The Good Lie

“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 voice and her personality, which reflects an analytical and rational mindset. 

“‘I appreciate the advice.’ I forced a smile. ‘But they aren't sickos. They're normal people, Detective. Some people struggle with depression; others struggle with violent urges. If my clients didn't care about protecting others, they wouldn't be in my office.’”

This passage explains Gwen’s philosophy in her work and shows her insistence upon showing empathy toward her clients despite their violent nature. She feels a deep sense of duty to protect their privacy and their confessions, despite being aware of the risks to her personal safety whenever she interacts with such individuals. Relating her patients’ struggle with violent urges to something as relatively common as depression showcases her determination to normalize these thoughts and to recontextualize them as problems to be solved rather than character flaws to be condemned.

“Oh, bless John and his heart medication to the rescue. Honestly, it's the nicest people you have to worry the most about […] Part of the game, for many killers, is the con of the innocent, the hiding of the monster, the successful deception that proves to them that they are smarter and therefore superior.”

Here, Gwen’s empathy for her patients gives way to suspicion as she reflects on the deceptive nature of killers. Because she is certain that John has killed his wife, watching others grieve his death, entirely unaware of his true nature, deeply irks her. The use of the word “monster” is a distinct contrast from the more understanding approach that she takes with Detective Saxe, and the scene demonstrates that even her empathy has limits, for she does not attempt to explain away or justify her clients’ behavior.

“Justification. The problem with the initials after my name was that I could smell my own bullshit.”

Gwen’s training as a psychologist influences her thoughts and her approach to life. She is constantly psychoanalyzing the people around her in addition to her own thoughts and feelings. In many ways, her analytical approach devolves into negative self-talk and punishing internal recriminations, as is evident in the bitter tone of this passage.

“I warmed at the knowledge that he had been watching me, then immediately reminded myself of why I was there. Punishment. Atonement. Two people were dead on my watch.”

This quote encapsulates Gwen’s relationship to the theme of Coping With Guilt and Grief. Rather than processing her feelings and moving through them, she clings to her feelings of guilt and seeks to punish herself for her perceived failure. Her negative outlook highlights the fact that although she may have many insights into her clients’ tendencies, she fails to treat herself with the same sense of empathy and kindness that she extends to the people she endeavors to help.

“The bed sank as he joined me on it, and I reached for him, greedy for the warmth of his skin and the reconnection of our kiss. The heat of our bodies joined, and it was exactly what I needed—a living connection in a day filled with death.”

This moment of romantic and sexual connection is, as Gwen herself says, a marked contrast within a story that is laced with darker themes of death and deception. Torre’s background as a contemporary romance author is on display here as she provides an evocative description of Gwen and Robert’s sexual chemistry.

“He wanted to know those stories, wanted to unlock the brilliant and sexy woman who had crawled on top of him in the back seat of the cab with an infectious laugh that had contrasted with her professional exterior.”

Robert’s point of view is sparsely represented throughout the novel, but in this quote, the author provides essential details about the primary protagonist, Gwen. Gwen’s attraction to Robert has already been made plain in her point of view, and in this passage, Torre makes it clear that the attraction is mutual. This information is important to note as the plot unfolds, for Robert’s interactions with Gwen vacillate wildly between cold and businesslike and personal and romantic.

“I've always held an ugly hypothesis about marriage—that at some point, one spouse secretly wishes the other would die. […] For most people, it's fleeting. For some—like John—it was a splinter. A deep splinter that broke off under the skin, the sort that was almost impossible to remove […], so it festered. […] It killed and ate away at surrounding healthy tissue […] and dominated every thought and action until it controlled an entire life.”

Here, Gwen discusses what she sees as a common but uncomfortable truth about marriage. To illustrate the lingering and poisonous nature of unresolved anger and resentment, Torre uses the metaphor of a splinter trapped beneath the skin to convey the image that even a small issue can grow into something deeply unhealthy and ultimately fatal.

“Losing a child was like losing a limb. You were reminded of it every time you moved, until the consistent adjustments to life became a permanent part of you.”

Gwen reflects on the unique grief of losing a child in this passage, using another metaphor to convey the concept. She compares losing a child to losing a limb, employing this evocative description to explain that the grief of losing a child never goes away. Thus, this quote speaks to the theme of Coping With Guilt and Grief and stresses the fact that certain forms of grief may fade but will never disappear entirely.

“It was interesting, the way he delivered questions, as if every one was accusatory. A by-product of thousands of hours on the stand or—and just as likely—a deep-rooted inclination to suspect the worst in people.”

Gwen’s observation provides additional insight into Robert’s demeanor and character, but it also points to Gwen’s inclination to psychoanalyze most people she interacts with, even in her personal dealings. In this scene, her musings suggest that she is especially fascinated by Robert despite the professional aspects of their relationship. The scene also stands as an example of how Torre uses characters’ professions to inform their personalities, their speech patterns, and their interactions.

“‘I don’t see them as vile,’ I answered truthfully. ‘I see them as human. We all battle demons. If they’re in my office, it’s because they’re trying to fix that part of them. I can relate to that. Can you?’”

Here, Gwen emphasizes the empathy she has for her patients by directly relating to them and challenging Robert to do the same. She recognizes their desire to improve themselves and to work on their violent urges. By using the pronoun “we,” she places herself and Robert in the same category as these individuals.

“‘My son's life was at stake. I will spend every day I am breathing on this earth to make sure that anyone who could have prevented or who caused his death answers for what they did.’ He glowered at me with a look so hateful, I took a step back.”

Robert’s “hateful” look in this moment is a subtle glimpse into his true motivation, for he knows that Gwen is aware of John’s true nature, and he wants her to acknowledge her indirect role in Gabe’s death. Thus, this scene serves as a moment of foreshadowing, and it also emphasizes the theme of Due Process Versus Vigilante Justice, as Robert’s desire to seek justice for his son is the driving force behind his actions.

