Love in the Time of Serial Killers

“His voice had been deep, with a rasp almost, but I couldn’t write that. If my body were found in the woods behind the house, and investigators were competent enough to do a forensic investigation of my notebook, I wouldn’t want editorializing words complicating the narrative. With words like compelling or, god forbid, sexy.”

Phoebe’s interest in serial killers borders on obsession, so after she meets Sam, she leaves “clues” for theoretical investigators to find. If she could think clearly for a moment, however, she might be able to admit that she finds Sam attractive. This formula, distracting herself from feelings by obsessing over serial killers, becomes a key aspect of Phoebe’s characterization as the novel progresses.

“I’d been quoting Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Trust my brother to answer with a reference to one of our favorite Simpsons episodes from when we were kids.”

Phoebe notes early in the novel that she and her brother aren’t close. This is partly due to the fact that after their parents divorced, Phoebe moved away with her mother, while Conner stayed with their father. However, their personalities have significant differences too. Phoebe characterizes herself as serious and cynical, while Conner is affable and happy-go-lucky. That she would reference literature and he would mention a comedic cartoon show, she thinks, exemplifies the differences between them.

“I don’t know what to say now any more than I did then: we weren’t that close.”

When Sam offers Phoebe condolences about the loss of her father, she’s momentarily unsure how to respond. She has felt this way each time someone she knows brings up her father’s death: Their relationship was fractured, and since she and her mother moved out, he wasn’t present in her life. The difficulty Phoebe encounters while trying to process her father’s death is a key aspect of her