49 pages • 1-hour read
Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence.
Developing Self-Acceptance Via Personal Challenges
Riley Thorn’s reluctance to embrace her psychic powers conveys her fear of accepting her true nature. For years, Riley has rebelled against her “patchouli-scented, homegrown-vegetable-selling, séance-attending childhood” in an attempt to prove her normalcy to the world (1). She’s self-conscious of her hippie, spiritually inclined parents and sister, and longs to fit in with her more conventional peers, colleagues, and contemporaries. In an attempt to change who she really is, she even abandoned her career aspirations in television to work a job she doesn’t care about and to marry (but then divorce) a man who is more fake than her “fake boyfriend” Nick Santiago. However, the more that Riley defies her authentic spirit and genuine nature, the more at odds she is with the world and the people around her. Throughout the novel, Riley’s adventures with Nick and her band of misfit friends introduce her to challenges that reveal her genuine power and beauty.
Riley’s amateur sleuthing work with her romantic interest, Nick, opens her to new experiences, which require heart, intelligence, wit, and creativity. At first, Riley tells Nick she has no interest in using her psychic or clairvoyant powers and would rather solve the Dickie Frick case using more conventional methods. She also repeatedly dismisses her parents’, sister’s, and friend Jasmine Patel’s encouragement to embrace her true nature. She craves normalcy because it’s “stable” and “predictable,” and because normal people “don’t witness the murder of next-door neighbors” (certainly not in a vision before it happens) or “end up in high-speed chases or get shot at by bad cops” (377). Riley blames her circumstances on her upbringing and identity. Over time, however, she discovers that her special capabilities are assets. She may not be like anyone else, but her rare talents give her an advantage, particularly in hunting down and apprehending murderers and corrupt politicians.
Riley’s psychic powers are a metaphor for her quirks. She tries to hide her idiosyncrasies from the world to present a collected, culturally acceptable facade. However, this controlled version of self doesn’t gain Riley the acceptance she craves; instead, it intensifies her internal conflict. When she starts to accept her quirks and learns how to use her uncanny abilities to her advantage, she feels more balanced. She gradually learns that if she can be herself without shame or fear, she can feel freer and more empowered. Hiding her uniqueness has been a self-defense mechanism, but it has restricted her modes of expression, intimate connection, and life experience. By the end of the novel, Riley learns to accept herself and ultimately finds happiness as a result.
Romantic Tension as a Form of Professional and Personal Motivation
Riley and Nick’s subversive, enemies-to-lovers romance motivates them to take risks, pursue new opportunities, and grow as individuals. When Riley and Nick meet at the novel’s start, neither of them is interested in pursuing a relationship. Riley is recently divorced from her ex, Griffin Gentry, and is adjusting to her single life at the Front Street mansion. A “broke, divorced, thirty-four-year-old proofreader” (5) stuck in a dead-end job, Riley feels stagnant in almost every arena of her life. Nick is similarly complacent in his predictable circumstances. He has started his own business since leaving the police force, but is resistant to monogamous, romantic relationships; he prefers his haphazard bachelor lifestyle to settling down. Despite their disinterest in commitment and initial distaste for each other, Riley and Nick soon discover that their sexual chemistry is a powerful professional and personal motivator.
Because Riley and Nick want to be in one another’s company, they start taking vocational risks and pushing the boundaries of their otherwise predictable careers. They’re even willing to work together on the Dickie Frick case just to have an excuse to “fake date” (a romance genre trope). Nick promises to pay Riley “to be [his] fake fiancée so [he] can interrogate [her] neighbors and hunt down a person who killed a man” (136). The arrangement is silly and humorous, but it intrigues Riley. She doesn’t think getting involved with Nick romantically or sexually is a good idea, but she enjoys the excitement he brings to her life. Likewise, Nick tirelessly tries to convince himself that being around Riley is a bad idea and a threat to his single life. However, whenever they’re together, they both feel heat that is “more than just the slow simmer of humidity bloom[ing] between them” (136). This chemistry is a powerful force. Nick and Riley start to make choices they wouldn’t normally make because they’re curious about each other. Ultimately, their unexpected relationship ushers them into a collaborative sleuthing adventure, which changes their lives forever.
The novel suggests that love, romance, and intimacy can transform the individual’s sense of self and perspective on the world. For Riley, being involved with Nick helps her recognize and accept her psychic powers, let go of her disappointed television dreams, quit her marketing job at SHART, and embrace her family and friends. For Nick, being with Riley inspires him to let go of his bachelor days in exchange for a more consistent, life-giving relationship. He learns that making sacrifices to share life with Riley is more valuable and fulfilling than doing whatever he wants whenever he wants. The lovers also join forces as co-detectives after moving in together at the novel’s end. These life changes reiterate how powerful love can be. For Riley and Nick, love changes their professional outlook, which in turn changes their outlook on love itself.
The Importance of Learning to Problem-Solve and Think Creatively
Riley and Nick’s work to solve the Dickie Frick murder mystery challenges them to problem-solve, think creatively, and communicate in more effective ways. The mystery itself is an extended metaphor for life’s challenges. For Riley and Nick, Dickie’s murder ushers them into unprecedented circumstances. Nick is more familiar with the criminal and investigative worlds, but he isn’t used to chasing down corrupt politicians, joining forces with elderly vigilantes, or collaborating with a natural-born psychic. He must change his outlook on his detective work because, much like life, the Dickie Frick case presents constant surprises. Riley, as an amateur sleuth, has far less experience than Nick. Solving Dickie’s murder is entirely new territory for her. The experience thus compels her to engage her inventive mind and her paranormal capacities. In these ways, Riley and Nick learn how to navigate life more astutely via their work on the investigation, as they see how their special skillsets can illuminate different aspects of the case.
Riley and Nick’s unconventional approaches to the Dickie Frick case convey the importance of taking risks and being brave. The more creative they are about the case, the more enjoyable and rewarding their work feels; this dynamic is true of their lives, too. Before Dickie’s murder, Riley is stuck in “the boring safety cocoon she’s crocheted herself into” (349). Her life is governed by rules, expectations, and schedules. On one hand, Riley clings to this regularity to ward off upheaval like what Griffin created in her life when he cheated on her. On the other hand, she longs for excitement, newness, and organic opportunities for exploration because these are intrinsic aspects of her character. This is why she thrives in the context of the Dickie Frick investigation. When she finds important evidence in the Nature Girls office, for example, “[h]er heart was pounding, but this time, it wasn’t from fear or Nick pheromones. It was the thrill of discovery. Finding typos at work never felt like this” (360). She’s taking risks that heighten her investment not only in her work but in the world around her. Her senses are piqued, and she’s using her mind in new and creative ways.
For Nick, working with Riley on the case challenges him to find new communication styles. He must incorporate Riley’s unpredictable behaviors into his typically methodical process, trusting Riley’s instincts and accepting her surprising approaches to the work. Adjusting to these changes compels him to think, feel, and relate to others in new ways. Problem-solving and thinking imaginatively are skills that the characters learn as a result of their sleuthing collaboration. These skills, in turn, help them navigate their intimate relationship, plan for the future, and enjoy their new life together.
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