Chapter 27 Summary, Analysis, and 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

The chapter opens on the group's final full day in London. They have agreed to an elaborate afternoon tea at a boutique hotel in Soho, but Nate tries to back out, pointing out the fifty-pound-per-person price. Janelle insists, saying they need to make something of the last day. The table is laid with a lavish three-tiered spread: crustless sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, tiny cakes, and tarts. For Stevie, the abundance of small dishes and accompaniments is a painful echo of the dinner at Angela's—the many bowls of curry, the chutneys, the breads, and the conversation about Anne Boleyn that preceded the murder. She forces herself to eat a little chocolate cake, but it sits in her stomach like wet sand. She checks her phone repeatedly and sends David a text asking how he's going and when he'll be back, but no reply comes.

The group attends Richard III at the Barbican, a brutalist concrete complex that Janelle describes as an example of brutalism. Vi hates the building; Nate and Janelle both find something to love in its machine-like quality. Stevie is entirely distracted, keeping her phone in her lap for the whole performance, checking for messages from David that never arrive. The woman beside her huffs in annoyance until Stevie gets up and sits in the lobby for the final fifteen minutes, missing the scene where Richard begs for a horse. She reflects that she doesn't want to be angry, but she is acutely aware that she will be leaving England tomorrow, pulled away from David, from the case, from everything.

On the Tube ride back to Craven House, the group sits in a damp silence. Janelle announces out of nowhere that she will finalize her college list on the plane—eight hours, probably no internet, she just needs to get it done. She asks Vi if they're in, and Vi hedges with a maybe, which visibly disappoints Janelle, though she kisses Vi's forehead. Janelle then turns to Nate and asks how many schools he's applied to, needing data to work with. Nate becomes evasive, and Stevie suddenly pieces together a pattern she's been unconsciously tracking: Nate has been writing constantly, skipping meals, and his credit card hasn't been working. She realizes he's been applying to schools. Nate confesses: seventy-one applications, costing $5,740 so far, with some fees still pending. He used form letters from his editor, his agent, and a book festival contact rather than asking Ellingham. He explains his reasoning in a rush—he doesn't know where to go, all the schools blur together into brick buildings and backpacks and whiteboards full of triangles, there's a school where everyone kitesurfs, and he figured he'd cast a wide net. The group disembarks quietly, and Stevie reflects that she's solved one mystery even if it raised more questions.

Back at Craven House, Stevie goes to find David. His door is unanswered, and she tracks down Izzy's room at the other end of the hall, through two fire doors and down a pointless set of three steps. Izzy opens the door and immediately embraces Stevie, inviting her in. The room is warm and personal—a yellow duvet, pinned schedules and notes, books, champagne bottles, a feather boa, a shag rug with fuzzy pillows. David is resting on the pillows. He nods but doesn't get up. Stevie asks to talk to him, and he peels himself from the carpet without enthusiasm. In the hall, she learns he got back about an hour ago. He says he'll come over, but he wants to stay with Izzy, whose aunt just died. Stevie's question comes out sharp—he's been gone all day. David says he needs to make sure Izzy is okay. Stevie asks if he's mad at her because she failed, and David says it's not about her, and it's not about whether she solved it, like she always does. The words hit Stevie like a slap. She straightens up, says it's fine, and walks away. She lingers at the fire doors and in the lobby, hoping he'll follow, but he doesn't. She waits all night with her door cracked open, trying to look ready but not too ready, listening for any movement. Midnight passes, then one, then two. She falls asleep sitting up in her onesie, the door open a crack. No one comes.

Key Events

The afternoon tea at the Soho hotel triggers Stevie's memories of Angela's dinner and the murder.
Stevie texts David and receives no response, setting the tone for the chapter.
The group attends Richard III at the Barbican; Stevie is distracted and spends the final fifteen minutes in the lobby.
Janelle announces she'll finalize her college list on the plane and presses Nate for data.
Stevie deduces that Nate has been secretly applying to schools; he confesses to seventy-one applications.
Stevie finds David at Izzy's room; he is distant and prioritizes staying with Izzy.
David tells Stevie it's not about whether she solved the case, and Stevie walks away hurt.
Stevie waits all night with her door open, but David never comes.

