Keep It in the Family

“Like those before him, he holds on to the hope of a miracle. He doesn’t realise that, to them, he is not human. He is an everyday, ten-a-penny object. And it doesn’t really matter how carelessly you treat an everyday object, because if it breaks, it is easily replaced. That’s what will happen to him. It might take them weeks or months, but eventually, another one just like him will come along. One always does.”

This quote comes from Debbie’s early observation about a young boy murdered by her parents. Alternately empathizing with his humanity and referring to him as an object, the young Debbie reveals her distorted perspective, and the detached and callous nature of her thoughts foreshadows the fact that she will grow up to follow in her parents’ footsteps.

“No one under this roof believes in compassion. Empathy is an alien emotion here.”

Young Debbie’s cold assessment of the harsh emotional climate in her childhood home establishes the tone of the novel and hints at the serial killer she will one day become. This quote comes from a longer passage in which Debbie dehumanizes her parents’ victims and mocks them for expecting compassion.

“I swear there’s a part of her that shrivels up like a slug doused in salt each time she is reminded that Finn married me. But only I ever pick up on it.”

This quote marks the first hint of the simmering conflict between Mia and Debbie, and the passage also highlights the fact that Mia is the only character who initially notices something “off” about Debbie. Although Mia would like to have a loving relationship with her mother-in-law, Debbie consistently makes Mia feel unwelcome in subtle but deliberate ways that are designed to evade Finn and Dave’s observations. As later chapters of the novel will prove, Finn and Dave’s long association with Debbie have also predisposed them to normalize even the darkest aspects of her behavior.

“Mia isn’t always the easiest girl to please. He calls her ambitious and opinionated, but I’d describe her as pushy and always wanting something she doesn’t have.”

This comment from Dave’s point of view highlights the contrast between father and son’s perceptions of Mia. Whereas Finn sees Mia’s positive qualities, Dave interprets those same qualities in a negative light, hinting that he disapproves of his daughter-in-law. These nascent tensions will escalate considerably as the novel progresses.

“I know that I wear a different, tougher skin now to the one I was born into, but scratch beneath the surface and below I am that same, frightened child.”

Debbie’s first reflection on the similarities between her past and present selves occurs as she gazes at the house that Finn and Mia are renovating. Feeling both drawn to and repulsed by her childhood home, Debbie is forced to acknowledge its lifelong impact on her identity.

“Even though I haven’t set foot under that roof for decades, I am forever part of its fabric. I’m the mortar that binds the bricks together, the pipes linking each tap, the wooden beams that hold up the roof. I have never truly been able to escape it. I am it and it is me. Good or bad, it has made me the person I am today.”

The full implications of this quote from the initially unidentified serial killer can only be appreciated once the killer is revealed to be Debbie. This passage highlights Debbie’s connection to her childhood home and her belief that the house is integral to her identity. Just as Debbie feels unable to escape herself and her murderous compulsions, she also feels unable to disconnect from the house where her trauma occurred.

“I’m so scared that if I allow myself to completely fall in love with Sonny, I’ll make another careless mistake and something even more terrible will happen to him.”

Mia’s intrusive thoughts illustrate the guilt that she is battling as a new mother. This passage also explains why Mia is afraid to touch or engage with Sonny. Although her behavior appears neglectful, Mia believes that she is putting her son’s safety first by protecting him from harm—even accidental harm that she might cause herself.

“The need to deliver the worthy into a better world is like having rats under my skin. They claw at my insides and tear at my flesh until they break through the surface.”

The tone of longing and desperation in this passage illustrates Debbie’s intensifying compulsion to kill. Shortly after convincing herself that she can satisfy herself by killing only one child a year, Debbie acknowledges the physical effects of her attempt at self-restraint, and her emotional agitation in this passage indicates that she will not be able to resist her murderous urges for long.

“I am not like them yet I am them. I kill as they killed but not for the same reason. I kill to save others, not punish them. I walk my own path yet I am always aware of the outlines of my parents’ footsteps before me. Killing is as natural to me as walking or blinking. It’s like bursting a blister or taking a tablet for a headache.”

This passage illustrates Debbie’s attempt to distance herself from her parents while acknowledging the similarities between them. Although Debbie does not want to admit that she, like her parents, is a serial killer, she cannot avoid the parallels and struggles to stretch her self-deception to justify these similarities. It is also significant that she compares killing to mundane acts that are meant to cure minor ailments; this imagery suggests that she sees murder as a remedy.

“If George and I had been on a register that people had paid attention to, then things might have turned out very differently for us.”

This passage comes from one of Debbie’s past reflections as she murders a little girl whose father has an addiction to drugs. Looking at the squalid state of the child’s home, Debbie assumes that Social Services must have a record of this child, and this thought triggers her outrage over the injustices and neglect of her own childhood. This quote illustrates Debbie’s latent anger at the world and the Social Services system in particular; at the core, she blames everyone who failed to save her and George from their parents.

“We’re only ever our true selves when we think we are alone.”

This quote from Dave’s perspective explores the nuances of identity and self-awareness, suggesting that individuals often reveal their authentic selves when they believe they are not being observed or judged by others. Although this statement is initially presented as a harmless insight into human nature, it also foreshadows the fact that Finn, Dave, and Debbie are not as wholesome as they seem to be.

“Maybe that’s why she’s not the only girl in my life: subconsciously I keep a spare as I don’t want to be left on my own.”

