Point of View

The novel is narrated in third-person past by a narrator who focuses on Margot and Krissy in separate chapters for the majority of the novel. In the epilogue, however, Billy is the focal character. All of Margot’s chapters are set in 2019. The majority of Krissy’s chapters are set in 1994, though the last two are set in 2009. Billy’s epilogue is set entirely in 1994.

The narrative divide is able to create a grand, sweeping story that cuts across 25 years of time in order to tell a horrific and interconnected tale of tragedy that spans generations. Krissy’s chapters begin on the morning January is murdered and move forward in time through the long, excruciating day. The day goes on until Chapter 14, when Krissy and her remaining family are taken to a hotel and left alone. At the end of this chapter, the narrator reveals...