Evie Boyd
The narrator and main protagonist. In 1969 she was 14 and living in Petaluma, California with her mother. The bulk of the novel takes place in the summer leading up to her being sent away to boarding school by her mother. She describes herself as being short and average in both looks and intelligence. She feels neglected by both her parents who have recently divorced, with her father moving in with a younger woman. She is deeply insecure, constantly feeling that the world is judging her, and finds a sense of belonging when she is brought under Suzanne’s wing and welcomed into the group at the Ranch. She feels like Suzanne is the first person to ever truly give her the attention she so desperately craves and because of this, she becomes deeply enthralled by her, despite realizing later that she is not a good person.
Eventually, Evie is abandoned by Suzanne, and subsequently, the group, while they are on their way to commit the murders they will become famous for. Because she came so close to having been there, Evie often wonders if she would have participated in the murders or if she would have put a stop to it. A week later, she goes to boarding school and quickly settles into life there with the other girls her age and makes friends. She is still haunted by the murders and even has a brief encounter with Suzanne where a part of her wants to go back with her even knowing what they have done.
As an older, middle-aged woman looking back, Evie is still haunted by her experiences with the cult. She feels foolish for not having noticed the many warning signs, while also recognizing that she was a teenage girl who was very much a product of the society she was brought up in where girls and women were looked at first and foremost as objects to be judged for their shortcomings and used by others.
Suzanne Parker
Described as being pretty and having black hair, she is 19 during the key events of the novel. She is the unspoken leader of the group of girls at the Ranch and is close to Russell. Evie looks up to and idolizes her immediately, with Suzanne making her feel accepted. Evie realizes later that Suzanne is “not a good person” but finds her so enigmatic that she often turns a blind eye to Suzanne’s cruel actions and erratic behavior. Evie believes that Suzanne is at the Ranch because she has escaped a rough childhood but is later told that this is not the case and that Suzanne comes from a relatively comfortable life. As the summer wears on, Suzanne becomes more distant and begins doing harder drugs more frequently with Russell and the others, falling deeper into Russell's world. She eventually takes part in the killing of four people.
Helen
Described as “tan and pigtailed and pretty”, she appears to be younger and closer to Evie’s age, although this is also because she acts younger than all the other girls, often talking in a baby voice. She is 18 during the key events of the novel and is the one who gets the group caught and arrested by bragging about the murders. Like Evie and the other girls, she craves attention, even if it is negative.
Roos
Short for “Roosevelt”, Roos is older than the other girls and is described as having a “face as round and rosy as a storybook character” and blond hair. Roos is the mother of a small child at the Ranch named Nico, although Russell discourages her from growing overly attached to him because he thinks children should be free from parental control. She was formerly married to a police officer in Corpus Christi but it is implied that it was an abusive relationship that she escaped before ending up at the Ranch. Roos doesn't take part in the murders, claiming she didn't know about them but had a bad feeling. She appears to have a slightly greater moral compass than the other girls but Evie wonders if this is because she has experienced motherhood or is just older.
Donna
A skinny redhead and part of the group of girls at the Ranch. Evie later notes that she was described in the media as “the unattractive one, slow and rough, often cast as a pity case.”
Russell Hadrick
The leader of the cult living at the Ranch, he exerts a great deal of control over all the girls through manipulation. He purposely brings young women and teenage girls into his fold that he recognizes as being lost, insecure, or coming from broken homes and having sexual relationships with them. He preaches free love and a world devoid of traditional order while exerting dominance over the girls through sexual and emotional manipulation. He is known to manipulate men as well in order to get supplies such as cars, drugs, food, and shelter. He often wears “frontier buckskins” and bare feet. He is at least a decade older than Suzanne, and possibly even close to middle age, and is described as having a calm, even voice.
Russell has delusional dreams of becoming a famous musician and uses Mitch to try and procure a record deal, despite having little musical talent. When things do not go his way, he becomes violent, which is displayed when he slaps Helen, and when he comes up with the plan to murder Mitch. When he is caught, he tries to run from the police, showing that he is much weaker than the girls who silently stay and face their fate. He tries to argue that he couldn't make the girls do anything and that he had nothing to do with the murders, but he ends up going to jail for his part.
Guy
A former farm boy from Kansas who defected from the army and came to the Ranch. He is described as being young with long, dark hair and a “medieval droop to his face” that Evie finds romantic at first. He doesn’t worship Russell in the way the girls do but rather sees him as a way to get things he wants such as girls and drugs. He participates in the murders with Donna, Helen, and Suzanne.
Mitch Lewis
A famous singer who is drawn into Russell’s world and tries to help him achieve a record deal. He is described as the Ranch’s “patron saint”, often bringing them supplies such as food, drugs, and cigarettes. He has a sexual relationship with the girls, including Evie, while also having a girlfriend, Linda. Eventually, he loses interest in Russell and the Ranch and tries to distance himself when he can't procure a record deal for Russell. He is the initial target of the murders but is called out of town on business at the last minute.
Linda
Mitch’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the murders. She is 26 years old and described as “beautiful”. She has a young son, Christopher, and is staying at Mitch's house for two days while her own apartment has work done on it. She is murdered by Suzanne when they find that Mitch isn't home.
Christopher
Linda’s 5-year-old son is described as “golden-haired”. He is the last of the group to be murdered.
Scotty Weschler
The caretaker at Mitch’s home lives in the back house on the property and is described as “prematurely balding, with wire glasses”. He had formerly been in the military but dropped out and moved west. He is hanging out with his girlfriend at Mitch's house on the night of the murders and is stabbed by Guy.
Gwen Sutherland
Scotty’s girlfriend, described as “kind and friendly”, is twenty-three years old and a recent graduate of the College of Marin. She is murdered shortly after Scotty tries to run away.
Jean
Evie’s mother grew up rich and privileged. Her mother, Harriet (Evie's grandmother), was a movie star and she is recently separated from her husband who has left her for a younger woman from his workplace. As a newly single woman, she starts following trends, often exercising or dieting in an attempt to attract men. She dates a slew of men, including Frank, a married man. Evie finds her mother irritating and begins to distance herself as she becomes more enmeshed with the cult. Jean is confused and timid about how she should treat her changing daughter, vacillating between being strict and turning a blind eye.
Tamar
Evie’s dad’s young new girlfriend is described as “slim and cheerful”. Evie is at first impressed by Tamar and finds her glamorous, but after spending time at the Ranch, sees Tamar as a regular woman. They eventually get along together fairly well when Evie is sent to live with Tamar and her father.
Connie
Evie’s childhood best friend. Evie describes her as being plump and immature. Her and Evie’s friendship begins to fall apart the summer they are 14 which leads Evie to feel even more alone and susceptible to falling under the spell of the girls at the Ranch. Connie has a brother, Peter, who Evie initially has a crush on at the beginning of the summer and thinks of as an older, attractive man, despite him only being a few years older. Later on in the summer, Evie looks back on Peter as being still unformed and not yet a man when she compares him to Russell and Mitch.
