich Culbeau]]
!!Rich Culbeau

A local GunNut in Garret Haldon's town. When Garret escapes custody with Amelia, Rich and his friends secretly dog behind the police, ready to shoot the boy dead on sight and claim the bounty on his head.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: After interfering with the investigation and shooting Thom, he deserves what happens to him.]]
* BeeAfraid: [[spoiler: Garret shoves him into the cabin's basement, tosses in a beehive, and locks the door.]]
* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler: The primary threat and FinalBoss of the manhunt for Garret. However, Jim Bell and his ring of [[DirtyCop corrupt cops]] are the ultimate threat of the situation.]]
* FatBastard: Repeatedly described as obese and undeniably a bastard.
* HeroKiller: Not quite, but [[spoiler: he shoots and nearly kills Thom.]]
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Immediately after starting a devastating firefight outside Garret's cabin, he is shoved into its basement with a hive of angry bees and stung to death.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Both Garret and the police have their own hidden agendas with each other, but Rich's efforts to claim the bounty and deter the manhunt from unearthing his moonshine distillery result in a massive shootout as soon as Garret's cabin is discovered.]]
* VigilanteMan: He and his gang become vigilantes on the hunt for Garret.

[[folder:Henry Davett]]
!!Henry Davett

Owner of a plant responsible for manufacturing carcinogenic pesticide.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler: He bribed the majority of the Sherriff's Department to help cover up the Hanlon family's murder and smuggle the pesticide across the border through the canal.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: When confronted with the impact of his actions up close an shown the ugly details, he simply doesn't care.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: He's a church Deacon and seen as a decent local employer.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Rhyme vows to stay in town until he has enough to put him away but it's never explicitly confirmed if he succeeded.

[[folder:Nathan]]
!!Deputy Nathan
One of the lower-ranking local deputies.

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He's first entioend as having contaminated a crime scene by smoking, to Rhymes great irritations, but is also the department sharpshooter, and a level-headed, reliable man who helps arrest the villains.
* FriendlySniper: He is a good rifle shot who resists orders to take a shot prematurely and is well-liked by others.
* MustHaveNicotine: He's been trying to stop smoking but just can't.
* OnlyOneName: Nathan is the only name he gets and it isn't even clear if its his first or last name (although the former seems more likely).

[[folder:Sonny Li]]
!!Sonny Li

A Chinese police detective who stowed away aboard the Ghost's ship in the guise of a passenger in order to capture him. After the boat's destruction, he ends up joining Rhyme's investigative team, though he has wildly different methods to Rhyme.

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: ''Dramatically'' downplayed, but he still has a very loose grasp on the English language that results in shades of the trope.
* CombatPragmatist: As seen in his back-alley duel with [[spoiler: the Ghost. Unfortunately, he finds himself outmatched.]]
* CowboyCop: He's willing to resort to threats and physical violence if it gets him closer to the Ghost.
* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: After the Ghost murders him, Rhyme has a small shrine erected in his room in memoriam. It is still there a few books later and has been occasionally mentioned in passing.]]
* HardboiledDetective: To contrast Rhyme's ByTheBookCop.
* ItsPersonal: The Ghost murdered a colleague and friend of Li's, fueling his obsession with catching him. [[spoiler: His death in turn makes the hunt personal for Rhyme.]]
* NiceGuy: His mannerisms can be abrasive and his methods are different to what Rhyme prefers, but he is such a warm, friendly person that he grows on the investigative team -- Rhyme in particular.
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: He succeeds in pointing Rhyme toward the Ghost's true identity and plan, resulting in the killer's capture, but only because he managed to get DNA evidence and soapstone fragments under his fingernails during his death.]]
* RedHerring: His first few chapters point to him being the Ghost's ''bangshou'', but he is then revealed to be a cop hunting the Ghost.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: His death at the Ghost's hands is what makes the hunt [[ItsPersonal personal]] for Rhyme.]]

[[folder:The Chang and Wu families]]

Illegal Chinese immigrants and dissidents who are targets of the Ghost in ''The Stone Monkey''.

* CoolOldGuy: Mr. Chang's father is a PapaWolf whose very insightful and not afraid to take on and put up a very good fight against the Ghost and his men personally.
* InternalReformist: Both patriarchs, argued for change in the communist policies, Chang for reasons of ideals and Wu due to feeling they were hurting business opportunities.
* MilesGloriosus: Mr. Wu claims to have committed various acts of heroism during the sinking that really were done by Chang.

[[folder:Captain Sen]]
!!Captain Sen
The captain of the ship with the illegal immigrants, and a man who genuinely cares for the welfare and future of his passengers.

* NotQuiteDead: He's assumed drowned when the ship goes down after acing a baby he hands to Sam Chang, but turns up alive in an air pocket later on when divers explore the ship.

