The blinking baby monitor
The narrator uses a simile to compare the blinking of the baby monitor to that of the glowing tip of a cigarette. The writer uses this simile to bring into perception the shared attribute between the baby monitor and the glowing tip of a cigarette. This direct comparison plays a role in enabling the reader to visualize in conceptual terms the scene as described by the narrator:
"She glances at the baby monitor sitting at the end of the table, its small red light glowing like the tip of a cigarette" (The Couple Next Door, 9).
Anne's scream
In the second chapter of the novel, the narrator directly compares Anne's scream to that of an animal in pain. This direct comparison enables the reader to perceive the intensity of the scream as well as the pain associated with it:
"...Anne sees the fear and guilt in his eyes and starts to wail--a horrible, keening sound, like an animal in pain" (The Couple Next Door, 14).
Marco's reaction to Rasbach's question
After detective Rasbach asks Anne what clothes her baby, Cora, was wearing, she is unsure of what clothes she had on. When the detective directs the same question to Marco, Anne's husband, he is dumbfounded, startled and taken aback by the question. The narrator compares his reaction to that of a deer caught in headlights, particularly with regards to his surprised state:
"Marco looks like a deer caught in the headlights" (The Couple Next Door, 52).
The behavior of the police
With regard to the nosy behavior of the police officers, Anne wonders how she would get to the psychiatrist's office. The narrator likens their behavior to that of wolves, particularly the way they circle around until they get the information that they want:
"If she hadn't been in treatment by a psychiatrist, would the police be circling them now like wolves?" (The Couple Next Door, 83).
Marco's lack of charisma
In chapter 12, the narrator compares Marco's lack of warmth, charisma and appeal to a ghost, a shattered and fragmentized one at that. This direct comparison plays the role of conveying to the reader the impact the missing child had on Marco (and his wife ), the guilt and shame that followed:
"There is nothing charismatic about Marco now. He looks like a shattered ghost. They both look guilty, beaten down by shame" (The Couple Next Door, 95).
