The Family Remains

Jewell highlights Samuel’s personal investment in Birdie’s murder case. The case affects him and fills his mind constantly, even when he is not at work. Chapters from Samuel’s perspective reveal his compassion for the children who grew up in the house at Cheyne Walk. The more he learns about the mistreatment they underwent at the hands of Birdie and David, the more he sympathizes with them. Even so, Samuel feels a responsibility to continue digging into the past to uncover what happened to Birdie. Based on testimony from several people, Samuel now knows that Birdie was depraved and malicious, but he does not see this as a reason to abandon her case. He remains determined to uncover the truth. However, Samuel is an understanding man. The more he learns about the past, the more he considers what constitutes justice. Jewell invites the reader to wrestle with ethical questions as well. Should Henry and Lucy be held accountable for their actions? Does Birdie’s case need to be solved, or should Samuel simply let it lie? These questions relate to the theme of Trauma and Moral Responsibility, which explores whether one’s past can excuse one’s choices.

The convergence of Rachel and Lucy’s storylines also touches on this theme. Michael is guilty of much: He is a drug-trafficker, a blackmailer, a rapist, and a man who abandoned his children to poverty. In response, Rachel is motivated to return and threaten his life, and readers expect that Rachel could possibly kill him. However, when Rachel discovers that Lucy killed Michael, she and readers must ask themselves whether this crime is a fitting ending for this horrible man.

Michael’s murder also intersects with the theme of Secrets and Lies. As Rachel watches Lucy hide Michael’s body and clean his house, she is physically covering up the act that she is also determined to keep hidden from the police. Michael’s murder is the crime Lucy is worried about coming to light in 2019, as detectives interview her about Birdie. Lucy is willing to share some secrets about her childhood, telling detectives things about Birdie that she’s never shared with anyone before. However, she only reveals things that cannot harm her children, whereas the murder of Michael would make her have to leave Marco and Stella on their own.

Henry’s interview with Samuel and Donal is another aspect of the same theme. Throughout the interview, Henry stays calm. He knows how to adjust his body language to hide his true personality and to keep the truth from being discovered. Even though Samuel has been shown to be excellent at reading people’s body language, he meets his match in Henry. In his first-person narration, Henry reflects on retrieving Birdie’s remains from the roof of the Cheyne Walk house, taking them to the Thames, and accidentally dropping the whole bag of bones into the river. However, as he converses with the detectives, Henry intelligently creates a hole in their theory, pointing out that the gate that leads to the house’s garden is accessible to anyone. He also blames not calling the police after finding the bodies of his parents and David Thomsen on childhood trauma, delivering this excuse with such direct eye contact that Samuel cannot argue with him.

After the interview, Henry exhibits signs of character transformation—one that depends on The Strength of Family Bonds. This new version of Henry longs for family connection, familiarity, and home rather than the oblivion of alcohol he sought just a few days ago. He also feels hope for the future and a sense of healing about the past. He wants a fresh start in which he can be himself again and reclaim his identity as Henry Lamb rather than continue to impersonate Phin. Yet, even as Henry seems to turn over a new leaf, Jewell ends the chapter with a sense of foreboding: Henry tells Lucy that he never found Phin, leaving the reader to wonder what happened between them and what Henry may have done to Phin.