One by One

“Why did I come? Why? But I know the answer. I came because I couldn’t afford not to.”

The novel opens with Liz on a bus with the other members of the Snoop staff, reflecting on the choices that brought her to this moment. The reader is meant to interpret this as Liz being in a financially desperate situation. However, it is later revealed that Eva is blackmailing Liz, and so “afford” really references a physical threat, because rejecting Eva’s offer would risk exposing Liz’s past.

“I gaze up at the gray sky through the glass roof above, watching as the snowflakes come spiraling down. The sky is the exact color of Will’s eyes.”

This segment of the novel establishes Erin as the novel’s other narrator and contains two examples of foreshadowing. First, she references the snow, which featured heavily in the first two chapters. Second, she discusses Will, though at this point the reader does not know who he is or why the color of his eyes is so important. This passage ultimately reveals Erin’s grief without fully exploring why she is grieving.

“She reminds me of a bird too, but not a fluffy little chick. There is nothing cute about her. This woman looks more like an owl—a hunted, panicked owl caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.”

This is part of Erin’s first impression of Liz, made when the Snoop group first arrives at the ski chalet. When she initially sees Liz, Erin does not believe her to be a threat and notes that she seems out of place, underestimating her.