Mrs Stein Solves a Crime - Characters

 SPOILERS!!!

These are the regular characters in the series and the ones found in this novel .

Regular Characters

• Annie (Fuller) Dawson (30) is the main character in the series. At the beginning of the series we learn that she is a widow, who after struggling to live with her in-laws for five years, inherited a house from her aunt Agatha, which she turned into a boarding house. Apart from being a landlady, Annie used to be Madame Sybil, an alter-ego of hers,  a clairvoyant, advising her clients about domestic and financial matters. Annie used make-up, different clothes and a wig to turn into Madame Sybil. In reality, Annie was no clairvoyant, and pretended to read her clients’ hands, but her advice was based on the knowledge she got from newspapers and what she learnt about finances from her late father.  Now Madame Sybil is a thing of the past, and she has clients who come to her for financial advice. Her marriage to John, her late husband, was not a happy one. He was a man that liked gambling, and he committed suicide when he came to realise that he was bankrupt. Then Annie had to live with her in-laws, and her mother-in-law was rather vile, accusing her of leading her son to suicide. In the first novel Annie met Nate, a lawyer, and they gradually fell in love. After a lengthy courtship of two years, Nate and Annie finally married and now they have a daughter.
• Nate Dawson (33) is the lawyer Annie falls in love with and marries. They got married  in 1880. Now Nate works all hours, and that is an issue that worries Annie. She only wants her husband  to spend time with her, but he worries about money and wants to save enough so that he can give Annie a comfortable life without any worries.
• Abigail Dawson (14 months old) is Annie and Nate’s baby daughter.
• Esther Stein and her husband were friends of Annie's uncle and aunt. Now they live in the boarding house. In this book Esther realises that she is often too pushy with her opinions. Esther and her husband have six children who are now grown-up and have their own families.
•  Herman Stein is Esther's husband. He and Esther come from Germany, and they emigrated to the United States where they succeeded in making a fortune. Herman is a businessman and is also a partner in the savings bank. 
• Mrs Beatrice O’Rourke  is Annie’s housekeeper and cook. She and Annie are best friends, and Annie usually confides in her because she sees her as a mother figure. Beatrice is a widow, and her husband, Peter, who was a policeman, was shot dead by a criminal who refused to hand in the wallet he had stolen. Then Beatrice returned to service with her previous employers, the Waterstones, Annie’s uncle and aunt. After they died and Annie inherited the house, Beatrice stayed with her.
• Kathleen Hennessey (22) is Annie’s maid. She is young and is being courted by Patrick, Beatrice’s nephew who is a policeman. 
• Tilly Gallagher (18) is a very young maid working in the boarding house. She comes from Ireland.
• Emmaline Fournier (13) is a young girl whose mother was murdered in a previous novel. She turned out to be the Miss Moffats’ niece, and now they look after her in the boardinghouse. Emmaline is very skilful with a needle and thread, just like her aunts.
• Jamie Hewitt is the eleven-year-old boy who lives in the boarding house with his mother.
• Barbara Hewitt is Jamie’s mother. She is a a teacher. In a previous novel Barbara confessed that she is not the real Barbara Hewitt. The two women studied together to become teachers, but then Barbara had to leave when her mother died. After that, she married Bobby, who was her father’s ranch hand. When locusts destroyed their farm, financial strain changed Bobby, and they decided to part ways, so she went with the Hewitts, working for them. The real Barbara Hewitt’s sister told her she could take her sister’s identity and use her teaching certificate, and that is how she got her first teaching position. She did it for Jamie. Barbara’s husband reappears in a previous mystery and kidnaps Jamie. When the man is found, Patrick shoots him dead and the boy is rescued. Barbara seems to be interested in a former lodger, David Chapman.
• Ian Hennessey is Kathleen’s twelve-year-old brother. He lives in the boardinghouse as well.
• Dandy is Jamie’s Boston terrier.
• Miss Minnie and Miss Millie Moffat are two single sisters who live in the boarding house. They are seamstresses, and one of them is very talkative, and the other one hardly says a word. In a previous book we learnt more about their history. They were wealthy Southern belles and their father and elder brother were ship merchants, but then they were both killed in a ship explosion. When their mother died, they moved to San Francisco with their brother Jasper. The two women supported the brother who squandered their money on gambling, alcohol, and women, and when he died, they discovered he had even gambled their house. That is why they had to board with Annie. They discovered years later that their brother Jasper had fathered a child, Emmaline, and now the girl is living with them. Now the Miss Moffats have been hired to work in a big store.
• Laura Dawson (24) is Nate’s sister. She first came to San Francisco to work as a  teacher, but now she works part-time as  a typesetter in a printing house. Laura is a determined young woman, but she is too impetuous in her opinions. Now Laura is studying at university, and her initial aspiration was to become a lawyer, but it seems that she wants to turn to journalism. She and Seth are engaged.
• Seth Timmons (35) was in the same class as Laura in the school when they were studying to get their teaching certificates. Laura was initially apprehensive of him because of an incident that happened with a student that had made a pass at her. Then Laura realised he was a good man, and they became good friends. Seth also works in the printing house. In a previous book they started studying at university together, and in the end they finally got together. Seth often fights with  his past. He was in a war prison for years, and that makes his mood darken. Seth now works in Nate’s firm at the weekend, doing clerical tasks, and he also lives in the boarding house where Nate lived before marrying Annie.
• Mr Livingstone is the owner of the bazaar and Emmaline’s official guardian.
• Mr Wong is a Chinese man who has helped Annie in other books when the mystery is connected to the Chinese community. Mr Wong has a reputation as a dangerous man.
• Biddy O’Malley (19) is Tilly’s cousin and Kathleen’s friend. She used to work as a servant when Annie investigated the fraudulent seances in a previous book. After that she started working in a store. 
• Mrs Maureen O’Malley is a widow with seven children. She is Biddy’s mother and Tilly’s aunt. Tilly is very thankful to her because she took her in when she came to America.
• Alice O’Malley (7) is Biddy’s sister.
• Bri and Bennie O’Malley (12) are Biddy’s brothers
• Deirdre O’Malley (14) is Biddy’s sister.
• Callum and O’Connor (5) are Biddy’s youngest brothers.
• Patrick McGee is Beatrice’s nephew and Kathleen’s beau. He is a policeman.
• Sergeant Thompson is Patrick’s boss.
• Prince is the cat in the boardinghouse
• Frank Nobbes is Nate’s uncle. Nate, Frank and Abel Cranston are partners in the law firm.  Nate used to live together with his uncle before he married Annie.
• David Chapman is a clerk and used to live in the boarding house. Mr Chapman seems to be quite fond of Barbara Hewitt, and now that he has left the boarding house, Barbara seems more interested in him.
• Martin Mitchell is a medical student, who Nate is friends with.
• Abel Cranston is the third partner in Nate’s law firm.
• Tim Newsome is a friend of Nate’s. I think he lives in the boarding house with Uncle Frank and Seth. He works for the Chronicle, a newspaper.
• Mr Harvey is a guest in the boarding house.
• Violet Dawson is  Nate’s sister-in-law. She has a son, and a baby girl. Now she is pregnant again.
• Billy Dawson is Nate’s brother.
• Charlie Dawson (3) is Violet and Billy’s son.
• Rose Dawson (1) is Violet and Billy’s daughter
• Kitty Blaine (17) is Laura’s friend. She is Irish and her father used to own a saloon.