[[folder:Charles Grady]]
!!Charles Grady

A New York lawyer who becomes high-profile while prosecuting a man associated with Jeddy Barnes's [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic militia group]]. It soon becomes apparent that Barnes has sent no less than three killers to assassinate him and cause a mistrial: a blackmailed priest, Hobbs Wentworth, and finally [[spoiler: the Conjurer himself, who organized the plan and the approaches of the latter two.]]

* ButtMonkey: Over the course of the novel, [[spoiler: he is almost shot in his car, almost sniped by Hobbs Wentworth, receives numerous death threats that almost destroy his life, has his apartment breached by the Conjurer with his family nearby, and is led to believe that his young daughter ate poisoned chocolate that was meant to kill him.]] All for trying to do his job.

[[folder:Jeddy Barnes]]
!!Jeddy Barnes

The leader of a racist, nationalist [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic right-wing milita]] in ''The Vanished Man''. He is plotting to kill Charles Grady in order to cause a mistrial that lets an associate of his militia go free. To this end, [[spoiler: he hired the Conjurer, who made a complex assassination plan with him involving two other decoy killers and multiple fake-outs.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: He receives no clear punishment for masterminding the plot to kill Charles Grady.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Appears to be this for the Conjurer, but even he is being deceived.]]
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The leader of a large group in New York state.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Despite never appearing in person, he is the one masterminding the various plots to kill Charles Grady [[spoiler: and the Conjurer's pivotal FallGuy.]]

[[folder:Hobbs Wentworth]]
!!Hobbs Wentworth

Jeddy Barnes's dedicated enforcer, responsible for a number of slayings over the years. In ''The Vanished Man'', he is assigned to [[spoiler: take out Charles Grady if the Conjurer fails to]].

* BeardOfEvil: Has a thick beard and is part of a racist, murderous [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic milita]].
* ColdSniper: In his final scene.
* TheDragon: To Jeddy Barnes.
* FauxAffablyEvil: An unrepentant killer who entertains children with Sunday schools stories (that he makes up and that make Jesus into a more militant figure) and is always making notes whenever he thinks up a new one.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: The instant he tries to shoot Charles Grady, his own bullets ricochet and kill him.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He may look and act like a DeepSouth meathead, but he has an extensive knowledge of weaponry and has gotten away with multiple murders.
* SelfDisposingVillain: [[spoiler: His burst fire ricochets off the reinforced glass window, tearing him apart.]]

[[folder:William Ashberry, Jr.]]
!!William Ashberry, Jr.

President of the Hiram Sanford Foundation in ''The Twelfth Card''.

* BiggerBad: [[spoiler: He hired Boyd to kill a girl who stumbled on to evidence that her ancestor was framed for a robbery by [[GreaterScopeVillain Sanford]] so he could take the land and built a bank on it.]]
* IgnoredEpiphany: [[spoiler: Has a brief MyGodWhatHaveIDone? Moment after meeting Geneva in person but quickly shrugs it off after reminding himself how much privilege and luxury he stands to lose if she succeeds in her goal]].

[[folder:Vincent Reynolds]]
!!Vincent Reynolds

An obese serial rapist whom the Watchmaker contacts and uses as his helper during ''The Cold Moon''.

* BrotherSisterIncest: [[spoiler: As a teenager, he tied up and brutally raped his sister Sally-Anne over the course of several days. She has barely recovered in adulthood, and he still obsessively fixates on her as his one true love.]]
* FatBastard: An obese, delusional serial rapist.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: He is tricked into trying to assault Kathryn Dance and arrested.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Despite his childlike characteristics, he has managed to remain out of the view of police for years.
* OffStageVillainy: [[spoiler: Never actually rapes anyone over the course of the novel, just in the backstory, with The watchmaker deliberately making sure that Vincent fails to rape anyone so that the police will have nothing to hold him on the first time they catch up with him]].
* PsychopathicManchild: One of the clearest examples in the series. Despite being involved in monstrous crimes, his inner narration and worldview resembles that of an actual child.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In a book that features a ring of murderous [[DirtyCop Dirty Cops]] and introduces the remorseless ProfessionalKiller who becomes Rhyme's ArchEnemy, Vincent is still the most despicable character around.
* SweetTooth: Vincent frequently chows down on chocolate and other candies to stave off [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil his real hunger]].

[[folder:Art Snyder]]
!! Det. Art Snyder (Ret.)
A recently retired detective who worked the case of a victim related to the vents of ''The Cold Moon'' who Amelia questions.

* CategoryTraitor: He's viewed as this by several of his old colleagues for helping with a case agains t corrupt cops, with Amelia striving to make up to him for that.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: He obliviously drops a bomb on Amelia that her dad was a DirtyCop long ago during her visit. [[spoiler:although it turns out he was undercover]].
* RetiredBadass: A retired cop with a decent career behind him.

