“The prestigious streets still held secrets of the horror. The missing-person flyers were tacked into the Canary Island palms, their colors faded from the elements, the edges of them curled from rain and wind.”

This passage sets the scene and the tone for the novel—that of a psychological crime thriller. The juxtaposition between a “prestigious” neighborhood and a missing person investigation creates a stark contrast between the realms of respectability and potential violence. However, the novel’s murder mystery plot is subverted when the missing person arrives home, for the mystery is ostensibly solved from the start of the novel, allowing the author to explore a new web of plot developments that further challenge the conventions of the genre.

“John—who always arrived five minutes early for our appointments, in pressed clothes and meticulous shape, who wrote my checks in painfully neat block writing—sounded as if he was falling apart.”

This passage is an early clue pointing to John’s identity as the Bloody Heart Killer, for Gwen’s profile of the as-yet-undiscovered killer mirrors her impressions of her client. The description of John as neat, meticulous, and punctual makes the fact that he is “falling apart” all the more significant and emphasizes Gwen’s concern when he leaves his frantic voicemail.

“Obsession, as I frequently told my clients, never affected outside situations. They only made your internal struggles—and resulting personal actions and decisions—worse.”

Gwen’s point of view is littered with psychological talk and advice—this passage is one example of how she tries to use the same advice that she gives to her clients and apply it to her own life. The passage also serves as a glimpse into her