The sheriff in nearby Santa Mira, Bryce Hammond is an attractive thirty-nine-year-old whose appearance sometimes makes others think that he is not as smart as he seems. Despite this, Hammond is an extremely intelligent man, one who can lull a suspect into a false sense of security before they realize they have been effectively trapped.
Hammond also suffers from tragedies in his life, similar to Jennifer Paige. Hammond's wife had been killed instantly in a car accident. The same accident has left Hammond's young son in a coma for over a year. Though the horrifying tragedy had caused Bryce to shut down emotionally for some time, he is beginning to come back into himself at the beginning of the novel.