“‘Self-love is so important, you should definitely make some time for yourself.’ Liv shoots a glance at me with a twinkle in her eye, then says to Margot, ‘It might have been a while since you had your kids, but I bet we can still get your pre-baby body back in no time.’”

Liv takes a jab at Margot, body-shaming her by implying that she is out of shape and should lose some weight. Liv baits Margot because she takes an instant dislike to her, and she also believes that her actions are in defense of Anna. However, Liv is just as cutting and underhanded in her comments toward Margot as Margot is in her comments toward Anna. Thus, the three women’s dynamic is revealed to be toxic from the very beginning of their association. The scene also shows that the women subscribe to an “eye-for-an-eye” approach to retribution.

“Oh God, I think I’ve made a fool of myself in front of Anna and Margot, two people who barely know me. Hardly a great start. I’m grateful they don’t appear fazed by my tears. But I want to start as I mean to go on, and that’ll only happen if I’m being myself. Not the version I have been, because I’m not that Liv anymore. Margot and Anna don’t need to know who I was or what I’m capable of doing to get what I want.”

Liv has an emotional moment in front of Anna and Margot when she expresses her hopes of rebuilding her life in this new town with her wellness studio. This moment of vulnerability shows that some part of Liv truly wants to start over; however, in the same breath, she decides to conceal her past from the very women she is hoping to befriend. In some ways, this contributes to her lack of real connection with both Anna and Margot. All of the women remain guarded about their pasts, preventing a foundation of actual friendship from forming. This lack of honesty and vulnerability speaks to The Fragility of Relationships.

“‘And what’s to stop you changing your mind again and going ahead with it when you leave here?’ ‘I won’t,’ I reply confidently. It’s true. Because she won’t let me. And now I know she’s here, I don’t want to. She has my best interests at heart. She has shown me a way forward. A way for me to live. She’s made me understand that it’s not myself I need to kill.”

An unnamed woman—who is later revealed to be Anna—has a conversation with a psychiatrist about her past suicidal ideation. Unbeknownst to the psychiatrist, Anna still hears her mother’s voice, which is the inner force that stopped her from harming herself on that earlier occasion. Her mother’s voice also gave her something new to focus on: revenge. While the desire for revenge eventually leads Anna to commit unconscionable acts, it actually saves her during this earlier scene by giving her something to live for. Marrs therefore implies that The Slippery Slope of Violence can be a powerful motivator.

“‘I’d just hate to think you were taking to heart any of the things she says. About, well, you know, your weight, or your appearance.’ 

‘I’m a tough cookie. I can handle myself.’ 

‘Okay,’ I reply, and sense a slight shift in the atmosphere between us. Now I’m worried I’ve said too much. Maybe Anna has spent so much time around Margot that it really is water off a duck’s back. Or perhaps she has Stockholm syndrome, where a hostage forms a bond with their kidnapper.”

Liv addresses Margot’s constant condescension toward Anna, but Anna dismisses Margot’s behavior nonchalantly. While Liv believes that Anna’s reaction indicates that she is too deeply swayed by Margot’s influence, Anna’s desire to remain close to Margot is motivated by something much more sinister, as she has been orchestrating Margot’s suffering for years. Liv’s misunderstanding of Anna and Margot’s relationship is an example of The Tension between Appearances and Reality.

“I am fuming. What the hell gives Liv the right to talk to my daughter about how she identifies, or about me? And to put her in touch with a stranger without discussing it with me first? I’ve spent enough of my adult life being criticised, dissected, opinionised and judged by strangers and keyboard warriors without it happening on my own doorstep.”

Margot is furious when she discovers Liv has spoken to Frankie about the latter’s gender identity. This passage outlines Margot’s self-centered and insensitive nature. Rather than trying to understand why Frankie has openly and receptively spoken with Liv about this aspect of their life, Margot is more affronted by what she believes to be a parental boundary that Liv has overstepped. Additionally, Margot is unaware to the boundaries she herself is violating by continuing to misgender Frankie, even in her private reflections. Rather than seeing Liv’s actions as support for Frankie, Margot perceives Liv as an attacker, thereby focusing only on herself in the context of a situation that has nothing to do with her.

