Who Are The Main Characters In Dead Fake?

If you just want the core cast from 'Dead Fake', here’s how I’d boil it down: Ava Wilson is the protagonist — a teen trying to escape her family’s violent legacy while investigating the creepy 'Swipe to Die' phenomenon. Kash Ellison is her friend and the school-paper kid who pulls the story into motion and provides a potential love-interest angle. Willow is Ava’s loyal best friend, and Mason is another close friend and neighbor who’s part of Ava’s inner circle. Uncle Miles (Ava’s uncle) is an off-stage but central figure whose past murders shape the town’s perception of Ava and feed into the mystery. Those five are the names you’ll keep running into as the plot thickens; other supporting characters like Conor Abbot, Principal Whitlock, and various classmates add texture, but Ava, Kash, Willow, Mason, and Miles are the main players driving the book forward.

Totally hooked by 'Dead Fake' — the cast really makes the whole creepy small-town vibe click for me. At the center is Ava Wilson, a sixteen-year-old who’s trying to live past the shadow of her uncle’s brutal crimes while she juggles school, friends, and the dark mystery of a viral site called 'Swipe to Die'. Ava is absolutely the main character: smart, stubborn, and driven to figure out whether those AI deepfake death-videos are just sick pranks or the prelude to real murders. The book opens with Ava’s voice and memory of Uncle Miles, so his presence (as a past murderer whose legacy haunts the town) feels like a character in its own right. Beyond Ava, there’s a tight-knit circle that drives most of the plot. Kash (Kash Ellison) is her fellow school-paper person and early romantic interest — he’s the one who first brings the 'Swipe to Die' buzz to her attention and anchors some of the investigative scenes. Willow is Ava’s best friend who provides emotional support (and some comic relief), while Mason is another close friend and neighbor who’s part of Ava’s core crew. Willow’s boyfriend Conor Abbot gets a nod as part of those teen relationship subplots, and Principal Whitlock and a handful of classmates (Zoe Whaite, Mark Prentice) round out the school-side cast. Uncle Miles, while not present in the immediate timeline, is crucial to the story’s stakes and to Ava’s motives. Those are the characters you’ll meet most: Ava, Kash, Willow, Mason, and the looming figure of Miles, with a few supporting players who make the town feel alive. Reading it, I kept picturing the small scenes at the school paper office and the hallway where everyone gathers around the QR code — it’s the relationships between Ava and her friends that make the mystery land for me. If you want the quick lineup: Ava Wilson (lead), Kash Ellison (friend/crush and reporter), Willow (best friend), Mason (close friend/neighbor), and Uncle Miles (the past killer whose legacy propels the plot). That mix of personal history and present danger is what made me keep turning pages.