The Summer Guests

Police Chief Jo Thibodeau is the local police chief. She is a largely flat protagonist who leads the investigation into Zoe Conover’s disappearance. Jo is a Purity, Maine, local with “a square jaw and a direct gaze and the unadorned face of a sturdy Maine girl” (307). Her frank, no-nonsense appearance reflects her personality. Jo is highly dedicated to her work and makes little time for socializing. Indeed, she does not even make much time for meals. As Maggie wryly notes when Jo eats some tempting mortadella, “No delicate nibbling for her; the girl really must have been starved” (143). Jo’s father, Owen, lives in Purity as well, and her brother, Finn, is a diver with the Maine Warden Service. Jo uses her deep ties to the local community to gather information about the case.

At the beginning of the novel, Jo is the acting police chief of Purity. As the title implies, she is relatively new to the role. She is acutely aware of “the weight of the community’s safety resting entirely on her shoulders” (38). That it is unusual for a relatively young woman to be a police chief adds pressure, and the dismissive attitude of arrogant Maine State Detective Alfond illustrates some of the attitudes with which young women in traditionally male jobs have to contest. Maggie notes, for instance, that Detective Alfond acts “as if [Jo] were his secretary and not the town’s acting chief of police” (125), suggesting that he has mentally cast her in a more conventionally feminine role.

Jo’s work on the case solidifies her reputation, and by the end of the novel, Jo is officially given the role of police chief. When Jo arrives for dinner to let the Martini Club know the good news, she is out of uniform. Maggie is “struck” by “how rarely she saw the young woman in civilian clothing” (314), a final indication of how dedicated Jo is to her work.

Reuben Tarkin is a middle-aged man who lives across Maiden Pond from the Conover family. Reuben is a complex figure whose story illustrates the themes of the difference between appearances and reality and Tensions Between Upper and Lower Classes. Reuben comes “from a long line of Mainers” but has had a difficult life since his father (251), Sam Tarkin, died after a psychotic episode that led to the death of five people, including a police officer. People like George Conover insinuated that Reuben was “insane” like his father, and he was subsequently ostracized. Reuben has spent his entire life in a humble home caring for his elderly mother until her recent death as well as acting as “sole caregiver” for his sister, who uses a wheelchair due to a spiral tumor. Moreover, Reuben knows that his father’s psychotic episode was the result of drugs given to him as part of the MKUltra experiment, though a hush-money agreement has prevented him from speaking out on the matter. The weight of carrying this secret for decades, as well as the difficult circumstances of his home life, makes Reuben angry and resentful of Purity’s wealthy residents generally and the Conovers in particular. As Jo notes, “No wonder he often seemed in a foul mood, […] who wouldn’t be?” (164) Reuben takes out his anger at those involved in his father’s death with minor acts of vandalism and sabotage, as when he drills a hole in George Conover’s canoe.

However, Reuben is revealed to have a softer side as well. He is deeply touched by the kindness that the Conovers’ nanny, Anna, shows toward him and brings her flowers to show his appreciation. He also intervenes to save Susan’s life when he sees Brooke and Kit drowning her. Although he appears gruff and surly, Reuben proves to be essentially moral and even sensitive. At the end of the novel, he symbolically drops a bouquet of flowers he picked himself in the lake near the dock where he last saw Anna as his own personal memorial. This moment, illustrative of his sensitivity and thoughtfulness, is the last in the novel, ensuring it is what sticks in readers’ minds.

Susan Conover is the mother of the missing girl, Zoe Conover. Her character arc centers heavily on this storyline, such that much of her characterization paints her simply as a mother frantic about the whereabouts of her daughter. However, she is also a point of tension within the Conover family dynamic, as she is an outsider coming into their world. Moreover, as a point-of-view character, she provides insight into the cloistered, traditional environment of the Conover family.

Susan has been married to Ethan Conover, a novelist and college writing instructor, for the past two years. She is dedicated to her only daughter, Zoe Conover, a sweet and talented 13-year-old girl. Susan, a school nurse, feels on edge around Ethan’s patrician family, especially his snobby mother, Elizabeth, and his wealthy brother, Colin. Her anxiety tips over to frustration when “no one seem[s] at all concerned that it [is] seven o’clock and Zoe [has] not come home” (32). Despite their indifference, Susan advocates endlessly for her daughter and involves the authorities, even as it puts her directly at odds with Elizabeth, who accuses her of not understanding the importance of keeping such things within the family. This shows the strength of Susan’s concern for her daughter and develops the novel’s contrasting examples of The Protection of Family Members and Family Loyalty. Susan’s final thoughts while drowning are of her love for her daughter, further illustrating her care for and fierce attachment to Zoe.

Zoe’s disappearance puts a strain on Susan’s relationship with her husband, Ethan. Susan is frustrated with his lack of attentiveness to Zoe’s whereabouts on the day she went missing. She is also horrified when she believes he is writing about her disappearance. However, although they argue, they reunite after their ordeal. Ethan “grasp[s] her hand and presse[s] it to his lips” in agreement that they will never return to Moonview cottage (321)—a promise that implies any tensions in the marriage reflect the influence of Ethan’s family.