Characters in this book:

• Hettie Meyer (28) is Esther and Herman's youngest daughter. Hettie has always come across selfish and shallow. In this book Esther discovers that her husband has treated her unkindly and has a mistress. As a consequence, Hettie divorces him. 
• George Meyer is Hettie's husband. When Esther discovers that he has stolen the jewels and money from the bank to pay for the luxurious room his mistress is staying at the Palace Hotel, Hettie confronts her, and he agrees to divorce Hettie. At the end of the book George returns to his hometown, Cincinatti.
• Joanna Fiske is the woman who asks Esther for help because her husband may be blamed for the theft of some jewels from the vault of the bank where he is working. 
• Konrad Fiske is Joanna's husband. He works as a main teller in the bank which Herman is a partner in. 
• Trina Fiske (20) is Joanna and Konrad's daughter. She has health problems. 
• Georgie Meyer (9) is Hettie's son. He has been having problems in the private school his father sent him to, and Esther discovers that the boy needs glasses. Thanks to Esther, Georgie makes friends with Jamie, Ian and Emmaline, and at the end of the book Georgie starts going to the grammar school where these children also go. 
• Gustave Stein is Esther and Herman's oldest son. 
• Minna Stein is Esther and Herman's unmarried daughter. She is the fourth daughter who has a good relationship with Hettie. At the end of the book she moves to live with Hettie. 
• Leo Stein is Estehr and Herman's son. He is the fifth of their children. 
• Adela Frisch is Esther and Herman's daughter. She is their second child, and she is married to Peter.
• Elsa Schuster is Esther and Herman's daughter. She is younger than Adela, and is married to Ernst Schuster.
• Nancy is Hettie's maid.
• Mrs Phelps is Hettie's cook. 
• Frobisher is Hettie's butler.
• Willie was Hettie's driver but when George sold the horse and carriage, he was dismissed
• Ethan Lattimore is the teller at the bank. He is unfriendly to Konrad because he aspired to the promotion which Konrad was finally given.
• Gertrude Varley is the woman who had his jewels and some money in the bank, and after she passed away, her lawyer discovered that some earrings were missing. 
• Kenneth Jeffries is Mrs Varley's lawyer.
• Mr Southgate is the chief cashier in the bank. 
• Mr Brophy is the owner of the stables and George sold the horse and carriage to him. 
• Lucia Messina is George's mistress. 
• Miranda (10) is Esther's granddaughter. She is shy and at the end of the book she starts going to the grammar school Georgie attends.