Home Is Where the Bodies Are

Nicole is the middle child among the Thomas siblings. In her thirties, she is sensitive and imaginative in contrast to Beth’s practicality, though she is dynamic and round like her sister. After her father’s disappearance seven years earlier, Nicole became obsessed with finding her lost parent. While driving in search of him, she was in a car crash and became addicted to prescription pain medication during her recovery. This turned into a substance abuse disorder, and Nicole has trouble managing her drug use throughout the novel. She craves drugs as an escape during emotionally difficult situations, reflecting her unresolved trauma over her father’s disappearance.

She once aspired to become a writer and still keeps a journal, but her life has fallen apart by the time the novel begins. Though she has a tumultuous relationship with her siblings, Nicole has a good heart and wants to get to the bottom of the Emma Harper mystery. She is resourceful, seeking out detective Casey Dunn to get case files and finding clues in her mother’s journals. She also shows resilience and courage when she saves her sister’s life in the novel’s climax. After solving the mystery and getting closure about her father’s disappearance, Nicole is finally able to move forward in her life. She is able to stay sober and complete a memoir project, showing her growth, and she starts dating Casey Dunn, another sign of a healthier future.

In his thirties, Michael is the youngest of the three Thomas children. Initially, he appears to be the only successful member of the group. His aptitude for computers led to a successful tech career in California. He wears expensive clothing and drives a luxury car. Combined with his success is arrogance; Michael views his two sisters as losers and only returns to Allen’s Grove for his mother’s funeral out of a sense of obligation. While he presents himself as a mature adult compared to his sniping sisters, he is really a cold-blooded killer, and all of his actions in the plot are motivated by concealing his guilt. As a child, he shoved Emma Harper off an overpass bridge and then lied about the incident to his parents. As an adult, he may have killed his girlfriend, and he killed his father, claiming it was self-defense. While Michael is round—a fleshed-out version of a killer rather than a stock stereotype—he is also flat; his motivations remain the same throughout the novel, and he never feels remorse for his actions. After Beth discovers his crimes, he tries to shoot both his sisters. When the story ends, Michael is serving a prison sentence and won’t be eligible for parole for nearly 30 years.