Never Lie

Adrienne is the other narrator in the book, taking the reader back to the past. Adrienne’s character speaks to many of the same themes as Tricia’s—such as the inversion of traditional gender roles. Adrienne is an independent woman who lives in a remote house alone, something that multiple people—her literary agent and the receptionist at the public health clinic—comment on early in the book. Adrienne expresses annoyance with the way people seem to see her as helpless out in the country on her own. However, when it serves her, she leans in to the damsel-in-distress role—especially with Luke. Adrienne describes how she manipulates Luke with the word “love”: “It’s a cheap trick. He told me he loved me, and I’m only saying it back now that I need something from him. I do love him, I really do, but the timing of my declaration is more than suspicious” (204). Later, when Adrienne fails to convince Luke to help her with EJ’s killing, she takes care of it on her own, proving that she does not need a white knight—and again throwing the stereotypical conceit of male protector and female in need of protecting on its head.

Adrienne’s character also speaks to another central theme, that of The Burden of Keeping Up Appearances. Adrienne is a renowned psychiatrist and seeks to preserve this image at all costs. Other characters label her as arrogant—such as Ethan, here: “What kind of arrogant, self-obsessed person would put a gigantic painting of herself over the fireplace?” (22). Adrienne has little capacity for self-critique. When someone criticizes her, even implicitly, Adrienne reacts in the extreme; for example, when she discerns that Paige does not respect her word, Adrienne fires her. Adrienne’s mindset is epitomized in this moment: “I am perfectly fine the way I am” (111). The only time Adrienne admits to a mistake is in her misdiagnosis of EJ: “Even though I never liked EJ, I always thought he was harmless. I am ashamed that even as a psychiatrist, I completely misdiagnosed him, which may have been the most costly mistake I have made in my career. But now I know the truth. The man is a psychopath” (243). The irony here is that Adrienne, Trisha, Ethan, and all the main characters besides Luke—the only character to arouse suspicion by authorities—are less than virtuous and fit the erroneous pop-culture understanding of psychopathy.

Adrienne’s need to preserve her self-image leads to her downfall. If she had come clean when EJ first showed her the videotape and gone to the police, she may have experienced some career downfall, but the results may not have been as disastrous as she anticipated. At one point, Luke tells her, “Accept the consequences” (253), to which Adrienne replies, “So I should let him wreck my life?” (253). Adrienne’s life may not be actually destroyed if the video is leaked, but her image as the polished, professional psychiatrist certainly would be. It is Adrienne’s insistence on preserving her image that leads to her demise.