The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 5 books · 1955 to 1991 · Set in the fictional Villeperce, France

Patricia Highsmith

Tom Ripley, charming, amoral and always getting away with it, kills his way into the life of Dickie Greenleaf and then into a comfortable existence at Belle Ombre, his house near Fontainebleau, across five novels.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Patricia Highsmith books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Tom Ripley

5 books · Set in the fictional Villeperce, FrancePsychological suspense
  1. 1The Talented Mr. Ripley1955With Tom RipleyBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Ripley Under Ground1970With Tom RipleyBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Ripley’s Game1974With Tom Ripley and Jonathan TrevannyBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Boy Who Followed Ripley1980With Tom RipleyBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Ripley Under Water1991With Tom RipleyBuy on Amazon

Characters

12 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Ripley’s world