Chapter Twenty-Four: Lucy – Summary & Key Takeaways

⚠️ 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

Ben doesn’t take Lucy back to the hotel after the fight with her parents. Instead, he drives her to Grandma Beverly’s tiny house. Beverly is waiting, having told Ben in a text to bring Lucy over. She reveals she already warned Ben that Lucy acts tougher than she really is—a comment that stings but rings true. Inside, Beverly feeds them pizza and strong vodka tonics, and Lucy’s fainting embarrassment slowly fades.

As they sit on the porch, Beverly casually mentions Ben knows about Lucy’s secret career as a romance novelist. Lucy had guessed as much, but the confirmation shakes her. She worries others will figure it out now that the podcast has put her back in the spotlight. Beverly brushes it off and launches into a blunt critique of the men in her own life, insisting that men never really protect women—they protect themselves or each other, and only shield women from happiness. Ben takes the speech in stride, and Lucy finds herself softening toward him.

In a quieter moment, Lucy realizes that Ben dredging up the past actually needed to happen. She commits to finding real answers for Savvy. The chapter ends with a jolt: Ben tells Lucy that the podcast host, in episode five, has concluded that Matt—Savvy’s husband—killed her. Lucy hasn’t finished the episode yet, and the revelation hangs in the air.

Key Events

Ben drives Lucy to Grandma Beverly’s instead of the hotel to avoid leaving her alone after the parental blowup.
Beverly admits she told Ben that Lucy isn’t as tough as she pretends.
Over pizza and cocktails, Lucy’s composure returns.
Conversation reveals Ben already knows Lucy is the author of steamy romance novels; he promises he won’t tell.
Beverly delivers a scorching feminist monologue about men’s failure to protect women, saying they only protect themselves.
Lucy acknowledges that Ben’s investigation was necessary and vows to find justice for Savvy.
Beverly flirts with a different gray-haired man than the one Ben met earlier, adding a flirty, lighthearted moment.
Ben drops the bombshell that the podcast host believes Matt killed Savvy, and urges Lucy to finish episode five.

Character Development

Lucy Chase: This chapter peels back another layer of her armor. She fainted from stress earlier and now recognizes that her “tough” persona isn’t as sturdy as she wants it to be. She’s vulnerable in front of Ben, but instead of lashing out, she accepts his help and even repeats Grandma’s “you’re not half bad” with a half-smile. Crucially, she shifts from resenting the podcast to actively wanting answers. The Savvy voice in her head is still present, but now it accompanies a sense of purpose rather than just self-loathing.

Ben: He acts as a protector without being paternalistic. By bringing Lucy to Beverly’s, he respects the one family member who actually cares for her. His familiarity with Beverly—he’s clearly visited multiple times—shows he’s woven himself into Lucy’s world more deeply than she realized. He handles Beverly’s blunt lecture with humor and grace, and his careful probe about Matt demonstrates he’s still trying to piece together the truth.

Grandma Beverly: She’s the emotional anchor of the chapter. Her no-nonsense wisdom (telling Ben Lucy isn’t tough, feeding them, pouring strong drinks) and her unapologetic feminist critique make her both a comedic and thematic force. She lives by her own rules, unbothered by social expectations, and her belief that men only ever kept her from happiness resonates as a thesis for the entire novel.

Savvy (voice in Lucy’s head): Although not physically present, Savvy’s ghost still quips about felonies and giggles at the wine stain Lucy mistakes for blood. The voice is less antagonistic now, almost a partner in the search for truth.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Secrecy and Identity: Lucy’s romance pseudonym remains a fragile secret. Even though Ben and Grandma know, she fears public exposure now that the podcast has thrust her back into the spotlight. The chapter asks how many versions of herself she can control.
Men as Protectors vs. Self-Preservers: Grandma’s speech directly attacks the cultural myth that men protect women. She argues men only protect themselves or each other, and that her own father and husband shielded her from happiness, not danger. This reframes the entire investigation: who actually tried to protect Savvy?
The Necessity of Confronting the Past: Lucy’s epiphany that “it needed to be dredged up” marks a turning point. Avoidance and distance in Los Angeles didn’t heal her; reengaging with the mystery, however painful, is the only path forward.
Generational Shifts: Beverly contrasts her generation’s repression with Lucy’s relative freedom, yet both eras remain saturated with violence against women—a violence Ben studies for a living.
The Podcast as Catalyst: The podcast continues to uncover secrets, and the revelation that the host suspects Matt redirects the narrative’s momentum away from Lucy and toward the real culprit.

Why This Chapter Matters

After the high-tension confrontation with Lucy’s parents, this chapter offers a necessary emotional reset. The porch scene with pizza and vodka allows the reader—and Lucy—to breathe before the next discovery. It deepens the bond between Lucy, Ben, and Beverly, establishing a makeshift family unit that will likely support Lucy as the investigation intensifies. Most important, the bombshell about Matt shifts suspicion squarely onto Savvy’s husband, giving the mystery a concrete lead. Ben’s casual “You should finish episode five” functions as a narrative hook, compelling both Lucy and the reader to confront the possibility that the killer has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Study Questions and Answers

How does Lucy’s attitude toward Ben’s investigation change in this chapter?
Earlier, she resented him for dragging the past back into the open, but after talking with Grandma and reflecting, she admits that “it needed to be dredged up.” She stops blaming Ben and instead resolves to find real answers for Savvy, transforming from passive victim of the investigation into an active participant.
What revelation does Ben share about the podcast, and why is it significant?
Ben tells Lucy that the podcast host has concluded that Matt, Savvy’s husband, killed her. This is the first time the narrative explicitly names a suspect other than Lucy, rerouting the central mystery and suggesting that the person closest to Savvy at the time may have been the real threat.
What does Grandma’s speech about men reveal about her character and the novel’s themes?
Her blunt declaration that men only protect themselves and only ever shielded her from happiness illustrates her independence, her sharp insight, and her refusal to sugarcoat reality. It reinforces the novel’s feminist undercurrent and raises the question: If men don’t truly protect women, who was supposed to protect Savvy? The answer, tragically, may be no one.