A Cadence Mystery Series Character Reference

Almonte, Francesco, Frankie Sr., Lucia

Francesco met the Cadence community at the Hayward mansion in Albany, NY. He was an officer on the Albany police department. His father, Frankie, Sr., is retired from the department. His mother, Lucia, is an ardent Catholic. Francesco’s sister, Maria, went missing on her way to visit the bishop in preparation of her Confirmation. Her body was found a decade later at the Hayward mansion. Gaetano and Mariantonia Conti are Francesco’s grandparents. Francesco transfers to the Cadence PD in book 6.

Alvarez, Rosalind

FBI agent

Blossom

Izzy Guittierez’s guide dog

Brattle, Bill

Cadence Fire Chief

Brewster, Jonathan

FBI agent

Brodie, Rufus

Finance manager, Hill Place Resort; Leader of the Western NY Black Lives Matter group; Marries Madison Hayward in book 5.

Brunson, Bella, Bob

Bella called 911 on nephew Titus Mann; Bob serving life sentence for the plot to destroy Cadence which included the murder of his nephew Titus by cop.

Catoggio, Vinnie

Marian’s estranged brother who is a biker and goes by the moniker Predator.

Cervantes, Pablo

Council member. Was once suspicious of Lester and Enoch’s intentions.

Cervantes, Santiago

Pablo Cervantes’ cousin who is seeking revenge.

Chen, Paul

Police officer, often takes desk duty at the station.

Cullen, Cian

Samuel Hayward’s butler. Taken off the streets of Belfast when he was fourteen.

Drummond, Oliver

Police Officer

Dua, Abeeku, Afua, Kwame

Kwame wants to move to Cadence and go missing. His parents come to find him.

Ęhní’da’

Enoch’s dog. Onondaga for “moon.”

Fabrizio, Carla

Onondaga County coroner

Ferris, Steve

Hill Place Resort shuttle bus driver

Gates, Jimmy

Cousin of Julie and Dicky Meijer; in prison for abetting a kidnapping and other crimes.

Gray, Bill

Sheriff deputy who shot Titus Mann

Greene, Marian, Lester, Angel, Jess

Marian and Lester, interracially married, have been together for fifty years. They were drawn to Cadence and discovered their connection to the place. Angel and Jess are their adult twin daughters who are always trying to convince them to leave. Carlos and Tina are Jess’ husband and daughter.

Gutierrez, Izzy, Lourdes

Originally from Puerto Rico, a Black Lives Matter protester, and journalist. Izzy is the editor of The Eagle’s View. In a relationship with Sonya Jefferson. His mother, Lourdes, works at The Sojourn Tea Shop with Irma. Izzy is visually handicapped and has a service dog named Blossom.

Hayward, Madison, Stanton, Samuel

Madison is a journalist and the daughter of the powerful Senator Samuel Hayward. Her childhood was fraught with neglect and abuse. Stanton is her half-brother from Samuel’s first marriage. Samuel Hayward took on his ancestor’s quest to destroy Cadence. Madison is also related to Marian Greene and Randy Nichols. Marries Rufus Brodie in book 5.

Hertzog, Allan

Appointed county sheriff after Craig Lawton’s first retirement. Recruited white supremacists and abetted in the plot to destroy Cadence during the Titus Mann murder.

Horton, Stewart

A shy, by-the-book deputy sheriff who was given the title of county sheriff to his surprise after Craig Lawton died.

Howard, Elijah, Regina

Elijah was a Black Lives Matter protester and is now a civil rights attorney and partnering in a law firm with Stanton Hayward. His mother moved to Cadence to be his paralegal.

Iozzi, Joe

Head of security but part of the plot to destroy Cadence. Killed by Rufus after Joe kidnapped Izzy, Irma, and Rufus.

Janowicz, Fred

Cop on the Albany police force.

Jefferson, Sonya

Army vet; member of the Cadence police force. In a relationship with Izzy.

Jí:hah

Enoch’s Maine Coon cat.

Johnson, Phil, Joshua, Emma, Gordy

Phil is retired from the New York state bureau of investigation; he was Bryan Redding’s partner; Joshua is his husband and Emma and Gordy (biological siblings) are their adopted kids. Debra is his ex-wife.

Junee

Sam Westry’s cousin from Louisiana

Justice, Henrietta, Rakeem, Dion

Descended from Hercules Posey, George Washington’s White House chef. Runs The Stone Chair Diner, opened by Hercules 1799 and keeps many of the original dishes Hercules made on the menu. She’s on the town council. Rakeem and Dion are her teenage grandsons. She and Enoch marry at the end of 4.

Kim, Barry, Ye, Sung-ho

Was an SBI agent, but aided Samuel Hayward in his plot to destroy Cadence. Serving a lighter sentence for turning state’s witness. His parents, Ye and Sung-ho, were Samuel Hayward’s house and grounds keepers and witnessed what was happening in the house. They often took care of Madison when she was neglected by her father.

Lattimore, Norman

Council member and descendant of the original founder of Cadence, John Endicott. Known for his hysterics.

