Death On the Riviera - Characters

 SPOILERS!!!

These are the characters in this book for further reference:

Regular characters:

• Detective Superintendent William Meredith is the detective investigating the crime. He is intelligent and methodical in his procedures.  Meredith is married and has one grown-up son.
• Acting Sergeant Freddy Strang is the detective who accompanies Meredith to the Riviera to investigate the case of money counterfeit. Freddy falls in love with Dillys Westmacott and at the end of the book he proposes to her. 
• Inspector Blampignon is the policeman William works with in Menton.
• Inspector Gibaud also works with Meredith in this case. 
• Tony Meredith is Meredith’s son. He is a photographer apprentice. He does not appear in the book, but in other books he is mentioned
• Mrs Meredith is Meredith’s wife. She is the reason why her son didn’t follow William’s steps in the police force. She does not appear in the book, but in other books she is mentioned

Characters in this book:

• Bill Dillon is the first character to appear in the novel. He fought the war and is an engineer. The reason he goes to the Riviera is to talk his wife into coming back to him, but Kitty is in love and expecting  a child from her lover, Tony. Bill is willing to give her a divorce so that she can be married. When he discovers that the lover won't do right by her, he is outraged and kills him, and to escape punishment he pretends to commit suicide and makes the dead body look like him. 
• Tommy Cobbett (Chalky) is the ringleader in the forgery business, and he is the man Meredith and Freddy are after. They finally discover that Chalky pretended to be an old caretaker who was suffering from dementia. 
• Nesta Hedderwick (58) is the owner of Villa Sophia. She is a widow and enjoys having an entourage of people around her. Nesta is very fond of Tony Shenton, and even her niece thinks that there is something untoward in their relationship. At the end of the book Meredith discovers that Nesta is actually Tony's mother, and they got estranged when she remarried.
• Dillys WEstmacott (19) is Nesta's niece. She meets Freddy at an art exhibition, and their relationship start off on the wrong foot because Freddy lies about what his name is and his profession to hide his actual job. Dillys even thinks that he is a criminal, but when she discovers that he is a policeman, she thaws. They start seeing each other regularly, and aat the end of the book Freddy proposes to her. 
• Bertha Pillygrew (Pilly) is Nesta's companion. Nesta is quite ghastly towards her. 
• Tony Shenton (28) is a guest at Villa Sophia. Nesta is very fond of him, and we later discover that Tony is her son. Tony is a seedy character; he has had problems with the law for thieving, and Meredith and Freddy discover that he is part of the counterfeit band. What he does is pick up the counterfeit money hidden in some fake boulders. When he is to be arrested, his car is found with blood on the passenger seat. Meredith eventally finds out that Tony has been murdered. He and Kitty Dillon were having an affair and she was expecting a child. Tony refused to do right by her, and her husband killed Tony, and then he pretended to commit suicide, but the body found was Tony's.
• Kitty Linden (Dillon) is Bill Dillon's wife. She left him when he neglected her and she realised she didn't love him. Kitty started an affair with Tony, who she met during the war, and she got pregnant. Kitty wanted to get a divorce from Bill, who he was ready to grant even though he loved her. Tony refused to marry her, and that is the reason why Bill killed him.
• Paul Latour is the artist staying in the villa. He deceives Nesta as the paintings he produces are actually the work of a local artist. Meredith discovers that he is involved in the counterfeit but he escapes before Meredith can arrest him.
• Captain Malloy is a friend of Nesta's. He is the one who introduced Nesta to Paul Latour, and he discovers that his chauffeur is a criminal who is involved in forging money. 
• Nicolai Bourmin is Malloy's chauffeur and part of the criminal band that forges money.
• Jacques Dufil is the artist who creates the paintings that Paul passes off as his own.
• Madame Grignot is the concierge in the building which Latour visits often. She eventually explains that she was Latour's nanny when he was growing up. Grignot helped him by concealing Chalky and pretend that he was her husband.
• Lisette is the parlour-maid.