Anxious People characters

Appears from the start

A masked person whose attempt to rob a bank fails almost immediately because the branch holds no cash. Fleeing into a nearby apartment viewing, the robber has a pistol but no practical plan for dealing with the people suddenly trapped inside.

First appears in chapter 2

A young police officer investigating the failed robbery and hostage drama in his small town. Conscientious, persistent, and often impatient, he wants a clear sequence of facts from witnesses who seem determined to be unhelpful.

First appears in chapter 3

Jack's father and fellow police officer. He is kind, informal, and more willing than his son to accept that frightened people do not always behave logically. His instinct is to calm a crisis before forcing it into a tidy explanation.

First appears in chapter 6

A wealthy bank director attending the apartment viewing. Severe, solitary, and skilled at making other people uncomfortable, she visits open houses without showing ordinary enthusiasm for buying and keeps the other viewers at a distance.

First appears in chapter 9

A retired woman who attends the viewing with her husband, Roger. Experienced in their long sequence of home purchases and renovations, she is quieter than her argumentative spouse and appears reluctant to challenge his judgments directly.

First appears in chapter 9

Anna-Lena's husband, a retired engineer who approaches apartments as collections of faults to be corrected. Competitive, proud of his practical competence, and easily irritated by strangers, he has built much of his marriage around renovation projects without recognizing why his wife keeps finding new ones.

First appears in chapter 10

A pregnant young woman looking for a first shared home with her wife, Ro. Direct, quick-witted, and protective of their growing family, she is able to meet absurd circumstances with practical questions while still worrying about whether either of them is ready to become a parent.

First appears in chapter 10

Julia's wife, who is expecting their child with excitement and considerable fear. She is imaginative, emotionally open, and uncertain that she can live up to the responsibilities ahead. The apartment viewing exposes tensions in the couple's different ways of handling anxiety.

First appears in chapter 11

An older woman who says she has come to the viewing while her husband parks the car. Calm amid the confusion and more perceptive than she first appears, she treats the robber with unusual gentleness and encourages the other strangers to see a person in distress rather than only a criminal.

First appears in chapter 13

A man encountered at the apartment viewing in an oversized rabbit head and very little clothing. His unexplained costume and odd behavior make him one of the most difficult witnesses for the police to place in a coherent account of the hostage drama.

First appears in chapter 15

The real estate agent responsible for the apartment viewing. Eager to secure a sale and increasingly overwhelmed by the clients' competing demands, the agent becomes one more confused participant in a situation that none of them knows how to manage.

First appears in chapter 21

Zara's psychologist, whose professional patience is tested by a client who resists ordinary conversation and treats therapy as a contest. She persists in asking about anxiety, guilt, and Zara's habit of keeping emotional distance.