Chapter 28 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Jess wakes in Nora’s bedroom at Darling House, still wearing Nora’s dress. The morning light and the overgrown wallpaper remind her where she is, and the fresh weight of Nora’s death settles in. She remembers that Polly is staying until Thursday for the solicitor meeting, and she recalls snapping at her mother the previous evening after Polly gave her a copy of Daniel Miller’s book.
Looking for the book, Jess finds it on the floor near the wastepaper basket. As she retrieves it, she spots a letter with an Adelaide letterhead in the bin. She pulls it out and reads it. The letter, signed by Marcus Summers, a solicitor, is addressed to Nora. It asks whether Nora would be willing to speak with the writer’s client about the death of Thea Turner. Jess recognizes Marcus Summers as the younger son of Percy and Meg from Tambilla, and she remembers that Nora’s diary had listed the initials “M.S.” as a task to call him—a box that was never ticked.
It is only seven in the morning, too early to call, so Jess decides to search the attic. She recalls that the attic had been her childhood refuge, a place she went to when she felt hurt or needed to be alone. Now, climbing the stairs, she feels echoes of Nora and a fresh wave of grief. The attic is exactly as she remembers: the round rug, the mottled dormer window, the old ship’s clock stopped at twenty past two.
Jess searches methodically. She opens the steamer trunk that once belonged to Thomas Turner, checking pockets and seams of old dresses, but finds nothing. She examines the books on the shelves, shaking them and checking inside covers, finding only a faded shopping list and a dry-cleaning receipt. She inspects the toys, including a train engine’s battery compartment and a teddy bear’s stitching. She opens storage tubs, shakes out blankets, lifts the rug, and paces the floorboards looking for a secret panel. After an hour, she finds nothing.
Back downstairs, Jess showers and decides that a random attic search was a long shot. The more promising lead is Marcus Summers. When office hours begin in Adelaide, she calls his firm. After giving her name, she explains that Nora has died and that she is the executor. Marcus is cautious, asking whether she is Nora’s only surviving descendant. Jess lies, saying that Nora had spoken to her about the letter before she died and had meant to contact him.
Marcus then asks if Jess is familiar with what happened to the Turner family in Tambilla. She says she has read Daniel Miller’s book. Marcus reveals that his client has good authority that Thea Turner was not taken by wild dogs that day—contradicting the official findings and Miller’s account. Jess asks if the police and coroner got it wrong, and Marcus confirms. He declines to discuss details over the phone, mentioning he has business in Sydney the following week. Jess proposes traveling to Adelaide the next day instead, and Marcus agrees to meet her.
Key Events
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Jess discovers a letter from Adelaide solicitor Marcus Summers in the wastepaper basket, addressed to Nora, asking if she would speak with his client about Thea Turner’s death.
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She recalls that Nora’s diary had listed “M.S.” as an unfinished task.
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Jess searches the attic thoroughly—trunk, books, toys, storage tubs, floorboards—but finds no clue.
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She calls Marcus Summers, who confirms that Thea Turner was not taken by wild dogs, contradicting the official narrative.
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Marcus declines to discuss details over the phone, and Jess arranges to meet him in Adelaide the next day.
Character Development
Jess moves from passive grief to active investigation. Her initial sluggishness and guilt over snapping at Polly give way to determination once she finds the letter. The attic search shows her clinging to a childhood refuge, but also her willingness to confront the past. Her lie to Marcus—claiming Nora had spoken to her about the letter—reveals her growing resolve to uncover the truth, even if it means bending the facts.
Marcus Summers appears as a careful, professional lawyer. He is cautious about verifying Jess’s authority, but he is also decisive once he trusts her. His willingness to meet her in Adelaide suggests he believes the information is important and that Jess may be a suitable substitute for Nora.
Nora is present through memory and absence. The attic is filled with her echoes, and Jess’s grief is palpable. The unfinished task in the diary and the letter in the bin suggest Nora was troubled by the request but never acted on it—a detail that deepens the mystery around her final weeks.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
The attic as refuge and archive – The attic is both a childhood sanctuary and a place of hidden history. Jess’s search there mirrors her larger quest to uncover family secrets. The stopped clock at twenty past two symbolizes a moment frozen in time, hinting at a tragedy that has never been resolved.
Official narrative vs. truth – Marcus’s statement that Thea was not taken by wild dogs directly challenges the accepted account in Daniel Miller’s book and the official findings. This theme underscores the novel’s concern with how stories are constructed and who controls them.
Hidden letters and unfinished tasks – The letter in the wastepaper basket and the unticked “M.S.” in Nora’s diary suggest that Nora was avoiding a difficult conversation. The motif of the hidden letter points to secrets that have been deliberately buried.
Grief and memory – Jess’s grief for Nora is intertwined with her memories of the attic. The chapter shows how memory can be both comforting and misleading, as Jess’s search yields nothing, forcing her to rely on external sources.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter is a turning point in Jess’s investigation. It moves her from passive reading of Daniel Miller’s book to active pursuit of a new source. The discovery of the letter and Marcus’s confirmation that the official story is wrong fundamentally shifts the mystery. It also deepens the emotional stakes: Nora’s death is now linked to a long-ago tragedy that someone still wants to discuss. The chapter sets up the Adelaide journey, promising new revelations about the Turner family and the events of 1959.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Jess decide to search the attic, and what does the search reveal about her state of mind?
Jess searches the attic because she is determined to find out why Nora died, and she believes the attic may hold clues. The search reveals her grief and her need to connect with Nora’s past, but it also shows her frustration—she finds nothing, which forces her to rely on the letter and Marcus Summers instead.
2. What does Marcus Summers’s confirmation about Thea Turner’s death imply about the reliability of Daniel Miller’s book?
Marcus’s statement that Thea was not taken by wild dogs directly contradicts the book and the official findings. This implies that the accepted narrative is incomplete or false, and that there is a hidden truth that someone—Marcus’s client—wants to reveal. It also suggests that Nora may have known something that made her upset when she received the letter.
3. How does Jess’s lie to Marcus about Nora speaking to her about the letter affect the reader’s understanding of her character?
Jess’s lie shows her determination to gain access to information, even if it means being deceptive. It reveals that she is willing to bend the truth to uncover the family’s secrets, and it also highlights her sense of responsibility as Nora’s executor. The lie is a small but significant step in her transformation from a passive observer to an active seeker of truth.
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