he has military training and quickly becomes an effective killer. Esther Benjamin – Paul's wife; little is known about her except that she met Paul back in high school. She and her daughter are attacked in their apartment by three men, and Esther is beaten to death. Carol Benjamin Tobey – Paul and Esther's 23-year-old daughter and wife of lawyer Jack Tobey. After the beating from the muggers, her mental state deteriorates and the book ends with her being institutionalized. Jack Tobey – Paul's son-in-law who works as a defense attorney. In contrast to his father-in-law, Jack is pragmatic, arguing against vigilantism and trying to convince Paul that he should just find a way to live with Esther's death. Sam Kreutzer – Paul's best friend at work. Adele Kreutzer – Sam's wife. Henry Ives – Paul's boss, who sends him to Arizona. Bill Dundee – An accountant who works in Paul's office and often spouts right-wing views. George Eng – An Asian-American businessman and client of Paul's. John Childress – One of Paul's co-workers. Lieutenant Malcolm Briggs – The apathetic lead investigator on Esther and Carol's case. Inspector Frank Ochoa – The detective who leads the investigation into Paul's activities as the "vigilante" Officer Joe Charles – A patrolman who informs Paul of Esther's murder. Ira Nermserman – One of Paul's clients. Thomas Leroy Marston – A heroin junkie and the first criminal Paul murders as the vigilante. Ames Jainchill – A client of Paul's doing business with George Eng. Shirley Mackenzie – A woman Paul has a one-night stand with in Tucson. Film adaptations A feature film based on the novel was made in 1974, starring Charles Bronson in the lead role as Paul Benjamin (the surname being changed to Kersey and profession being an architect) and directed by Michael Winner. A remake, starring Bruce Willis in the lead role (also named "Kersey" and profession being changed to surgeon) and directed by Eli Roth, was released in 2018. 1975 sequel novel Garfield was so disappointed in the 1974 film adaption that he was inspired to write the book sequel Death Sentence the following year. References 1972 American novels American thriller novels American novels adapted into films Novels set in New York City Death Wish (franchise)