Hoag's characters are often somewhat stock cliches, yet one must keep in mind the fact that the genre itself depends on certain stereotypes in order to attain its desired effects. As is often the case with stock characters, Hoag's characters are usually either good or bad. The good characters serve as sites for identification and mouthpieces for the novel's ideas, while the bad characters serve as objects of scorn and critique.

As the novel's main character, Kate Conlan is the major position for reader identification. Novels of this genre often have females as main characters, and one senses that Kate's character owes at least a little bit to Thomas Harris's Clarice Starling and Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. As the novel opens, Kate is trying to start a new life in Minneapolis after losing her child, her husband, and her job with the FBI. Her travails make her an...