Character Development

Stevie is at her most vulnerable in this chapter. Her failure to solve Angela's murder weighs on her, and David's silence compounds her anxiety. When David says it's not about whether she solved it, she reels—the comment wounds both her feelings and her pride. Her decision to wait all night with the door open, falling asleep in her onesie, shows a raw, almost childlike hope that David will come to her.

Nate reveals a hidden layer of anxiety. His seventy-one applications are an extreme response to uncertainty—he doesn't know where to go, so he casts a wide net. His confession, delivered in a rush of words about brick buildings and kitesurfing schools, reveals a young man overwhelmed by choice and terrified of making the wrong decision.

Janelle is frustrated that the trip hasn't met her expectations. Her need to finalize her college list on the plane is an attempt to pull a victory from the rubble. Her disappointment when Vi hedges, and her gentle kiss on Vi's forehead, show her trying to balance her own needs with care for her partner.

David is distant and withdrawn. His comment that it's not about whether Stevie solved the case suggests he's tired of her pattern of making everything about the investigation. His choice to stay with Izzy, while understandable given her grief, leaves Stevie feeling abandoned on their last night together.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Failure and the unresolved case: Stevie's failure to solve Angela's murder hangs over every moment of the chapter. The tea spread reminds her of the dinner at Angela's, and her distraction at the theater is rooted in her sense of having failed.

Grief and mourning: Izzy's grief over her aunt is a quiet presence throughout the chapter, and David's prioritization of her needs over Stevie's creates the central conflict.

College application anxiety: Nate's seventy-one applications and Janelle's need to finalize her list on the plane both speak to the pressure of uncertain futures.

Communication breakdown: Stevie's unanswered texts, David's silence, and the group's damp silence on the Tube all point to a failure to connect.

Waiting and abandonment: Stevie's night of waiting with the door open is a powerful image of hope and disappointment.

The open door: Stevie's door, cracked open all night, symbolizes her vulnerability and her willingness to let David in—an invitation that goes unanswered.

The Barbican's brutalist concrete: The cold, unfeeling architecture mirrors the emotional state of the group, particularly Stevie's isolation.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the emotional low point of the trip. It brings Stevie's failure to the surface, reveals Nate's secret, and fractures her relationship with David on their last night together. The chapter sets up the final act of the book by leaving Stevie alone, unresolved, and abandoned—a state that will shape her actions in the chapters to come. It also deepens the theme of uncertainty about the future, as the characters face college decisions and the end of their time in England.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does the afternoon tea trigger Stevie's memories of Angela's dinner, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?

The tea's elaborate spread—the many small dishes, the sandwiches, the cakes, the condiments—mirrors the abundance of the dinner at Angela's, where the many bowls of curry and chutneys were part of the setting for the murder. The memory of Angela talking about Anne Boleyn and the swordsman resurfaces, and Stevie can barely eat. This shows that she is haunted by the case and unable to separate ordinary experiences from the violence she witnessed. Her mind is still working on the murder even as she's about to leave the country.

2. What does Nate's confession about seventy-one college applications reveal about his character and his approach to uncertainty?

Nate's seventy-one applications reveal a young man who copes with uncertainty by trying to cover every possible outcome. He doesn't know where to go, so he casts a wide net, spending thousands of dollars in the process. His confession—delivered in a rush about brick buildings, backpacks, whiteboards with triangles, and a kitesurfing school—shows his anxiety about making the wrong choice. It also reveals a tendency toward secrecy: he hid this from his friends, using form letters from his editor and agent rather than asking Ellingham.

3. How does David's comment that it's not about whether Stevie solved the case affect her, and what does it reveal about their relationship?

David's comment wounds Stevie deeply because it dismisses the very thing she defines herself by—her ability to solve cases. It reveals that David sees her pattern of making everything about the investigation, and he's pushing back against it. For Stevie, the comment is a blow to both her feelings and her pride, and it leaves her unable to respond. The moment reveals a fracture in their relationship: David is prioritizing Izzy's grief, while Stevie is still consumed by the case and by her need for his reassurance.