Beth Heller
Michael being able to see his daughter, Beth Heller, is ironic because she previously died in a terrible car accident. When people pass on, they are never able to speak to or interact with anyone. This irony reinforces the intense grief that Michael is going through.
Fire
Fire typically destroys things and kills people and has no real positive value. In the novel, however, the result of the fire at the home for Indigenous children brings about very positive things. Most significantly, the fire caused the rampant corruption and racism embedded in the town to be uncovered.
The novel's title
Although the novel's title suggests that there will be a mystery involving a crow, it is anything but that. In truth, it is a novel about grief and loss and how it affects people.
The town
The small town at the center of the novel is portrayed as a safe, idyllic, and idealistic place filled with good and moral people. However, beneath the surface, it truly is a horrible, violent, and backward town filled with racist people who are okay with the oppression of Indigenous people.
Isobel
Despite not speaking logically and in complete sentences, Isobel is able to effectively communicate with Beth Heller's spirit, despite the fact that Beth, speaks logically and in complete sentences but does not speak Isobel's language.
