"She’s clutching a sculpture in both hands. It’s a head, a little under life-size. She stares into its unblinking eyes, willing it to come to life. She wants it to tell her that this is not her fault. That there’s nothing she could have done differently. That she’s the victim here."
The novel commences with a decidedly non-linear chronology. A section preceding the first chapter is ironically titled “Aftermath.” The next page informs the reader that the events of the first official chapter took place “Four Months Earlier.” This establishes that the structure of the narrative will be a little different. In addition to a non-standard chronology, there is also a hint that the narrative style itself will be a little unusual as well. “Aftermath” is absent of contextual clues, includes no identification of characters mentioned by pronoun, and is purposely abstract. There is no indication at all who the “she” is, or the significant of the sculpture, or what has led to the emotionally intense imagery. The reader is left with multiple questions and absolutely no way to answer them. Other than, of course, turning the page and reading on.
"The stranger had long toned limbs and glossy brown skin; she looked almost sculpted. Something about her profile was familiar and for one heartbeat Ronke was sure she knew her from somewhere. She blinked and the feeling disappeared. She didn’t know anyone who showed side-boob at lunch. Or had such an over-the-top blonde weave."
The plot revolves around the dangerous consequences of introducing a new variable into an already well-established environment. The established environment is four old friends whose lunch together has been going on so long it has attained an almost ritualistic significance. The stranger is named Isobel and she is an outside friend of Simi who has decided that Isobel will be a perfect addition to their little group. Ronke represents the group-think process that almost immediately identifies any outsider as an interloper. Her judgement is quick and ruthless (though, admittedly, incredibly shallow, as it places undo emphasis on minute facets of Isobel's physical appearance) and before she even gets to the table, Isobel has already become a threat to the efficiently running machine of the existing group dynamic. The blink-and-it’s-one momentary feeling of familiarity also introduces an element of foreshadowing which suggests that Ronke is eventually going to remember why Isobel seems familiar. And it is almost certain to not be a pleasant recollection.
"Boo was still in shock hours later. No one had ever spoken to her like that. She’d actually felt scared. Had Isobel always despised her? Boo remembered something she’d read in a journal about people who could switch empathy on and off. Was Isobel a psychopath?"
Boo is another member of the original group of friends. And even though this penetration into her thoughts takes place well after Isobel has worked her way into that dynamic, it is a pretty extreme leap to questioning whether one has been in the presence of a psychopath. By this point, as the passage indicates, Isobel’s influence upon that smoothly working friendship has revealed itself to be very damaging. Her presence within the group has become like a virus infecting Simi which she then proceeds to expose to the others until it has become an epidemic.
