Nick Tate in Not What She Seems: Character Analysis
Overview of Nick Tate in Not What She Seems
Nick Tate enters the story as the town golden boy, the only son of Mayor Tate, and one-third of the childhood trio known as the Three Amigos alongside Jacinda Brodie and Sawyer Okoye. The narrative initially presents him through Jacinda's nostalgic lens: a former high school defensive end with a scar on his jaw, a man who has filled out in all the right places and carries himself with southern gentlemanly charm. But the novel's central revelation reframes every warm memory. Nick is the person who pushed Jacinda's father off a cliff the night she was twenty-two, then stood by for six years while the town blamed her for the death.
The epigraph that opens the novel—the proverb about the road to hell being paved with good intentions—serves as Nick's thematic signature. His confession in the storm at Moor Manor makes this explicit: he acted because he wanted Jacinda, because he could not let her father keep them apart, and because he believed his desire justified the act.
Plot Role
Nick functions as the novel's hidden antagonist—the person whose secret drives the central mystery. For most of the narrative, Jacinda believes she killed her father in a drunken struggle on the bluff. Nick's role in the present-day plot is layered: he is simultaneously her childhood friend re-entering her life, the mayor's son with political connections, and the keeper of a secret that Faye Arden (Faith Anderson) knows and weaponizes.
His plot function becomes clear in the climax. Faye, holding Jacinda and her family hostage at Moor Manor, forces the confrontation, telling Jacinda to ask Nick what he did to her daddy. Nick's refusal to speak, his desperate pleas for Jacinda to let him explain, and his eventual confession in the clearing all drive the story toward its resolution. His death—falling from the bluff after releasing Jacinda's ankle—closes the novel's central wound while leaving Jacinda free to rebuild her life.
Motivations and Traits
Nick's primary motivation, as he states it, is desire: he wanted Jacinda. The evidence shows this desire was long-held. He spent eight years—through high school and college—waiting for a chance to be with her. When her father opposed the relationship, Nick's response was rage, not acceptance.
His confession reveals the logic of his actions: he could not let Jacinda's father destroy his family either. This line connects to his identity as a Tate—a family with a reputation to protect. Nick's fear was not just losing Jacinda; it was losing the standing that came with his name.
Several traits emerge from the evidence:
Charm and social ease. At the funeral repast, Jacinda notes how Nick's smile is generously directed toward her, and how he seems to exude an appeal that draws everyone in. He navigates the room with ease, teasing Sawyer and Jacinda back into their old rhythms.
Loyalty to his father. Nick is described as the apple of Mayor Tate's eye, and the mayor's approval matters to him. At the charity dinner, Nick implores his father to smooth over Faye's hostility toward Jacinda.
Possessiveness. At the charity dinner, Nick's hand moves to Jacinda's knee in a gesture that feels proprietary, as if he were staking a claim. This is a small but telling detail—his sense of ownership over Jacinda predates and outlasts their actual relationship.
Capacity for violence. Nick's military training is referenced, and Faye goads him into a rage at Moor Manor, his face flushing deep crimson and his eyes becoming small, dark stones. The same rage that pushed Jacinda's father off a cliff is still present in him.
Guilt and avoidance. Nick carries his secret for six years. He lets Jacinda believe she killed her father. He lets the town blame her. When confronted, he asks for a chance to explain, but his explanations are self-justifying.
Chronological Arc
Nick's arc spans roughly eight years, from the night of Chief Brodie's death to his own death at Moor Manor.
The night of the death (six years before the novel's present). Jacinda and Nick, both twenty-two, have sex in Nick's car after stealing whiskey from Councilman Tate. Chief Brodie finds them, threatens Nick, and orders Jacinda away. Jacinda, drunk and furious at discovering her father's affair, shoves him. Nick, enraged, pushes the chief—knowing the bluff's edge is close. The chief falls. Nick pulls Jacinda back from the edge and holds her, murmuring that he is sorry and did not mean it. She interprets these words as grief over failing to save her father.
The years between. Nick lets the town blame Jacinda. He stays in Brook Haven, becomes the mayor's son, and builds a life. Sawyer tells Jacinda that she and Nick considered visiting but did not want to intrude—a detail that suggests Nick maintained distance while remaining in town.
The funeral repast (present day). Nick rejoins Jacinda's orbit at her grandfather's funeral. He is warm, charming, and eager to reconnect. He deflects questions about Faye Arden with sheepish discomfort.
The rekindling. Over the weeks following the funeral, Nick and Jacinda reconnect. Nick tells her these weeks have been the best of his life. Their relationship becomes physical again, though Jacinda describes it as noncommittal fun.
The confrontation at Moor Manor. Faye reveals Nick's secret. Nick threatens Faye, tries to silence her, and ultimately flees to the clearing with a gun.
