Conciliator explores a range of diverse themes aside from crime, including music, theology, carpentry, race relations, Trump-era politics, fatherhood, family dynamics, and child abuse. Its unique characters include Nate's estranged father, Pastor Tim, whose sanctimoniousness is revealed to hide a dark past; Nate's new tenant, Melinda Shover, whose superb singing is a "melodic gift sent down by God's angels," according to her venerable piano accompanist at church; Melinda's fifteen-year-old son, Jacob (Alias Jamal), who Nate first describes as "looking the part of a wild savage in the flickering blaze" of the garage fire; and Melinda's eleven-year-old irrepressible daughter, Alexa-Jean (Ali for short), whose piano playing Nate mistakes at first hearing for a professional recording.