“I try and log into my account, but to my frustration, it won’t accept my password. I try different combinations but nothing. Bloody stupid technology! Why is it always against me? In the last week, I’ve been unable to log on to Instagram and Ocado or my banking and Amazon apps. I swear this house has a poltergeist that only has me in its spectral sights.”

Margot is often frustrated by missing or misplaced items in her house, and although the narrative initially implies that she is having bouts of forgetfulness, Anna is eventually revealed to be the culprit. By creating situations that gaslight Margot and contradict her knowledge of what is real, Anna creates the impression that Margot is descending into delusion and paranoia.

“We stroll around the car until the petrol cap is located, then unscrew it. My killer strips a sleeve from a thin hoodie, rolls it into a tight cylindrical shape, and shoves into the hole. After several attempts, a cigarette lighter ignites the material. […] I feel pity for what’s to come for him, but our murderer certainly doesn’t. They hope just enough life remains inside him to know that he’s about to burn to death.”

Anna’s use of the first-person plural in this scene emphasizes her belief that she does not act along when she commits murder. In this case, she hears the voice of her second victim, Jenny, as she goes about killing her third victim, Warren. While Zain and Jenny were accomplices to the murders of Anna’s parents, neither of them pulled the trigger or were present when the building was set alight; Warren and Margot were the guilty parties there. Thus, Anna reserves a death by fire for Warren alone, while Drew later attempts to do the same to Margot.

“Anna appears genuinely concerned for me. And if I’m not mistaken, there are tears forming. ‘Sorry,’ she says. ‘I just think after all you’ve been through, it’s unfair.’ I’m uncertain how to respond as she dabs her eyes while watching me. Normally when people stare at me this long, they’re making notes. But not her. I’m unused to this depth of connection. Yet I’m more surprised by how much I appreciate it.”

Margot is surprised by the connection she feels with Anna, when the latter expresses sympathy and concern over the hate mail Margot receives. This interaction highlights the depths of Anna’s deceptiveness, for she is the one who is sending Margot the hate mail to begin with. Ironically, Margot and Anna do share moments of true connection later in the book—a fact that renders their interactions all the more complex and ambiguous.

“The second counsellor she saw told her there’s a diagnosis for what she has. ‘A dissociative identity disorder that can evolve as an extreme reaction to bereavement in adolescence,’ they said. She doesn’t agree with that evaluation, but I think it’s because accepting it means she’d be forced to admit there’s something wrong with her. That me and the others are not real. That we are in her imagination. By denying it, she can continue to blame her passengers for making her kill. Anyone but herself.”

In this passage, the voice of Warren speaks in Anna’s mind, reflecting on Anna’s own refusal to believe that she has been diagnosed with a dissociative identity disorder, even though this determination has been made by a mental health professional. In this light, Warren’s voice is really a part of Anna herself—one that she prefers to suppress or ignore. However, because she considers the voices to be real, she blames them for her more violent actions, and her conscience remains largely untroubled as her murderous activities increase.

“I know that to my friends and the outside world, I’m a self-made woman. But inside, I hate that I’m not. Blackmail alongside my OnlyFans work means that my little empire has been built on the foundations paid to me by the parts of myself I have sold to men. And that leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.”

Liv reflects on her resentment over the fact that her success has been built on immoral and unethical actions. This reflection highlights The Tension between Appearances and Reality and shows that a part of Liv truly does want to change, even though she ultimately falls back into her old, unethical habits and suffers the consequences of her greed.

“The tenderness she shows takes me aback, and that, along with my fragile state, makes me cry like a burst dam. Try as I might, I cannot stop sobbing. Margot doesn’t say a word; she literally provides me with a shoulder to cry on and I’m too weak to refuse. For the first time in I can’t recall how long, I remember how it feels to be a child being comforted by her mother. It’s the purest form of love, utterly unconditional and reassuring. I don’t want to let her go. So I don’t, until I drift off to sleep.”

