Tourist Season

Cape Carnage is a symbol of the disparity between appearances and reality. Located in coastal Maine, the town is a tourist haven. Every season, Carnage visitors can be found “chartering fishing boats,” “booking tours,” “exploring the museum,” and perusing “the arts and quaint and quirky downtown” (3). The setting is emblematic of New England itself, and the place is calm and quiet, funky and fun. The townspeople are idiosyncratic and entertaining, and visitors to the town regard Carnage as the ideal getaway.

However, Cape Carnage’s charming appearance hides a darker history. For years, the place has been haunted by unsolved disappearances and murders. Tourists frequently arrive in Cape Carnage and never return home, their whereabouts forever unknown. Bodies have turned up, and stories surrounding notorious serial killers have been tied to the town over the years, too. The residents insist these tales are nothing but urban legends, but Sam Porter’s amateur sleuthing and Harper and Arthur’s pastimes prove otherwise.

The author connects the disparity between Carnage’s appearance and its complex history with Harper’s attempts to perform a persona within the town that conflicts with her true self. A person might present a neat facade to the world but be riddled by anxiety and trauma.