[[folder:Lucy Richter]]
!! Staff Sgt. Lucy Richter
A Manhattan housewife who joined the army after 9-11 and is a potential victim of the Watchmaker and Vincent in ''The Cold Moon''.

* ShellshockedVeteran: Her experiences overseas have clearly left her with her demons, although more in the "be pensive" way than the "lash out society" kind.

[[folder:Alicia Morgan]]
!!Alicia Morgan

Vernon Griffith's girlfriend, a damaged and formerly abused woman who bends to his every whim.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: The traumatized woman is really a domineering manipulator willing to callously end multiple innocent lives to get her revenge, and after getting what she wants, she has already prepared to kill the vulnerable, damaged man she was exploiting to commit the murders. All of the affection she showed him and the interest she had in his hobby are fake.]]
* DomesticAbuse: She is covered in scars and burns, and even had a bone in her arm twisted out, all thanks to her late husband. [[spoiler: In reality, most of these injures were due to the car accident, while her husband accidentally broke her arm trying to pull her from the wreckage.]]
* ExtremeDoormat: Her experience with abuse has left her so afraid to question or offend Vernon that she clams up even suggesting a meal. [[spoiler: She is indeed doing this to avoid putting Vernon off, but it's to maintain their deal, not because she is afraid of him. Vernon is actually putty in her hands.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: A defect in her car led it to malfunction and becoming a flaming wreck, horribly injuring her and killing her husband, and she was not properly recompensed in court due to being forced to settle.]]
* HoneyTrap: [[spoiler: She took advantage of Vernon after learning that he was a suitable killer by making him murder her targets in exchange for sex and companionship.]]
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: She is the real mastermind behind Vernon's anti-technology murders, though he was always a killer beforehand.]]
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: All of the people she has Vernon murder were in some way connected to the defect in her car, no matter how tangentially.]]

[[folder:Juliette Archer]]
!!Juliette Archer
An intern of Rhyme's during the "Steel Kiss" case and fellow wheelchair user.

* GlamorousSingleMother: She has an eleven year old son.
* TeachersPet: Subverted but she meet Rhyme in a criminology class and impresses him with her hard studying.
* TookALevelInBadass: She knocks out the culprit of the book during an attack.

[[folder:Ercole Benelli]]
!! Officer Ercole Benelli
An Italian forrestry officer who witnesses the second kidnapping of the Composer and becomes attached to the case.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's a forestry officer who dresses the part and carries saws in his trunk but he is an alert and conscious officer with a good head for theory and the only one of the officers who is first on the scene to have read the Interpol alerts about The Composer.
* FarmBoy: A rural officer eager to prove his worth and rise onto better things.
* NativeGuide: He's the local assigned to lease with Rhyme and Sachs and show them around.
* ThatOneCase: Played slightly for laughs in his feud with a dealer of counterfeit truffles.

[[folder:Dante Spiro]]
!! Dante Spiro
An Italian prosecutor who commands the investigation into The Composer once he reaches Italy and buts heads with Rhyme.

* BadassBureaucrat: Prior to the novel some organized crime figures he'd arrest sent two hitmen to kill him. Spiro overpowered one physically and shot the other with his own gun.
* GoodIsNotNice: TO quote a lawyer involved in another caseRhyme gets involved in describes him as this:
--> ''Lawyer" The prosecutor is handling the case against Garry is a brilliant man, it's not disputed, but he can be difficult and vindictive and he is cold as ice.
--> '''Rhyme:''' [[OhCrap I his name, by any chance, Dante Spiro?]]
--> '''Lawyer:''' ''Santo Cielo!'' How did you know?
* JurisdictionFriction: He and Rhyme spend a long time debating about whether or not Spiro will get to try the case in Italy once an arrest is made.
* MeanBoss: He's constantly shooting down Ercole's ideas and insulting him, [[spoiler:At least until the end]].
* MostWritersAreWriters: He turns out tone a big western fan who writes stories of his own.
* {{Pride}}: He could die Rhyme a run for his money there. Spiro resents his ideas being openly questioned. He also only allows Rhyme and Sachs on the case due to some reporters praising him for being a big enough man to ask for help form the people most qualified and feeling he would lose face to go back on that.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: At the end of the day he is a shrewd and ultimately reasonable man.
* ShipperOnDeck: Ultimately turns into one for Ercole and his love interest.
* TroubledSympatheticBigot: He has a dep grudge against Americans due to his grandfather being an Allied soldier who was mistaken for an Axis one by Americans and put into a prison amp with Nazi soldiers who saw him and his unit as traitors and tortured them to death while the guards stood and watched. The fact that the Americans responsible for the mistake refused to apologize didn't help. The lingering stress of this incident hurt his mother's mental health, and Spiro himself admits that while he knows his resentment for Americans isn't entirely rational he has a hard time getting over it.

