The protagonist of the story, Dink Duncan is the reason Wallis Wallace comes to Green Lawn in the first place. A serious and thoughtful boy, Dink has read all the Wallis Wallace books he can and wants to be a famous writer himself one day. Dink’s letter from Wallis Wallace makes him suspicious when the author doesn’t show up. The Absent Author centers on Dink’s perspective as he navigates the mystery. He feels responsible for the author’s disappearance and uses the skills he’s learned from his favorite mystery books to collect clues related to the case, demonstrating The Value of Reading. Dink is central to the mystery and plays a lead role in retracing Wallis Wallace’s steps and keeping the investigation on track.

Dink Duncan’s best friend is Josh Pinto. He’s loyal, brave, and a bit mischievous. He wants to be an artist one day. Josh is the only member of the mystery team who has not read any of Wallis Wallace’s books. This lack of familiarity with the mystery genre shows in his unfocused approach to the case: Josh is the most suspicious of the three friends and makes accusations against nearly everyone the team comes into contact with.