Who Is Who In Knockemout
Naomi, Knox, Waylay, Waylon, Nash, Lucian, Sloane, Lina and a whole town, all with names that are easy to mix up.
A word on spoilers. This video has moderate spoilers. I’ll tell you every character’s role, and who the villain is, but I won’t walk through the ending. If you want zero spoilers, watch my review first.
Naomi Witt
Naomi is our heroine, a thirty six year old planner from Long Island who has spent her life being the good twin. She makes lists, color codes everything, worked for her ex fiance’s family firm, and she is a champion people pleaser who cleans up after everyone.
Her arc is learning to ask for what she needs. She starts the book by running from her wedding, with daisies in her hair. She ends up with a family she chose. Her vocabulary is huge, and Knox mocks her for it, but he also loves it.
Knox Morgan
Knox is the hero, a forty three year old barber and business owner with tattoos, a beard and a hard glare. He won eleven million dollars in the lottery a couple of years before the book and spent it on his hometown, buying a bar, a barbershop building, and helping his grandmother.
He says he doesn’t do strings, because he’s afraid of becoming like the people who fell apart after losing someone. He shows love by quietly fixing problems. His nickname for Naomi is Daisy, and her nickname for him is the Viking. His weakness is tears.
Waylay and Waylon
Waylay Regina Witt is Tina’s eleven year old daughter, left behind in a motel room. She is a tech whiz who repairs tablets at the library, swears like a trucker, loves pink sneakers and hair accessories, and has a tough shell from years of neglect.
Waylon is Knox’s basset hound, a lazy, loyal, always hungry dog who ends up more attached to Waylay than to his owner. They are not the same, though the book jokes about the confusion. Liza J also has two dogs, Randy the beagle and Kitty, a one eyed pit bull who thinks she is a lapdog.
Nash Morgan
Nash is Knox’s younger brother and the Knockemout chief of police. He’s the good one, as he cheerfully tells Naomi. He is friendly, fair, rule following and quietly stubborn, and he and Knox spent two years not speaking after a fight about money.
Nash helps Naomi with the kinship guardianship process and flirts with her a little in the early chapters. He is also the lead in book two of the series. Look for the way he and Knox use fists as a love language.
Liza J
Elizabeth Jane Persimmon, known as Liza J, is the boys’ grandmother, five foot one and fearless. She raised them with her husband Pop after their mother died, and she lives in a big log house with the curtains closed and two dogs.
She gives Naomi and Waylay the cottage rent free. She is also grieving: her husband Billy, whom the boys call Pop, died years ago, and so did her daughter Jayla, the boys’ mother. Naomi cleaning her house is how Liza starts living again.
Tina Witt
Tina is Naomi’s identical twin, but with bleached hair and a lifetime of bad decisions. She steals, lies, drinks and runs, leaving Naomi to clean up. The town knows her as trouble and mistakes Naomi for her, which is why Naomi is nicknamed Not Tina.
Tina is a mess, but she isn’t a monster. She loves Waylay in her own broken way, and in the finale she does something brave. She is also the engine of the plot, because her actions put her sister and daughter in danger.
Lucian Rollins
Lucian is Knox and Nash’s best friend, the third of the trio, a sharp political consultant with a dark suit, one cigarette a day and a network of sources. He is polished and quiet, with a dangerous edge, and he can find anyone.
He has a mysterious history with Sloane, the town librarian, who cannot stand him. She is small, bold, wears pink streaked hair and glasses, and has a real temper. The book gives only hints about why they hate each other, because it’s the setup for book three.
Stef and Jeremiah
Stefan Liao, called Stef, is Naomi’s best friend since high school, gay, rich, funny and fiercely protective. He sells her house, buys her haircuts, and threatens Knox in the nicest way. He is the voice of reason in the book.
Jeremiah is Knox’s business partner at the barbershop, Whiskey Clipper. He’s a stylish, bisexual barber with a sleeve tattoo and a Lebanese family. The book hints at sparks between him and Stef. He is also the brother of Sherry Fiasco, called Fi, who runs the bar.
The Honky Tonk Crew
Fi, short for Sherry Fiasco, is Knox’s business manager, who always has a lollipop and hires Naomi without asking him. Max is the glittery waitress who trains her. Silver is the bartender with buzzed hair and a tie. Milford is the cook.
Together they are Naomi’s first friends in town. They love their boss and refuse to be scared of him, which makes for some of the funniest scenes, like the monthly period survival kit he leaves for them.
The Town
Justice runs Cafe Rev and makes the maple bacon latte that wins Naomi over. His wife Tallulah is a regular at the bar. Wraith is a silver fox biker who coaches girls soccer. Hinkel McCord is a hundred and one year old who reads two books a week.
Bud runs the hardware store, Grave is the police sergeant, Neecey is the gossipy waitress at Dino’s Pizza, and Yolanda Suarez is the caseworker who decides Waylay’s future. They make Knockemout feel real.
Waylay’s Friends
Waylay’s first real friends are Chloe and Nina. Chloe is Sloane’s chatty, fashion loving niece, who happily announces every piece of gossip she has heard. Nina is a funny, loyal girl with two dads, Isaac and Gael, and one of them owns the local pet shop.
Naomi throws a whole dinner party just so Waylay can bond with Chloe. It works. Soon the three girls are on the same soccer team, defending each other from a mean teacher and a boy who calls people names.
Lina and Naomi’s Parents
Lina, short for Angelina, shows up late, as Knox’s first non girlfriend from years ago. She is bold, funny, a loyal friend to Naomi, and she tells Knox hard truths. She also takes notice of Nash.
Naomi’s parents, Amanda and Lou, are warm, funny and obviously terrific. Amanda hugs everyone, Lou grills and grumbles, and both stand up for their daughter. They also bring a rescue dog named Beeper.
The Morgan Family Past
To understand Knox and Nash, you need their history. They grew up in Knockemout with loving parents, until their mother died. Their father could not cope, and turned to drink and drugs, and then left. The boys moved in with Liza J and Pop.
Years later Pop died too, and Liza J shut herself away. That is why Knox fears loss so much, and why he keeps people at arm’s length. The father shows up in person late in the book, and I won’t say more, but he explains almost everything about Knox.
Who Is Related To Whom
A quick cheat sheet, because it helps. Naomi and Tina are identical twins. Waylay is Tina’s daughter, so Naomi’s niece. Knox and Nash are brothers, and Liza J is their grandmother. Lucian is not related, but he is family in every way that counts.
Fi is Jeremiah’s sister. Sloane’s niece is Chloe, a chatty girl in Waylay’s class. Amanda and Lou are Naomi’s parents, so Waylay’s grandparents. Stef is Naomi’s chosen family. Once you have that straight, the town stops being confusing.
The Villains
Warner Dennison the Third is Naomi’s ex fiance, a rich, controlling man who treated her as staff and later turns up at the bar. He represents the life she left behind.
The real threat is Duncan Hugo, Tina’s boyfriend. He is the son of a D.C. crime boss, plays dumb on purpose and carries a gun he waves around. He goes by the name Flint at first. He is the engine of the thriller plot.
Who Is Your Favorite
Tell me in the comments: who is your favorite character, and did you also keep mixing up Waylon and Waylay? Thanks for watching, and subscribe for more book breakdowns.
