Like many suspense/thriller novelists, Deaver uses multiple points of view to lead the reader through the Great Dismal Swamp with each group of characters: Rich Culbeau and his gang of rednecks seeking the reward offered by Mary Beth's mother; Mason Germain, who is desperate to find Garrett in order to advance his career; and Lucy Kerr, Jesse Corn, and the other deputies.

Through this technique, the differing motives the many characters who are searching for Mary Beth and Garrett are revealed.

As the novel progresses it becomes clear that Garrett has become a scapegoat for the town. Deaver uses the trope of the scapegoat to show all that is wrong in the town, and how the inhabitants of Tanner's Corner pin blame for all the wrongs on the boy. A community can use a scapegoat as a receptacle for fears and guilt; the scapegoat is then destroyed...