Reese Crane serves as a deuteragonist and a crucial second narrator, offering a perspective steeped in teenage angst and familial resentment. A round and dynamic character, she embodies the destructive consequences of a toxic home life. Initially, she is characterized by her volatile rebellion against her parents, particularly her mother, Emily. Reese’s internal monologue is cynical and dramatic, punctuated by declarations like “I wanna KMS” (13), which establish her as a deeply unhappy and isolated adolescent. Her feelings of alienation are partially driven by her parents’ constant fighting, a clear illustration of The Destructive Potential of Family Power Dynamics. Her diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder provides a psychological framework for her impulsive anger, which manifests in violent fantasies and a physical altercation with her brother, Wyatt.

Beneath her abrasive exterior, Reese is profoundly vulnerable and craves the affection and validation she does not receive at home. This vulnerability makes her susceptible to the attentions of Daniel Clarke, a relationship that highlights her desperate need to be seen and valued. Her character is defined by a conflict between her desire for independence and her underlying need for connection. This is poignantly realized in her final conversation with Emily, where she momentarily bridges the emotional gap between them, only to have that reconciliation stolen by violence. Even though this reconciliation is momentary, Reese’s desire to reach out to and understand her mother, and her willingness to accept Emily’s apologies, show that she is capable of real growth..

Detective Josh Evans initially appears as a standard detective archetype who provides structure and authority to a chaotic situation. His calm and methodical approach offers a sense of stability for both Courtney and the reader. He urges other characters—particularly Courtney—to behave sensibly and within the rule of law, and he goes to great lengths to ensure the safety of the surviving family members. For most of the novel, Evans’s behavior functions as a sharp contrast to the chaotic and lawless behavior that harms so many of the novel’s characters.    

This professional facade, however, conceals a dark secret, and when Evans is finally allowed to function as a narrator in the book’s last chapter, his entire character is reframed. He reveals himself as the accidental killer of Kylie Matthews years prior. His investigation into the Crane murders devolves into self-preservation, as he actively manipulates the evidence to frame Daniel Clarke and keep his own culpability hidden. His narration reveals a man who has constructed a heroic identity as a police officer to atone for, and obscure, his past crime. His repeated assertion that he is “one of the good guys” (339) is a chilling mantra of self-delusion. He is a round character whose motivations are rooted in a deep-seated guilt and a desperate need to maintain the lie he has built his life upon.

Elliott Gray, Courtney’s husband, serves as a significant red herring whose actions are filtered through his wife’s traumatized and unreliable perspective. He appears supportive and concerned, yet a series of inconsistencies and secretive behaviors place him under a cloud of suspicion for much of the novel. His uncertain departure time for his fishing trip, the discovery of blood on his shoes, and his changing explanation for it fuel Courtney’s paranoia. The discovery of seemingly incriminating evidence on his iPad, including candid photos of Reese and a Facebook post linking her to the missing Kylie Matthews, solidifies his role as a potential suspect. This portrayal directly engages with the theme of the unreliability of perception under trauma, as Courtney’s fear leads her to interpret ambiguous actions as evidence of guilt.      

Ultimately, Elliott is exonerated when these mysteries are explained as benign: The children took the photos and made the post as a prank. His character functions primarily to illustrate how extreme stress can erode trust and create suspicion within the most intimate relationships, showing that even a well-intentioned husband can appear monstrous through the lens of fear and grief.

As the sole survivor found inside the cottage, 14-year-old Wyatt Crane is a deeply traumatized figure whose volatile behavior positions him as another key red herring. His established pattern of manipulation, such as blackmailing Reese for money to support his gambling habit, and his secretive nature make him a plausible suspect. His sleepwalking episode, during which he strikes Courtney while dreaming he is being abducted, is ambiguously portrayed as perhaps a physical expression of his terror and perhaps a deliberately violent act. The police’s discovery that there was no Benadryl in the cottage for him to have taken casts significant doubt on his story and suggests he may have been awake during the murders.

Wyatt’s character is more than just a red herring, however. He also functions as a representation of The Vulnerability of Children to Adult Misjudgments. Although his distracted parents take an opposite approach to him from the approach they take to Reese—casting him as the family’s “golden child” because of his success in school and sports and, as a consequence, believing he can do no wrong—their understanding of Wyatt is just as incomplete as their understanding of Reese. His anger and secrecy, ultimately, are not indicators of guilt but coping mechanisms for the unbearable psychological weight of his parents’ dysfunctional marriage and their brutal deaths.

Sam Matthews embodies the tragic antagonist, a character whose immense grief transforms him into a monster. Initially introduced as a sympathetic figure, he is a grieving father who has spent five years searching for his missing daughter, Kylie. He and his wife, Joanna, offer Courtney a sense of shared understanding, creating a bond over their mutual loss.

This compassionate facade, however, crumbles when it is revealed that he is the killer. Triggered by the Facebook prank orchestrated by Cass and Mae, Sam’s obsessive grief curdles into a violent delusion. He becomes convinced that Reese is his daughter, Kylie, and in his quest to “rescue” her, he brutally murders Emily and Nolan. His actions are not born of malice in a traditional sense, but from a psyche completely shattered by trauma and false hope. When he finally realizes his mistake, his horror at his own actions is absolute: “Oh my God. It’s not her,” he sobs, “What have I done?” (319). Sam’s character provides a dark exploration of how unresolved grief can fester and erupt into catastrophic violence, making him a complex and terrifying perpetrator.

Emily and Nolan Crane’s dysfunctional marriage is the backdrop against which the tragedy unfolds. Their relationship is a case study in the destructive potential of family power dynamics. Nolan’s job loss creates intense financial and emotional strain, leading to feelings of worthlessness and resentment. He lashes out at Emily with cruel remarks, such as telling her, “This trip would have been a lot more fun if you just stayed home” (18). Emily, in turn, reacts to the stress with anxiety and a need for control, which further alienates her husband and children, particularly Reese. Their constant fighting creates a tense and unstable environment, leaving their children emotionally vulnerable.

Because Nolan and Emily are already dead when the narrative begins, they are characterized primarily through Reese’s cynical narration and Courtney’s worried memories. The Crane parents are frozen in time by their deaths, and Nolan is, as might be expected, a static character. Emily, however, has a moment of dynamic change near the end of Reese’s narration, when she shows a new understanding of Wyatt’s nature, apologizes to Reese, and attempts to reconcile with her. Emily’s private plan to seek a divorce and Reese’s final, tender conversation with her mother add a layer of tragedy to the deaths, highlighting the potential for change that was violently stolen from them.

As the youngest children in the narrative, 10-year-olds Mae Crane and Cass Gray represent innocence corrupted by the violence of the adult world. Mae’s horrifying discovery of her mother’s body is the event that triggers the plot, and her subsequent trauma is illustrated by her near-catatonic state and emotional withdrawal. Cass is also deeply affected by the violence and fear that engulfs the family.

Together, their most significant role is that of unwitting catalysts. Their decision to post Reese’s picture on the “Help Find Kylie Matthews” Facebook page is a childish prank, conceived without any understanding of its potential consequences. This act of naive mischief—made possible by Courtney’s permissive attitude toward Cass’s illicit social media use—directly leads to Sam Matthews’s delusion and the subsequent murders and kidnapping. Their characters powerfully illustrate the theme of the vulnerability of children to adult misjudgments, showing how the inattention and self-delusion of adults  can have devastating and unforeseen impacts on the lives of children.