Anna is overwhelmed by the unexpected care that Margot extends upon finding her hurt and bleeding. This is a turning point for Anna and Margot’s relationship, for Anna begins to believe that Margot has changed for the better, and Margot is simultaneously revealed to have a softer, more nurturing side. Marrs builds on Margot’s improved attitude by showing her desire to forge better relationships with her stepchildren. This shift later prepares her to view her unexpected pregnancy in a positive light.

“I watch him being laid on his back as they desperately try to revive him, their large hands pressing down hard upon his chest over and over again until one exchanges a solemn glance with the other, then shakes his head. If my brother is dead, I want to be dead too.”

A young Anna watches her stricken brother (who still remains unnamed at this point in the story) as he is pulled out of the burning house and worked over by paramedics. This scene marks a distinct attempt at misdirection as Marrs suggests that Anna’s brother is also a casualty on the night of their parents’ deaths. However, it is later revealed that Anna’s “husband” Drew (variously known as Andrew and Andy in other eras of his life) is really her brother. This incident also lends additional meaning to Drew’s assertion to Margot that she “killed” him first.

 “I honestly hope she pulls through. And it’s not just to alleviate my guilt. It’s for the sake of the kids I’m now watching in the dining room playing with Tommy’s old toys. I hate to think how losing their mother at such an early age might affect them. Then I’m reminded that’s exactly what happened to Frankie and Tommy. They’ve spent most of their lives with me, not Ioana.”

Margot reflects on the fact that she wants Liv to live for the sake of her children. In continuation with the turning point that Margot displayed earlier with Anna, she now shows an increasing sensitivity to others, especially when it comes to children. In addition to worrying about Liv’s children, Margot also reflects on her stepchildren’s lives, growing closer with them after her own brush with death.

“These are the elusive OnlyFans videos I’ve been searching for. I press stop and go further back. There are dozens more like this. I randomly select a few, then AirDrop them to my phone so there’s no trace of them being sent to me. […] Then I return her device to the home screen, place it back where it was and position myself in front of the window facing the lawned gardens that she has an uninterrupted view of. My back is to her, so she doesn’t spot the smile I can’t peel from my face.”

Margot snoops on Liv’s phone when she and Anna visit Liv in the hospital, discovering Liv’s OnlyFans videos. Despite the earlier signs of Margot’s growing sensitive side, this instance hints that Margot’s character flaws yet remain intact; although she wished for Liv to survive, Margot is not keen on Liv’s well-being in totality, and she still wants revenge on Liv because she believes that Liv is responsible for sending Nicu the video that destroyed the couple’s marriage.

“‘I’m going to die,’ she sobs. ‘I’m sorry for what I did to you, but please help me.’ Margot knows. She knows who Drew and I are. And I know that, despite everything, I can’t allow her to die like this.”

The story finally arrives at the climax indicated in the prologue only to reveal that Bonfire Night is a false climax. One twist arrives as Drew, not Anna, is revealed to be the aggressor, and in yet another twist, Marrs shows that Anna is the one to save Margot’s life. This act contributes to the strong, albeit brief, bond between the two women.

“So it’s up to me to dig my way out of this hole. I’m not going to fail my family like my parents did me and my siblings when we were moved from pillar to post for unpaid rent or mortgage defaults. I am keeping this roof over our heads come hell or high water. I will find a way.”

Liv worries about the financial situation in which she has found herself, and she reaffirms her determination to do whatever it takes to rectify it. This is the moment that puts a stop to any possible character development for Liv; whenever she finds herself in a tough position, all desire to reinvent herself is abandoned, and she reverts to blackmail and extortion. Thus, Liv presents as a flat character with no purpose other than to serve the plot and its themes.

“Anna deserves the truth—not a version of it, but the version of it. So I start at the beginning, painting her a picture of who I was then, my strained relationship with my parents, the gang I wanted to be a part of and how our initiation was to burgle her family’s safe.”

