Keeping Characters Straight

I’m reading Elizabeth George’s “Just One Evil Act” (719 pages). Readers have many characters to keep track of and though I’m reading it in snatches, I’m having no trouble remembering who they are because the author describes them so uniquely. Fans are familiar with Inspector Lynley, a member of Britain’s upper-class. His sidekick, Barbara Havers chops off her hair, wears a mushy green peas-colored robe, and red trainers; an English tabloid reporter dresses like a cowboy; Superintendent Ardrey has a Pilates-maintained bum. An Italian policeman loves plants—his boss has facial warts. These characters breathe under the pen of a master storyteller.