Childhood Trauma
This is the novel which introduces the series of books featuring Philadelphia homicide detective Bree Taggert. But that introduction actually begins in 1993 when Bree is an eight-year-old girl calling 911 in terror because her the argument between her parents has escalated to physical violence. It will end in the tragedy of a murder/suicide by gun. The trauma of that night will not only stay with Bree into her adulthood but will be revisited when her sister dies many years later under almost identical circumstances. Bree must come to terms with her sister's death while still dealing with the lingering effects of PTSD associated with her parents' end.
Sibling Separation
Bree and her baby sister were forced to deal not only with the trauma of one parent killing another and then committing suicide, but also with the decision to separate them in the aftermath. This decision has lasting consequences which cannot be foreseen at the time but can certainly be expected if not predicted. Sibling separation not only creates an unnatural distance between people who should be among the closest of all relatives, but also serves to deny the impact of genetics. Raised differently, the nurturing process becomes of greater significance than is absolutely necessary. Bree must try to parse how this cultural divergence may have played a role in her sister's death.
Addiction
The prime suspect in that death is, of course, the husband. This would be the case regardless, but somehow it seems to be even more likely in the shadow of how the parents of Bree and her sister died. Justin, the husband, become seriously addicted to OxyContin. But Bree's sister, Erin, had an addiction of her own: Craig Vance, the father of her two kids. The theme of the power of addiction and the consequences is seamlessly integrated into the actual investigation of the murder which Bree conducts.
