History Characters / TheCuckoosCalling

* AmbiguousDisorder: [[spoiler:It in becomes clear towards the end of the novel that John Bristow is not exactly right in the head.]]

* InformedFlaw: Virtually everyone describes her as a combination of DumbBlonde and AlphaBitch. When Strike meets her, she's a bit fluffy, but is otherwise perfectly pleasant and one of the few people to be completely honest with him.

* TellMeAboutMyFather: Lula was obsessed with finding her biological parents.

* NeverSuicide: He is absolutely convinced that his sister did not kill herself. [[spoiler:With good reason. ''He was the one that killed her''.]]
* {{Profiling}}: John Bristow puts a special emphasis on a black man filmed acting suspiciously around the scene and time of his sister's suspicious suicide, nicknamed The Runner. His uncle Tony, who has had a great influence on the boy, is a total bigot. [[spoiler:But actually, Bristow knows perfectly well who The Runner is — the guy with a legitimate claim to Lula Landry's inheritance — and is trying to frame him.]]

* {{Jerkass}}: One of the few things most of the characters agree on is the fact that Freddy Bestegui is an absolute asshole.

* ItIsPronouncedTropay: The narration usually notes whether his first name is being pronounced like the English "gai" or French "ghee". Strike deliberately switches back and forth depending on the social class of the person he's questioning.

!!Lula Landry

* AmbiguousDisorder: [[spoiler:It becomes clear towards the end of the novel that John Bristow is not exactly right in the head.]]

* RacistGrandma: It doesn’t take much poking to find out how much of a bigot he is. Starting with his disapproval of his sister adopting a mixed-race child. [[spoiler:The fact that John murdered Charlie might have something to do with it.]]

* GirlOfTheWeek: [[spoiler:She has a one-night stand with Strike.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: [[spoiler: It becomes clear towards the end of the novel that John Bristow is not exactly right in the head]].

* {{Profiling}}: John Bristow puts a special emphasis on a black man filmed acting suspiciously around the scene and time of his sister's suspicious suicide, nicknamed The Runner. His uncle Tony, who has had a great influence on the boy, is a total bigot. [[spoiler:But actually, Bristow knows perfectly well who The Runner is -- the guy with a legitimate claim to Lula Landry's inheritance -- and is trying to frame him.]]

* PosthumousCharacter: He is long dead by the time the story starts, due to falling off a cliff he was told explicitly not to go. [[spoiler:It was John Bristow's doing]].

The adoptive mother of Charlie, John and Lula.

* MyBelovedSmother: Lady Bristow spoils and smothers her children. Subverted for [[spoiler: John -- the fact that his mother ''didn't'' smother him, compared to Charlie and Lula, is implied to be a major factor behind his insanity]].

* RacistGrandma: It doesn’t take much poking to find out how much of a bigot he is. Starting with his disapproval of his sister adopting a mixed race child. [[spoiler:The fact that John murdered Charlie might have something to do with it.]]

* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: Before Lula's death was ruled a suicide the press practically crucified him for it.

* HiddenDepths: His CampGay style is mostly an act, and Cormoran names him as "sharp". Moreover, of all Lula's friends, he's the one who was closest to the truth behind her death; he knew she didn't kill herself, he knew that she was obsessed with finding her paternal family, and he knew that [[spoiler: John really, really wanted her fortune]]. His blind hatred for Evan prevents him from connecting the dots, though.

* GirlOfTheWeek: [[spoiler:She has a one night stand with Strike.]]

* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible: He spends most of the novel hindering Strike’s investigation, [[spoiler: with good reason]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: She's money-hungry and plastic to the core, but even she can't quite bury her conscience when it comes to the death of a young woman. [[spoiler:Despite Freddy's best efforts to buy her silence, she was still on the verge of confessing to his abuse and to what really happened the night of the murder]].
* GoldDigger: It’s pretty obvious the only reason she married Freddy was because of his money.

* TheConfidant: She is the only person in her life Lula is sure will never blab about her to the press. [[spoiler:Nonetheless, she's kind of a gold-digging scumbag, and the trope is ultimately subverted when she's shown to indeed be selling Lula's secrets -- just not to the press.]]

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Murdered by Bristow after he realized that she was capable of pointing Strike towards Lula's will]].

The adopted mother of Charlie, John and Lula.

* [[spoiler:CainAndAbel: John actually kills ''both'' of his favoured siblings.]] Magazines apparently [[LampshadeHanging take note]].
* [[spoiler:DetectivePatsy: A classic example in John Bristow.]]
* [[spoiler: EnfantTerrible: He murdered his brother when he was very young.]]

* [[RacistGrandma Racist Uncle]]: It doesn’t take much poking to find out how much of a bigot he is. Starting with his disapproval of his sister adopting a mixed race child. [[spoiler:The fact that John murdered Charlie might have something to do with it.]]

* GirlOfTheWeek: [[spoiler: She has a one night stand with Strike.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: She's money-hungry and plastic to the core, but even she can't quite bury her conscience when it comes to the death of a young woman. [[spoiler: Despite Freddy's best efforts to buy her silence, she was still on the verge of confessing to his abuse and to what really happened the night of the murder]].

* TheConfidant: She is the only person in her life Lula is sure will never blab about her to the press. [[spoiler: Nonetheless, she's kind of a gold-digging scumbag, and the trope is ultimately subverted when she's shown to indeed be selling Lula's secrets -- just not to the press.]]

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Murdered by Bristow after he realized that she was capable of pointing Strike towards Lula's will]].

* EnfantTerrible: [[spoiler:He murdered his brother when he was very young.]]

* {{Profiling}}: John Bristow puts a special emphasis on a black man filmed acting suspiciously around the scene and time of his sister's suspicious suicide, nicknamed The Runner. His uncle Tony, who has had a great influence on the boy, is a total bigot. [[spoiler:But actually, Bristow knows perfectly well who The Runner is - the guy with a legitimate claim to Lula Landry's inheritance - and is trying to frame him.]]

* MyBelovedSmother: Lady Bristow spoils and smothers her children. Subverted for [[spoiler: John--the fact that his mother ''didn't'' smother him, compared to Charlie and Lula, is implied to be a major factor behind his insanity]].

Freddy’s wife and a key witness

* TheConfidant: She is the only person in her life Lula is sure will never blab about her to the press. [[spoiler: Nonetheless, she's kind of a gold-digging scumbag, and the trope is ultimately subverted when she's shown to indeed be selling Lula's secrets--just not to the press.]]

* TheConfidant: She is the only person in her life Lula is sure will never blab about her to the press. [[spoiler: Nonetheless, she's kind of a gold-digging scumbag, and the trope is ultimately subverted when she's shown to indeed be selling Lula's secrets--just not to the press.]]

* PosthumousCharacter: He is long dead by the time the story starts, [[spoiler:but his death is intricately connected to the events of the novel]].

* [[RacistGrandma Racist Uncle]]: It doesn’t take much poking to find out how much of a bigot he is. Starting with his disapproval of his sister adopting a mixed race child.

[[/folder]]

* GayBestFriend: He was this for for Lula, though he's devoid of most of the stereotypes.

* PosthumousCharacter: He is long dead by the time the story starts, [[spoiler:but his dead is intricately connected to the events of the novel]].

This page is for character introduced in the novel ''Literature/TheCuckoosCalling''. For characters who appear across [[Literature/CormoranStrikeNovels the series]] see '''[[Characters/CormoranStrikeNovels here]]'''.

This page is for character introduced in the novel ''Literature/TheCuckoosCalling''. For characters who appear across the series see '''[[Characters/CormoranStrikeNovels here]]'''.