“‘I guess everyone has abandoned the Richardsons,’ Kacy said. ‘Coco didn’t recognize the names on the guest list—they’re mostly strangers.’ Strangers who evidently hadn’t been warned about the Richardsons, Ed thought. Some weird things had happened this summer.”

The book begins with the Richardsons’ house burning down on the same evening as Ed’s retirement dinner. While the fire and Coco’s disappearance are the subjects of the police investigation, equally central to the mystery is what happened to the Richardsons’ popularity. Ed and Kacy’s conversation here sows the seeds of suspense for this thread.

“We feel bad that Sharon has been dropped like a hot potato at the age of fifty‑four, but none of us feel guilty talking about it. When we think of how many hours Blond Sharon has spent blabbing about other people’s business, we can’t help but see this moment as a kind of poetic justice.”

The past timeframe occasionally employs a first-person plural narrator. The unidentified voice is implied to be the collective opinion of the Nantucketers who witness the events of the summer. The technique implicates the reader in its sometimes judgmental and snarky commentary, adding to immersion in the world. Additionally, the mention of “poetic justice” in this passage is significant, as it becomes an important theme of the novel.

“At the ferry terminal, Coco begins to understand what going to Nantucket means. Everyone is preppy and wealthy‑looking; the clothes are tasteful; there’s a lot of navy blue and white.”

Coco observes the class and affluence of her fellow-passengers aboard the ferry to Nantucket. This commentary offers a glimpse into the socioeconomic profile of the Nantucket community, which feeds into one of the book’s central themes: Wealth, Class, and Social Status.