As Margot prepares to tell Anna the entire “truth” about her past, her earnest tone suggests that she is finally coming clean for the first time in her life. For her, the confessional moment proves to be life-changing, bonding her to Anna for the rest of her (rather short) life. In the novel’s conclusion, the disembodied voice of the late Margot sounds off in Anna’s mind, claiming that she, not Warren, was the one to start the fire all those years ago. However, given the fact that all of Anna’s “voices” may simply be figments of her imagination, this detail can be read as Anna’s own attempt to retroactively justify her decision to murder Anna. In any case, Marrs deliberately refrains from clarifying the actual “truth” of that night, as multiple interpretations abound.

“I tell Margot how I quoted unnamed sources (often me) to invent stories about her. I’d write about how she was desperate to quit the Party Hard Posse and start a solo career, or that she had a furious argument with a bandmate. I’d claim she was spotted worse for wear at a charity function or refused to tip a waitress despite a hefty spend. Ever so slowly, I chipped away at the public’s perception of her. The world is all too willing to believe a woman can’t be successful without being a b****.”

Anna confesses that she has caused all of the disastrous publicity that Margot received throughout her career. This passage reveals Anna’s skill at deception and manipulation; although Margot is objectively a callous and immoral person, Anna engineers the widespread public outrage directed at her, and her actions highlight The Tension between Appearances and Reality.

“No matter what happens from here on in, you and I are irrevocably connected. We’ll always have someone in our corner if we’re ever attacked. If one of us is threatened, we will do whatever is necessary to protect the other.”

Anna asserts that she and Margot now share a strong bond. With a foundation of near-complete honesty between the two women, the novel implies that they may have a chance at actual friendship. However, Anna does end up killing Margot despite this connection. Thus, the assertion of an enduring bond stands as the last set of lies between the women and ultimately contributes to the breakdown in their relationship.

“I’ve not felt a shred of guilt since his death. It was either Drew or me, and I chose me because I am the only one of us who has a shot at living beyond the past.”

Anna privately confesses that she feels no guilt over Drew’s death, and her words highlight The Slippery Slope of Violence, as her murderous acts continue to take on a life of their own, warping her perception of morality and reality alike. Drew himself remained consumed with ideas of revenge, unable to change course despite Margot’s supposed improvements as a person. Likewise, Anna has grown so desensitized to violence that she is able to kill her own brother and find a rationalization that satisfies her.

“I no longer think it’s Stockholm syndrome that ties Anna to her. I think they have a twisted co-dependency, a circular relationship where one needs the other and the other needs to be needed. Margot feels pointless unless she’s wanted by Anna. And Anna is desperate to be of use to someone. Then I came along and, for a time, their circle became a triangle. But Margot couldn’t handle that. Because Margot doesn’t do diluted friendships, she doesn’t share.”

In this passage, Liv prepares to blackmail both Anna and Margot because she knows she cannot break the connection between the two women. However, Liv continues to misunderstand Anna and Margot’s relationship, believing it to be one of control and submission and believing Margot to be the one in charge. Liv’s continued misperception of Anna and Margot’s equation speaks to The Tension between Appearances and Reality, while her decision to turn against Anna underlines The Fragility of Relationships.

“I didn’t want to be this person again. I thought that by moving out of London I could be different. I could be my own person, not one reliant on others. But I gave it my best shot and it didn’t work. You might want to change, but life and the behaviour of others can so often conspire to stand in your way and f*** around with you until you have no choice but to revert to type. So now, I understand that I am who I ought to be. Who I was and who I am. And finally, I’m good with that.”

Liv reflects that she is resorting to blackmail yet again, despite her best efforts to change. Significantly, Liv blames her life circumstances and the people around her for her own decision. Just like Margot and Anna, Liv, too, is lacking in self-awareness; she does not see her own contributions to her circumstances, and she therefore refuses to take responsibility for her actions.

“You asked me to be her godmother, Margot. And part of that duty is to show her how to make good choices in life and stand against injustices that can cause suffering. Well, she was suffering because the person closest to her kept making terrible decisions about her welfare.”

In this quote, Anna offers her justification for killing Margot. Her morality and sense of justice have been completely distorted by her string of violent actions, and she now retorts to violence as a way to solve any problem, regardless of whether her response is a proportionate one. Anna’s reasoning illustrates The Slippery Slope of Violence.