Lawton, Delores, Craig

Craig and Delores met in Kindergarten. He was the county sheriff and a councilman. Delores took his place on the council when he died suddenly.

Levins, Gina

Army vet and the deputy chief of the Cadence police department. She escaped an abusive marriage and felt safe in Cadence until her ex sneaked in to take his revenge.

Lyons, Fatima

Owner of the Hiawatha Dress Shop and serves on the town council.

MacFarland, Edward

Bishop at the Cathedral of the Immaculata

Mack, Irma

Owner of the Sojourn Tea Shop and serves on the town council. After Lester fought a fire at her old building, she promised him free chocolate halfmoon cookies for the rest of his life.

Mama Leotha

Sam Westry’s great-grandmother from Louisiana

Mann, Titus, Lucy, DeJuan

Titus, who turned down the NFL and got his master’s degree to be the school counselor and basketball and football coach at Six Nation’s High School, was gunned down by Deputy Bill Gray.

Marie, Tiffany

Madison’s twin

McCormick, Ty, Bo, Sadie and boyfriend, Jud Denton

They helped Alejandro Sombrerón in finding the treasure hidden in the woods at the Hill Place Resort. Sadie and Wilson Woodrow are an item at the end of book 6.

Meijer, Julie, Richard (Dicky)

Julie and Dicky were descendants of the original founders. They plotted to kill Lester and Enoch and steal the inheritance a secret covenant promised to bestow 100 years ago after the 1921 race massacre. Julie became the matriarch of the LCFF (Lost Cause Freedom Fighters) and then its martyr. Dicky was killed by his cousin Jimmy.

Nichols, Randy

Professor Emeritus, Geology, Syracuse University. Studies the lake drum phenomena. Uncle to Madison and Stanton and a distant cousin of Marian’s.

O’Neill, Billy and Bobby

Billy is the police chief of the Albany police department. His older brother, Bobby, is a biker and best friends with Marian’s brother, Vinnie.

Ogles, Kyle

Police officer

Ortega, Emiliano, Paola, Adriana, Benito, Joya

Paul Cervantes’ cousins from Guatemala. George and Gina foster three of the children, and Madison and Rufus foster the other three.

Papadakis, Nico

Police officer

Powless, George

Chief of the Cadence police department.

Rao, Donny

Cadence police officer who was part of the plot to destroy Cadence during the Titus Mann shooting.

Redding, Bryan

New York state bureau of investigation agent, sometime boyfriend of Angel, and he’s tired of solving cases in Cadence.

Richardson, Patricia, Mark, Kyle, Jordan

Patricia was Samuel Haywood’s favorite teen. She gave birth to two of his children: Madison and Kyle. She had Jordan with her husband, Mark, who was Samuel Haywood’s fixer. Both Patricia and Mark are serving long sentences for various crimes. Kyle and Jordan stole their neighbor’s car and drove to Cadence to start a race war. They killed eighteen and injured many others before driving the car into Seneca Lake.

Roberts, Michael

Adrian White’s partner on the Oneonta police department.

Robinson, Althea, Nathan

Descended from the founders. Althea is also Kayleigh’s aunt. Nathan is her son and is on the autism spectrum.

Shenandoah, Enoch, David, Daniel

Chief Enoch Shenandoah is Lester’s protector, according to the covenant, and his best friend. He and Marian also have a special bond. David, his only living son, is the director of the Hill Place Resort. He is married to Sheila, and they have a daughter, Olivia. Daniel, his other son, was killed in the mass shooting in July 2023 along with his wife Suzette and children, Tommy and Charlie. Enoch lost his first wife to cancer and married Henrietta Justice at the end of Stony Place.

Singh, Balvinder, Vagisha

New to the community, Balvinder, wife Vagisha, and their two teenagers are excited about the Sikh temple being built. But as the on-call doctor, Balvinder has concerns about the safety of the community. He is Sikh.

Sombrerón, Alejandro

Grifter from Langtry, TX, who hoped to get rich by finding the Cervantes treasure hidden at the Hill Place.

Standup, Daniel, Edith

Member of the Mohawk Nation and friend to Enoch Shenandoah

Steeprock, John, Vicky, Leroy

Vicky and John Steeprock’s families have lived in Cadence for over 400 years. Vickey is killed in book 4. Leroy is John’s uncle.

Swider, Buddy

Head of the security force charged with keeping Cadence safe.

Washington, Harry

Park ranger keeping Cadence safe on the water side.

Watson, Kayleigh, Bertie

Kayleigh moved to Cadence after accepting the position of detective in the police department. She is married to Bertie, fourth grade teacher at Six Nations Elementary School. Bertie is pregnant in book 6.

Westry, Sam and his daughter Shanika

Sam is the security guard at the Hayward mansion. Shanika is his daughter. He later moves to Cadence.

White, Adrian, Tim, Thomas

Adrian is Gina Levins ex-husband. Tim and Thomas are his uncles.

Woodrow, Wilson

Left the reservation at 17 and never looked back.

Yeager, Jerry

Cranky neighbor of the Richardsons. It was his Dodge Charger the Richardson brothers stole to start their race war in Cadence.