Chapter 37 Summary: The Scrabble Board and the Missing Memories

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Chapter Summary

The chapter opens at 3:55 a.m. with less than three hours until low tide. Rose and Conor resist watching more of the old home-movie tape, but Daisy ignores them and approaches the Scrabble board that Nana’s agent gave her years ago. On the board, Scrabble letters have been arranged to spell out the family’s names. Daisy asks Trixie if she did it; Trixie shakes her head, and Rose insists Trixie tell the truth. Trixie denies it.

Daisy and the others then try to connect the Scrabble letters to Nana’s agent. Conor muses that the agent might have trashed Nana’s studio looking for unpublished work, since Nana never wrote again after 1988. Daisy remembers liking the agent, but Rose feels they are missing something. Lily remains transfixed by the TV, which now shows only a bonfire on a beach. Daisy notices a chair leg burning in the fireplace—painted blue with white clouds—and sees a fleeting, unsettling smile on Conor’s face.

Daisy realises that much of what happened between Nana’s birthday meal and the bonfire that night in 1988 is missing from the video because Lily stopped filming. Her own memory, however, still supplies the missing moments.

Key Events

Rose and Conor object to watching more of the home movie; Daisy continues.
Daisy inspects the Scrabble board and finds family names spelled out.
Trixie denies arranging the letters; Rose presses her for the truth.
The group suspects Nana’s agent may have ransacked the studio looking for Nana’s unpublished work.
Daisy notices a painted chair leg burning in the fireplace.
Conor shows a brief, unnatural smile.
Daisy recalls that gaps exist in the 1988 bonfire footage—moments Lily did not film.

Character Development

Daisy takes the lead in investigating the Scrabble board and the tape, showing determination despite the danger.
Rose displays increasing anxiety and a need for control, demanding truth from Trixie.
Conor is visibly unsettled; his fleeting smile and his earlier objection to watching the tape hint at hidden knowledge or guilt.
Trixie remains wide‑eyed and truthful, a child caught in the adult mystery.
Lily is almost catatonic, staring at the screen, suggesting she may be suppressing or confronting her own memories.

Themes, Symbols, and Motifs

Memory and omission – The missing footage and Daisy’s “mind remembering” underscore how memories can be unreliable or deliberately edited.
Family secrets – The Scrabble letters spelling out names symbolise the inescapable web of family connections and hidden truths.
Fire and destruction – The burning chair leg and the bonfire on screen echo the literal and metaphorical destruction of the family’s past.
Childhood vs. adulthood – Trixie’s innocence contrasts with the adults’ hidden agendas.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter provides a major clue – the Scrabble board arrangement – and deepens the mystery surrounding Nana’s agent. It also reveals that critical events from 1988 are missing from the recorded history, and that several characters (especially Conor and Lily) have knowledge they are not sharing. The chapter reframes the investigation: the killer may be tied to a long‑buried secret from thirty‑five years ago.

Study Questions and Answers

What does Daisy discover on the Scrabble board, and why is it significant?
Someone has used Scrabble letters to spell out the family members’ names. The board was a gift from Nana’s agent, so it creates a direct link between that person and the current murders.
Why does Conor not want to watch the rest of the home movie?
Conor claims it is not the time for “home movies” given the deaths, but his real reason seems to be that he knows what the tape will reveal or wants to avoid confronting his own past involvement.
What gap in the 1988 footage does Daisy note, and why is it important?
Daisy realises that Lily stopped filming at a certain point, so the bonfire video does not capture everything that happened that night. Daisy’s own memory can fill in those missing moments, suggesting she holds a key piece of the puzzle.