Mystery

Mystery is a major, dominant, and overarching theme of the novel Pines by Blake Crouch. Mystery includes that which is unknown or cannot readily be discerned. There are three major mysteries which figure predominantly into the novel, all of them revolving around Ethan Burke’s existence in Wayward Pines.

The first major mystery in “Pines” involves Ethan’s presence at all in the town. He is there to attempt to figure out what happened to agents Bill Evans and Kate Hewson, missing for ten days. This is Ethan’s primary objective in town, but he seems stymied at every effort by Sheriff Pope and the people of the town. This mystery ultimately feeds directly into another –that of timing. While Ethan believes he has been in Wayward Pines for a couple of days, scenes involving his wife, Theresa, reveals that Ethan has been missing for fifteen...