[[folder:Massimo Rossi]]
!!Massimo Rossi
The inspector working with Spiro on the Composer Case.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Initially presented as a reasonable, intelligent man who sees something in Ercole, it is shown at the end that, [[spoiler:He is a members of an Italian Alt-Right political group and has been sabotaging the case due to his own hatred of illegal immigrants, while setting Ercole up as TheScapegoat for the failure. Ercole, Rhyme Sach and even people who have know Rossi longer -such as his own, genuinely pleasant and highly competent NumberTwo Silvio, are completely taken in]].
* LivingLegend: He holds a great deal of respect among the Italian police community for his long string of big arrests.
* PermaStubble: Described as having a permeant stubble on his face.
* TooManyBabies: He and his wife have five children who apparently take up a lot of their time.

[[folder:Beatrice Renza]]
!!Beatrice Renza
The forensic investigator on Rossi's team.

* MessyHair: Its described as thick and wavy.
* PerpetualFrowner: Frowning may be too strong of a word but she rarely smiles due to her focus on the job.
* ShipperOnDeck: Lets Ercole know that her attractive friend and colleague Daniela is single (albeit with a faint warning), although it ultimately turns out Ercole doesn't like Daniela, but rather Beatrice herself.

[[folder:Charlotte McKenzie]]
!!Charlotte [=McKenzie=}
An embassy worker who requests Rhyme spend time on another case in his hunt for The Composer.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[sppoiler:She's really an intelligence agent using The cover of the Composer to investigates terrorists, but quickly turns out to be an UnwittingPawn after ''that'' reveal]].
* TheHandler:[[spoiler:To Stefan]].

[[folder:Edward Ackroyd]]
!! Edward Ackroyd AKA [[spoiler:Andrew Krueger]]
A gem company insurance appraiser who is consulted about several murders in a diamond shop in ''The Cutting Edge'' and brought onto the case as a consultant.

A gym company insurance appraiser who is consulted about several murders in a diamond shop in ''The Cutting Edge'' and brought onto the case as a consultant.

* BadassGay: He used to be a Scotland Yard inspector and has a husband. [[spoiler:Except no, not really, he lied about that because he sensed Rhyme would be more trusting and tolerant of a minority]]

!!Notable Antagonists

[[folder:The Watchmaker]]
!!The Watchmaker, aka Gerald Duncan, aka Richard Logan, aka [[spoiler: Charles Vespasian Hale]]

A ProfessionalKiller who uses rigid timing and numerous distractions to accomplish his goals. The first killer to outsmart Rhyme and get away scot-free in ''The Cold Moon'', he has become Rhyme's [[ArchEnemy worst nemesis]].

[[folder:Nick Carelli]]
!!Nick Carelli
Amanda's ex-boyfriend, who was arrested for being a DirtyCop and asks her to help ClearMyName in ''The Steel Kiss''.

* EntitledBastard: Feels that he is "Owed" for his time in prison. [[spoiler:Even though he's guilty and still committing crimes]].
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Double-subverted. He had a good reputation and a junkie brother but Nick was the one who ended up arrested for hijacking a truck. Then when he reappears he tells Amelia he was TakingTheHeat for his (now dead) brother the whole time. [[spoiler:Which ultimately turns out to be a lie to cover his efforts to find and retrieve his cached money]].
* HumbleGoal: He just wants to own a restaurant.

[[folder:Juliette Archer]]
!!Juliette Archer
An intern of Rhyme's during the "Steel Kiss" case and fellow wheelchair user.

* GlamorousSingleMother: She has an eleven year old son.
* TeachersPet: Subverted but she meet Rhyme in a criminology class and impresses him with her hard studying.
* TookALevelInBadass: She knocks out the culprit of the book during an attack.

[[folder:Ercole Benelli]]
!! Officer Ercole Benelli
An Italian forrestry officer who witnesses the second kidnapping of the Composer and becomes attached to the case.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: He's a forestry officer who dresses the part and carries saws in his trunk but he is an alert and conscious officer with a good head for theory and the only one of the officers who is first on the scene to have read the Interpol alerts about The Composer.
* FarmBoy: A rural officer eager to prove his worth and rise onto better things.
* NativeGuide: He's the local assigned to lease with Rhyme and Sachs and show them around.
* ThatOneCase: Played slightly for laughs in his feud with a dealer of counterfeit truffles.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dante Spiro]]
!! Dante Spiro
An Italian prosecutor who commands the investigation into The Composer once he reaches Italy and buts heads with Rhyme.
----