Pamela Schumacher

Pamela Schumacher is one of the main characters and first person narrators of the novel. In 2021, 43 years have passed since Pamela’s “brush with the man even the most reputable papers called the All-American Sex Killer” (1). Although The Defendant has since been arrested, convicted, and given the death sentence, Pamela’s name remains “a footnote in the story” (1). She also lacks resolution to the events surrounding The Defendant’s crimes in the 1970s. When Pamela receives a letter from Dr. Linda Donnelly, a woman she knew in college, regarding a potential lead in the case, Pamela decides to go in search of more answers.

In 1978, Pamela is attending Florida State University. She is the chapter president of her sorority house, referred to simply as The House throughout the novel. Pamela likes the role, and has established herself as the rule-abiding, demure, and orderly woman she thinks her...