Later characters

Appears from the start

A boy growing up in New York with the ability to see and speak with people who have recently died. The dead appear to Jamie much as they did at death and must answer his questions truthfully before they fade away. He narrates from a later age, aware that adults repeatedly turned his unsettling gift into a tool for solving their problems.

Appears from the start

Jamie's single mother and a literary agent whose finances depend on a small number of successful clients. Tia believes Jamie's account of the dead but generally tries to protect him from attention and keep his ability secret.

First appears in chapter 5

A New York police detective who becomes Tia's partner and part of Jamie's household. Liz is forceful, curious, and much more willing than Tia to consider how Jamie's contact with the dead could be useful in police work.

First appears in chapter 6

Jamie's maternal uncle, who lives in residential care after developing severe early-onset dementia. Harry is largely inaccessible in the present, but he remains a painful family responsibility and an emblem of what Tia fears illness can take away.

First appears in chapter 12

Tia's bestselling client, whose long-running series supports her agency. His sudden death leaves a final volume unfinished and threatens Tia with financial ruin because no one else knows how he intended to conclude the story.

First appears in chapter 30

A bomber who kills himself after a series of attacks, leaving police uncertain whether another device is waiting to explode. When Jamie sees him among the dead, Therriault appears more dangerous and less bound by the ordinary rules of Jamie's gift than any spirit Jamie has encountered before.