Ree Dolly
Ree is the novel's protagonist and point-of-view character. At seventeen, Ree is the primary caregiver for her two younger brothers and their mentally ill mother. When her father disappears in advance of a court date to face meth-production charges, Ree learns that the family home will be repossessed unless she can track him down. Ree shows bravery, stubbornness, and defiance toward authority as she visits fearsome distant relatives scattered throughout her Ozarks community. The hostile interactions lead Ree to conclude that her father was killed by other drug dealers because he agreed to provide incriminating information to the police. Ultimately, Ree's hard-headed persistence pays off, and she saves her family home by proving her father's death.
Jessup Dolly
Jessup is Ree’s father. A criminal known for producing quality meth ("crank cooking"), Jessup disappears while out of jail on bail. Ree spends the book trying to track down her father to make him appear in court; if he doesn't show, the family home will be repossessed. It is eventually revealed that Jessup was murdered by other meth dealers after they discovered he had agreed to collaborate with law enforcement to avoid a ten-year prison sentence. Ree is brought to Jessup's body, which the killer tied to an engine block and sunk under the surface of a pond. Ree removes his hands to prove to the police that he is dead.
Uncle Teardrop
Teardrop is Jessup’s brother and Ree’s uncle. A meth user and dealer, Teardrop earned his nickname because of the teardrop tattoos on his face—tattoos people receive after witnessing or taking part in a prison murder. While Teardrop is initially aggressive toward Ree for asking about her father's whereabouts, he shows his loyalty to his niece later in the novel when he rescues her from an ambush at Thump's. Although Teardrop hopes to protect himself by never learning who killed Jessup, the novel ends with Teardrop realizing the anonymous man who bailed out Jessup in order to murder him must have been Sleepy John. With this information, Teardrop sets out with determination, presumably to avenge his brother's death.
Harold and Sonny Dolly
Harold and Sonny are Ree’s younger brothers. Despite the poverty and dysfunction they live with, the boys are enthusiastic and obedient. Over the course of the novel, Ree teaches her brothers to become more independent, showing them how to cook, fire guns, and hunt squirrels.
Gail Lockrum
Gail is Ree's best friend. After getting pregnant during a one-night stand, Gail married Floyd and gave birth to their son, Ned. Gail complains to Ree about Floyd's obvious infidelity. Gail simultaneously cares for her baby and for Ree, nursing her back to health and providing a vehicle for her to use. In this way, Gail functions as a mothering figure to Ree, whose actual mother's illness prevents her from supporting Ree.
Mrs. Thump (Merab)
Merab is the wife of crime boss Thump Milton. Ree encounters Mrs. Thump when searching for her father. Rather than provide helpful information, Merab protects her husband and warns Ree to stay away. When Ree returns later, Merab leads a violent ambush against Ree as punishment for not heeding her warning. Despite her animosity, Merab helps Ree save her family home by blindfolding Ree and bringing her to her father's body.
Blond Milton
Blond Milton is a local relative of Ree. Blond Milton tries to deceive Ree by convincing her that her father died in a meth-lab fire. He also offers to adopt Ree's brothers. However, Ree is so insulted by his obvious deception that she reprimands him for thinking her stupid.
Connie Dolly
Connie is Ree's mother. Once known as one of the most beautiful women around, Connie has developed a mental illness that makes her unable to communicate with other people or understand what is happening around her. Ree is her mother's primary caregiver, feeding her, bathing her, and dressing her.
Floyd
Floyd is Gail's husband and the father of her child, Ned. Floyd married Gail after impregnating her during a hookup, and his behavior suggests he isn't in love with her. Gail suspects Floyd is still in love with Heather, an ex-girlfriend with whom he occasionally cheats on Gail.
Sheriff Baskin
Sheriff Baskin is a local law enforcement officer. After pulling over Teardrop and Ree one night, Baskin pulls his weapon on Teardrop. Teardrop implies that Baskin was the one who leaked the information about Jessup being a police informer. Baskin doesn't dispute the accusation, and allows Teardrop to drive away. When Ree later tells Baskin that Jessup's hands were thrown on her porch, Baskin doesn't believe her, but also doesn't press her for the truth.
