Chapter Twenty-Five: Lucy
⚠️ 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
The chapter opens at Kathleen’s house, where Grandma arrives fresh from her controversial appearance on Ben’s podcast. Kathleen immediately scolds her mother for airing opinions about Matt without warning, but Grandma dismisses the concern—she didn’t accuse Matt of murder; she simply shared the awful things he said. Lucy observes the argument while eating donut holes and adds wry commentary. Kathleen worries about a defamation lawsuit, but Lucy and Grandma brush it off, insisting Matt cannot sue for truth being aired.
Grandma challenges Lucy to “tell the truth” about Matt in her upcoming interview. Lucy lies, promising she will, and Grandma’s satisfied smile suggests she knows it. Kathleen urges Lucy to be “selective” with truth, especially about sex-related topics that Ben’s podcast has fixated on. Lucy is stunned: after years of her mother insisting on honesty about Savvy’s death, Kathleen now wants her to edit. The conversation turns to Colin Dunn’s affair with Kathleen. Pressed by Lucy, Kathleen admits it happened only once, on Savvy’s wedding night, and that Colin told her he and Savvy had an open relationship. Lucy confirms this, but her unreadable expression makes Kathleen uneasy. Grandma lightens the mood with playful sex talk, embarrassing Kathleen. The scene ends with Lucy whispering to Grandma that Savvy had no complaints about Colin, prompting cackles. Throughout, Savvy’s voice whispers a bitter refrain: “The truth doesn’t matter.”
Key Events
- Grandma comes to Kathleen’s house after the podcast, triggering conflict.
- Kathleen criticizes Grandma for speaking out against Matt on air.
- Grandma deflects, insisting she only told the truth about his words.
- Grandma challenges Lucy to be truthful about Matt in her own interview; Lucy falsely agrees.
- Kathleen warns Lucy to be “selective” in her truth, revealing hypocrisy about transparency.
- Lucy shifts the subject to Colin Dunn, and Kathleen confirms a one-night stand at Savvy’s wedding.
- Kathleen shares that Colin said he and Savvy saw other people; Lucy verifies this but keeps her face unreadable.
- Savvy’s voice undercuts the talk of truth throughout the scene.
Character Development
Lucy: Her sarcasm masks deep weariness with family dynamics. She outwardly agrees to Grandma’s challenge but internally recognizes the lie. Her willingness to needle her mother about Colin shows a streak of defiance, but also a desire to understand the past. The voice of Savvy continues to haunt her, reinforcing her isolation and the idea that honesty won’t bring clarity.
Kathleen: Hypocrisy surfaces sharply. For five years she has pressed Lucy for the truth about that night, yet when the podcast exposes uncomfortable truths about men she protects, she advocates silence. Her admission about Colin—and her belief that his badmouthing meant nothing—exposes her pattern of shielding men from consequences.
Grandma: Remains a provocateur who values blunt truth over likability. She refuses to apologize for her podcast remarks and openly enjoys the chaos. Her challenge to Lucy, and her knowing smile at Lucy’s lie, suggest she sees through the family’s pretenses more than she lets on.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Truth versus protection: The chapter centers on who gets to decide which truths are told. Grandma insists on exposing Matt; Kathleen wants to bury talk of affairs. Lucy is caught in the middle.
- Family loyalty and generational conflict: Kathleen and Grandma clash over the right to speak publicly, while Lucy watches, triangulating.
- Sex and hypocrisy: The podcast’s “sex obsessed” lens forces the family to confront messy intimacies—Lucy’s affair, Matt’s, Kathleen’s with Colin—and their discomfort highlights a double standard.
- Savvy’s spectral voice: “The truth doesn’t matter” echoes the novel’s larger question: Will uncovering facts heal anything or just dredge up irrelevance? The whisper suggests Lucy’s cynicism is deepening.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 27 peels back layers of the Chase family’s relationship with honesty. It reveals Kathleen’s complicity in burying male misbehavior, a stark contrast to her earlier demands on Lucy. Grandma’s bold podcast moment has immediate domestic fallout, showing how public storytelling reshapes private loyalties. The revelation about Colin’s open-relationship claim adds texture to Savvy’s marriage, hinting that more secrets may be intertwined with the murder. Finally, Lucy’s passive lie to her grandmother underscores how performing truth-telling has become a survival tactic, leaving readers to question what she will actually say if she ever sits down for a real interview.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Kathleen suddenly want Lucy to be “selective” with the truth, despite hounding her for years to confess everything about Savvy’s death?
Kathleen is programmed to protect the men in her orbit—Matt, her ex-husband Don, and now even Colin. When Ben’s podcast airs unflattering details about these men’s affairs and words, Kathleen’s instinct is to shield them from judgment, even if that means asking Lucy to self-censor. Her hypocrisy exposes a deep-seated belief that male reputation outweighs uncomfortable facts. -
What does Grandma’s challenge to Lucy and her satisfied smile at Lucy’s lie reveal about their relationship?
Grandma likely knows Lucy has no intention of fully coming clean on a podcast. The smile indicates she values the performance of alliance over genuine honesty; as long as Lucy pretends to share Grandma’s fire, the matriarch is placated. It suggests a transactional bond where stubborn solidarity trumps truth. -
How does Savvy’s whispered line “The truth doesn’t matter” echo the chapter’s action?
All three women manipulate or dodge the truth: Grandma broadcasts only select facts, Kathleen urges concealment, and Lucy lies outright. Savvy’s voice, which haunts Lucy, points to the emptiness at the core of these battles—arguing over truth may not bring justice or peace, especially if the central mystery remains unsolved.