A Stranger in the House

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of domestic abuse, death by suicide, and mental illness.

“The police must break tragic news to people every day. Now it’s his turn. But Tom doesn’t want to know.”

This passage describes the moment when Tom Krupp realizes that Officer Fleming is there to give him bad news about his wife, Karen Krupp, who is missing. It illustrates Tom’s initial immaturity and inability to take in information that might puncture his conception of the ideal suburban life he leads. He “doesn’t want to know” something that might shatter that illusion. The novel’s use of present tense in the narrative is a common device in modern thrillers, as it creates a sense of immediacy and suspense, as though the events of the novel are unfolding in real time.

“Tom looks back at her in dismay. ‘You must know. You had a car accident. You were speeding and hit a pole.’ ‘I don’t remember,’ she says slowly, as if it takes every bit of her remaining energy to say it.”

It is sometimes difficult for people to accept that amnesia is real, although amnesia patients are being truthful when they say they have memory loss. It is telling that in the hours after the accident, Tom is already beginning to question his wife’s honesty and truthfulness—he finds it hard to believe she truly does not remember how the accident happened. Tom’s repeated assertions about what “You” (Karen) did also emphasize his attempt to jog her memory, as though by firmly stating the facts, he can get her to come clean about what happened.