“Numbers affect the way people see you.”

Shay is a market researcher by trade, but her interest in numbers, data, and statistics runs much deeper. She has always been interested in the data surrounding people because, even as a young person, she understood that these numbers are important. People are judged based on their height and weight, but also on their grades, the goals that they score in their sports of choice, and a whole host of other data points. Her interest in data foreshadows how her research skills will prove crucially important later in the novel.

“Jane rushes into Cassandra’s office. It is a busy morning at Moore Public Relations, their boutique firm on Sullivan Street.”

Jane and Cassandra run their firm with an assertive competence and a keen attention to detail. Their specialization in “public relations” hints at The Dangers of Manipulation and Revenge that they represent: Just as PR is about crafting certain narratives to gain advantages, so too do Jane and Cassandra use manipulation and deceit in their own vengeance schemes.

“Logically, I know that I’m not going to see another suicide, but the one that I did see keeps replaying in my mind.”

Shay is a numbers person, and she tries to comfort herself by focusing on the fact that it is statistically unlikely that she will witness a second death by suicide. Still, the event haunts her, and she struggles to manage her feelings of sadness and anxiety. Her deteriorating emotional state leaves her more vulnerable than ever to manipulation, exacerbating her