This reflection from Finn’s perspective occurs shortly before his affair with Emma comes to light. The fact that Finn is married to Mia and casually references the concept of having a “spare girl” in his life raises the possibility that Finn is unfaithful to Mia.

“Fuck.”

This single word is the entire content of Chapter 39. Whereas Mia, Dave, and Debbie experience a wide range of emotions and personal reflections in the aftermath of Finn’s affair with Emma, this one-word chapter highlights a quirky stylistic choice and illustrates the decidedly one-dimensional nature of Finn’s emotions.

“I’ve had months to come to terms with it but I have no intention of telling Debbie that I’m slowly dying before her. She has enough on her plate without adding me to her list of worries. I can’t watch as her heart breaks.”

Initially, this quote from Dave appears to encapsulate a profound sense of selflessness and sacrifice, revealing his desire to shield Debbie from additional pain and anguish. However, the line also hints at Dave’s cowardice, implying that he hides the truth to preserve his own feelings rather than to protect Debbie. Rather than enduring the awkwardness of watching Debbie grieve for him, Dave denies his wife valuable information about his health.

“But Finn has a relationship with his daughter and will do for the rest of his life, and it’d be cruel of me to come between them just because I’m jealous.”

This quote occurs a few days after Mia becomes aware of Finn’s affair with Emma and the fact that they have a child together. Although Mia is wounded by Finn’s infidelity, this quote highlights her emotional maturity. Rather than punishing a child for her connection to Finn, Mia chooses to push past her own feelings, become the bigger person, and prioritize the best interests of Finn’s daughter.

“But I’m not sure I could do any better the second time around. We are who we are destined to be. No matter what decision I made or path I took, I’d have ended up here in this moment.”

This portion of Dave’s pre-suicide monologue to Mia illustrates his cowardice. Although Dave perceives himself as a protector who defends Debbie’s secrets, this statement indicates a defeatist mentality that reflects his attempt to absolve himself of any measure of responsibility for her actions. If Dave can convince himself that his path was predetermined, he will not have to take responsibility for his life choices, and he finds this self-deceptive thought to be liberating.

“‘You’d take me out of school to join you on your trips,’ he continues. ‘You taught me which children to choose, how to approach them, what to say, how to lure them back to the car…I was eight years old when I helped you to abduct that girl in Leicester. Eight years old. What kind of mum encourages their child to do that, Debbie?’”

Finn’s rant to Debbie in the psychiatric hospital highlights the pain of his childhood and the depths of Debbie’s self-deception. Although Debbie believes that she is better than her parents, Finn’s outraged recitation of her crimes makes it clear that he feels victimized.

“Debbie was every bit as delicate now as she was then. And I vowed never to let this beautiful soul down again, like so many others—including me—had done before.”

George’s misguided assessment of Debbie highlights the common misconception that Debbie is a victim. Because Debbie is a skilled manipulator, she has fooled George into believing that she is fragile and in need of protection, and her ruse has devastating consequences.

“By admitting guilt, she was ensuring the finger of suspicion never pointed towards Finn. She would rather suffer than watch her son do the same. Debbie was the true definition of what it meant to be a parent.”

This statement from George indicates the depths of Debbie’s manipulation. By implying that Finn assisted Dave in murdering children—and later abused Sonny himself—Debbie presents her own incarceration as a willing sacrifice to protect her son from legal consequences. George not only believes her; he also views Debbie as a paragon of motherhood.

“‘Can you open them, Daddy?’ asks Sonny, pointing to three cases at the end of the aisle, separate from the others. […] Inside are four human skulls that belong to the owners of several houses Debbie’s parents moved into and killed. Every time I bring him here and show him them, he’s as fascinated as if it’s his first time.”

This is the first moment when Finn admits to himself that he is recreating Debbie’s macabre patterns with his own son. The implication that Finn has been secretly murdering people—and showing his young son their skulls—pales in comparison to the insinuation that this is a ritual that he and Sonny proudly share.

“‘And what do we do to naughty people?’

‘We punish them!’”

This exchange between Finn and Sonny shows that Finn is actively conditioning his son to embrace violent values and pursue a murderous life path for himself. Although Finn frames the concept in simplistic terms that a child can understand, he is encouraging Sonny to be proud of his father’s murders and to justify “punishing” people by taking their lives.

“I was only a few years older than him when I became fascinated by the different shapes, sizes and textures of all twelve skulls in this and another suitcase. I’d found them by chance hidden in boxes in my parents’ garage. But when I asked Debbie who they belonged to, she didn’t lie to me like I’ve just lied to Sonny by telling him they belonged to bad people. She told me straight but warned me not to tell anyone else, not my friends, my teachers or Dave.”

This passage from Finn’s internal monologue highlights the perceived differences between himself and Debbie even as Finn repeats her toxic patterns with Sonny. The nostalgic tone of the quote suggests that Finn thinks fondly of his time playing with murder victims’ skulls. However, he misses the irony in the fact that he is criticizing Debbie for allowing him to do the same thing that he encourages Sonny to do.

“I promise I won’t involve him in what I do like Debbie did with me. Not until he’s much older than he is now. Not until he is ready.”

The first line of this statement from Finn suggests a degree of self-awareness and raises a false hope that he may not be quite as self-deluded as his mother, but the second and third statements quickly dash this hope entirely. Although Finn resolves to protect Sonny’s innocence, the last line makes it clear that, no matter what, Sonny will always be involved in his father’s compulsions.