Keep It in the Family

This chapter shifts to Finn’s perspective as Mia attempts to confide in him. She presents him with evidence that Dave has a suspicious connection to one of the murdered girls. Like Dave, Finn downplays her concerns. As he gaslights her and attempts to intimidate her into dropping her investigation, Finn tells himself that Mia is too good for him. Secretly, he thinks that he would rather trick Mia into believing herself to be mentally unstable than to encourage her to seek therapy. He worries that therapy will cause her to realize that he is a substandard husband. He also implies that he is already having an affair because he expects Mia to leave him and wants a back-up girlfriend just in case.

The narrative switches to Mia’s perspective as she meets with the detective investigating their case. Mia notices that the detective’s presence prompts everyone to be “on their best behavior” (145) and finds herself attracted to him. When the detective departs, the family is left with more questions than answers, and Mia decides that she will need to investigate on her own if she wants real answers.

This chapter travels 36 years into the past and reveals the serial killer’s origin story. They reflect that when they were a child, their parents used them and their older brother George to find children to murder. Their loyalty to their parents remained even as their parents’ abuse escalated. Although the narrator was afraid of their parents, George began to get angry and fantasized about joining the army to escape. Each time George whispered his fantasies to his sibling, the narrator asked what would happen to them once George left. George never answered this question, leading the narrator to believe that, without George’s protection, they would be abandoned and likely murdered by their parents.

The narrator eventually escapes their parents, and their grandparents help them to get married at the age of 16. As the narrator stands with their future spouse at the altar, they recognize that they are developing violent cravings that they dread to share with anyone. Looking into the eyes of their partner, the narrator hopes that love and a normal family will be enough to quench their burgeoning desire to kill.

The narrative returns to the present as Mia secretly investigates Dave and Debbie’s home office, which is located in their garage. Sneakily sifting through boxes, Mia finds Dave’s report cards from elementary school, along with class projects that he worked on as a child. Something about the projects prompts Mia to examine them more closely, and she recognizes Dave’s childish handwriting from the message, “I WILL SAVE THEM FROM THE ATTIC” (36).

Mia attempts to share her discoveries with Finn, but he shuts her down. Even when Mia confronts him with photographic evidence proving that the handwriting is the same, Finn insists that she is jumping to conclusions about Dave. Mia counters that Dave must have grown up in that house and therefore must have known that children were being murdered in the attic. Finn refuses to listen and accuses her of being obsessed with everything but their baby.

Debbie confronts Mia and accuses her of neglecting Sonny. Mia realizes that Finn has been venting about her to his mother. The context of Debbie’s accusations reveal that Finn told Debbie about Mia’s search of the garage, and Finn clearly also agrees with Debbie’s assumption that Mia is an unfit mother. Mia argues that the evidence against Dave is suspicious, but Debbie has an explanation for every point Mia raises. Although Debbie’s excuses are plausible, Mia is gripped by the sensation that something is very wrong. Their standoff culminates in an ultimatum: Debbie offers to buy Mia a new house and pay for her to return to London with the caveat that Mia must relinquish full custody of Sonny and never see him again.

The narrative returns to the serial killer’s perspective, almost 40 years prior to the discovery in the attic. This vignette explores the narrator’s experience of escaping from their parents after a tragic altercation with George revealed the full horror of their parents’ crimes. After stumbling across a video tape of their parents strangling a little boy, 13-year-old George attacked their parents and encouraged the narrator to run into the village for help. However, the much-younger narrator was paralyzed with fear and unable to move. Their parents soon regained control and dragged George away to the attic. The next morning, George was gone, and the narrator saw their father burning George’s clothes in a bonfire. The narrator is heartbroken by the belief that George has been murdered.

This interlude between Chapters 38 and 39 is stylized as a clipping from a local newspaper, with the headline “‘BABES IN ATTIC’ HUSBAND IS A SECRET LOVE CHEAT” 171). The article announces that “Finn Hunter, 30, has been spending cosy nights with his ex-girlfriend behind his wife Mia’s back—and they have a daughter together” (171).

The narrative shifts to Finn’s perspective and is comprised of a single word: “Fuck” (173). This chapter reflects his reaction to the newspaper’s discovery of his secret.

The narrative shifts to Mia’s perspective as she grapples with the aftermath of Finn’s six-year affair with his ex-girlfriend, Emma. Mia is unable to eat or sleep and feels as if she is operating on autopilot. She discovers that while she was struggling with infertility and undergoing painful IVF treatments, Finn already had a child with Emma. Debbie overhears their argument, and Mia learns that Finn has been lying to Debbie too. Although Debbie always approved of Finn and Emma’s relationship, she had no idea about the affair.

When Mia realizes that Finn has lied to her and her mother-in-law, part of her wants to empathize with Debbie’s obvious pain, but after Debbie’s attempt to “buy her out of marriage and parenthood” (174), Mia’s rage toward Debbie is so all-consuming that she has little room left for any other emotion. As Mia considers the cool, transactional nature of Debbie’s ultimatum and Finn’s years of lies, she wonders what sort of family she has married into.

Dave vomits blood in the bathroom. The pain in his stomach is intensifying, and he has run out of his illegal pain pills. He fears that he will soon die of stomach cancer. Gripped by agony and reflecting on his own impending death, Dave tries to comfort himself with the reassurance that he has done everything in his power to protect his family. However, he still feels conflicted and wishes that he had a better relationship with Mia so that he could apologize for Finn’s behavior. Dave wonders if Finn had an affair because Dave somehow failed him as a father. He also pities Debbie, who is visibly heartbroken by the revelation that Finn is an adulterer and a liar. Dave longs to apologize to both women but acknowledges that he cannot because he was the anonymous source for the newspaper.

Privately, Dave reflects on the fact that he has known about the affair for years—ever since he accidentally stumbled upon Finn and Emma together. Although he would have liked to keep the secret and spare his family, Dave feels that Mia forced his hand by snooping in the garage. In an attempt to distract Mia and prevent her from uncovering the Hunter family’s secrets, Dave called the paper’s photographers and presented them with the perfect opportunity to catch Finn and Emma in the act.

The narrative shifts to Finn’s perspective. He does not attempt to explain his behavior, but he admits that he would have kept the secret as long as possible. He reflects that Mia is the real victim in this situation and that his behavior was wrong. However, he also does not know how to repair their relationship and does not try to find a solution.