Point of View

Horowitz employs two different styles of narration in this novel. The frame story, the Moonflower Murders portions, are narrated from the first-person point of view of Susan. Consider one of the first sentences of this novel: “You have no idea how long it took me to write that. I was worried about so many adjectives bunching up together” (1). Susan refers to herself as “me” and “I” (1). She refers to the reader as “You” (1) though this is one of the few references to the reader in this way. Susan’s first-person narration gives the reader insight into her thoughts, feelings, and emotions as she not only investigates Frank’s murder and Cecily’s disappearance but also as she considers her own position in life. Even though Horowitz could have presented Susan’s portions of the novel from a third-person point of view, the story would have...