“We were a wrecked car, barreling down the highway without lights, our steering locked into place. I could put a seatbelt on. I could reach out and jab the hazard lights on. But I couldn't turn off the car, and I couldn't seem to open the door and fling myself out.”

Here, Torre uses the metaphor of a wrecked car to describe the messiness and the spiraling nature of the situation that Gwen finds herself in. Unable to fully control her course of action, she feels entangled in something dangerous and conflicting.

“If he was right, then this killer was still out there. Laughing at us. Free, while Scott Harden ate up the press and Randall Thompson was locked away in solitary confinement. It was a sobering and terrifying thought, because he was correct about one thing—the cops weren't out looking right now. They were sitting back and congratulating themselves on a case well solved.”

While the killer’s identity remains unknown, this quote lends a sense of danger and suspense to the novel, and emphasizing the idea that the killer is still free while the police have stopped looking insinuates that he could strike again. However, this quote becomes ironic given the revelation that John Abbott was the real killer, for he is already dead and can no longer cause further harm.

“‘He has a temper, which he loses often.’ But it wasn't just that. There was premeditation behind his outbursts. […] ‘Yes,’ I amended. ‘He's violent.’”

In her empathy for her patients, Gwen sometimes downplays her patients’ dangerous behaviors. By seeking to understand the complexities of their thoughts and actions, she sometimes underestimates the risks that she faces in dealing with such individuals. This passage outlines her internal adjustments as she forces herself to reevaluate a patient’s behavior in terms of potential risk to others.

“Since then, [Luke] hadn't made any effort to contact me, which should have been reassuring, but it wasn't. Instead, the silence felt like the pregnant pause in a horror movie, right before the chain saw-wielding villain springs out.”

In this quotation, Torre invokes decades of cinematic tradition in a single sentence by taking an image straight from a classic horror film to heighten the narrative’s tension to the breaking point. In this moment, Gwen’s surroundings take on a decided presence in the paradoxical absence of communication from her volatile patient, and she feels genuine danger at the thought that he also has her wallet and keys. The “pregnant pause” evokes the quiet yet anxiety-filled moments before a predator strikes.

“And just like that, with those four cracked words, my anger deflated. He was allowed to play games. He was allowed to get dirty. Someone had stolen his son, raped him of his innocence, dry drowned him, then dropped his body in a drainage ditch behind a recycling plant. Who was I to be mad at him for something, anything, that he did in an attempt to catch his son's killer?”

This quote shows how the theme of Coping With Guilt and Grief is reflected in Gwen’s shifting outlook on Robert’s determination to engage in vigilante justice. Influenced by her background of empathizing with patients who have violent urges, Gwen believes that because of the brutal nature of Gabe’s death, Robert’s resulting guilt essentially justifies his willful conflation of justice and revenge.

“No, I thought. I will not be at your house at eight. I needed a desk between us. Papers and folders and staples and desk lamps. A receptionist in the background. Order applied to the chaos.”

In this quote, Gwen battles her attraction to Robert, given the professional boundaries that they are supposed to maintain as colleagues. She tries to resist going to his house, for doing so would signify a personal, more intimate connection. By contrast, the office symbolizes platonic, professional boundaries. Throughout the novel, Torre draws a clear distinction between these two spaces—home and the workplace—to show the delicate balance that Gwen and Robert are trying to maintain between their professional obligations and their personal feelings.

“Special? Something about the way Scott said it had unnerved Nita. There was gratitude in his voice, a spark of pride in his eyes. Even now, he placed his hand on his chest, almost as if to protect the wound.”

Here, Nita is trying to understand her son’s suspicious behavior in the days following his return home. This passage represents the first clear hint that in the aftermath of his captivity, Scott is dealing with irrational feelings of attachment to both the experience and his captors; the “spark of pride” suggests this.

“The reality of his life hit me. Past the expensive suits, the confidence, the courtroom record, was a man living alone with ghosts. Everyone he loved had been taken from him. Was it any wonder he had shown up at my home with flowers and stayed long enough to put together a puzzle?”

Devastated by the loss of his family, Robert carries deep psychological wounds and exemplifies the theme of Coping With Guilt and Grief. Although he is not open about his true feelings regarding his son’s death, Gwen realizes that Robert hides his pain behind his confident persona. In this scene, Torre draws attention to Robert’s vast collection of oddities and his expensive suits to amplify the inherent emptiness of his life, which is now absent of the people he loved.

“In response, he slowly placed the knife in between us, on my desk. He paused, then released his grip on it. An olive branch with a four-inch blade.”

When Robert places the knife between them, it symbolizes an end to the “game” of lies and deception between them. Because this moment occurs just before Robert confesses to killing John Abbott, the scene brings all the secrets into the open. By juxtaposing the conflicting images of an “olive branch” and a “four-inch blade,” the author emphasizes the inherent danger of the scene even as she indicates that there may yet be hope for reconciliation. Likewise, Robert’s choice to deliberately relax his grip on the knife indicates his willingness to forgive Gwen for the role he believes she played in Gabe’s death.

“It was clear from Detective Saxe's expression what he thought of my competency. Well, screw him. I had tried my best with the information I had been given. Yes, I'd kept things secret, in order to protect my career. But so had Robert. And probably, at some point, so had Detective Saxe. It was human nature to protect ourselves.”

Gwen makes a general statement about human nature to justify keeping secrets from the police. Before, her focus had been on protecting doctor-patient confidentiality, but now, she admits that she was partially motivated by a desire to protect her career and to preserve her professional reputation. By grouping Robert and Detective Saxe along with her, she attempts to self-soothe and justify her actions.