The Arrangement

Examine the power dynamics between Ainsley and Peter throughout their relationship. How do their different manipulation tactics reflect broader patterns of control and submission in intimate relationships?

Analyze how the novel’s three central symbols—the house and porch, blood and cleaning, and secrets and envelopes—interconnect to reinforce themes about domestic corruption and concealment. How do these symbolic elements support and complicate each other?

How does The Arrangement both conform to and subvert the conventions of the domestic noir genre?

The novel presents love as weaponized, while both characters claim genuine affection for their family. Explore the contradictions within the theme of corrupted love and how Modglin navigates the tension between authentic emotion and manipulative behavior.

Could Ainsley’s actions be interpreted as those of a desperate woman responding to years of psychological abuse rather than as calculated manipulation? Analyze the ambiguities in her characterization and how different interpretations change the story’s moral landscape.

What does the novel suggest about the reliability of contemporary American institutions through its portrayal of marriage, law enforcement, and suburban society? How do institutional failures enable the characters’ crimes?

Discuss Modglin’s use of the unreliable narrator through both Ainsley’s and Peter’s perspectives. What effect does this strategy have on both the plot and thematic meanings of the novel?

While categorized as a psychological thriller, The Arrangement employs Gothic literary conventions adapted to contemporary suburban settings. Analyze how Modglin uses Gothic elements such as hidden spaces, buried secrets, and character doubling to critique modern domestic life and examine how the suburban setting enhances rather than diminishes the novel’s horror.