The confession and death. In the storm, Nick admits to pushing Jacinda's father. Jacinda pulls his gun, tells him she would have chosen him, and the arrival of authorities triggers a struggle. The gun discharges; both go over the edge. Jacinda catches a rock ridge; Nick grips her ankle. She kicks at him, they make eye contact, and he releases her, falling into the darkness.
Relationships
With Jacinda. The central relationship of the novel. Nick and Jacinda were best friends from high school through college. Their friendship crossed class and racial lines—Nick, the rich white politician's son, choosing to spend his time with two Black girls from different circumstances. The night of the death transformed their friendship into something darker: Nick killed Jacinda's father, then let her believe she was the killer. His confession reveals that his desire for Jacinda was the motive for murder. Jacinda's final words to him—that she would have chosen him—suggest that his violence was not only unjustified but unnecessary.
With his father, Mayor Tate. Nick is the mayor's pride. At the charity dinner, the mayor defers to Nick's wishes. Faye's relationship with the mayor—and her sexual relationship with Nick—creates a web of secrets that Nick tries to keep contained.
With Faye Arden. The evidence reveals that Nick and Faye had a sexual relationship. Faye tells Jacinda that she has enjoyed the taste Nick gave her and threatens to tell Mayor Tate that she has been with both the daddy and the son. Faye claims to have protected Nick's secrets, suggesting a transactional relationship built on mutual knowledge.
With Sawyer Okoye. Sawyer is the third member of the trio. She works at the police department and remains loyal to both Nick and Jacinda, unaware of Nick's crime until the end.
Key Decisions and Consequences
Decision: To push Chief Brodie. Nick's decision to push Jacinda's father, knowing the edge was close, is the novel's central act of violence. The consequence is a death, six years of Jacinda's self-blame, and Nick's own eventual death.
Decision: To let Jacinda take the blame. Nick's silence after the death is arguably as damaging as the push itself. He lets the town brand Jacinda a killer. He lets her carry guilt that nearly destroys her. When Jacinda confronts him, she names this: he let the town hate her and blame her.
Decision: To reconnect with Jacinda. Nick's choice to re-enter Jacinda's life after her grandfather's death reopens the wound. His desire to be with her again sets up the confrontation that ends his life.
Decision: To release Jacinda's ankle. In the novel's final moments, Nick holds Jacinda's ankle as she clings to a rock ridge. She kicks at him. They make eye contact, and he lets go, falling to his death. This is the one act of genuine selflessness in his arc—a final acknowledgment that his desire for Jacinda should not cost her life.
Theme Connections
Nick embodies the novel's epigraph: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. His stated intention was love—wanting Jacinda, wanting to protect their relationship. The road he took led to murder, deception, and his own destruction. This connects directly to the theme of good intentions as a path to destruction.
Nick also carries the weight of his family name. As the mayor's son, he is bound to the Tate reputation. His fear that Jacinda's father would destroy his family suggests that his violence was partly about protecting the family image. This connects to inherited guilt and the weight of reputation.
Nick's years of concealment—letting Jacinda believe she was the killer—connect to identity concealment and reinvention. He presents himself as the loyal friend while hiding the truth of what he did.
Jacinda's journey toward the truth, and the cost of that truth-seeking, connects to the cost of truth-seeking. Nick's confession does not restore what was lost; it only confirms the depth of the betrayal. The novel's treatment of Jacinda's repressed memory and the unreliability of self-knowledge is also tied to Nick: her inability to recall the full night is what allowed his secret to remain hidden for so long.
For the full resolution of Nick's arc, see the ending explained page.
Questions and Answers
1. Why did Nick push Jacinda's father off the cliff?
Nick confesses in the storm at Moor Manor that he pushed Chief Brodie because the chief opposed his relationship with Jacinda. Nick says he had waited eight years to be with her and could not let her father keep them apart. He also says he could not let the chief destroy his family either, suggesting his motive combined desire with a need to protect the Tate name.
2. Why did Nick let Jacinda believe she killed her father?
Nick never offers a full explanation for his silence, but the evidence suggests self-preservation. Admitting the truth would have exposed him as a killer and damaged his family's reputation. Jacinda's accusation—that he let the town hate her and blame her—implies he chose his own safety over her wellbeing.
3. What was Nick's relationship with Faye Arden?
The evidence reveals that Nick and Faye had a sexual relationship. Faye tells Jacinda that she has been with both the daddy and the son, referring to Mayor Tate and Nick. Faye also claims to have protected Nick's secrets, suggesting their relationship was partly transactional—she kept his secret, and he kept hers.
4. Why did Nick release Jacinda's ankle at the bluff?
In the novel's climax, Jacinda kicks at Nick as he grips her ankle, and they make eye contact. He releases her, falling into the darkness. The narrative presents this as a final act of letting go—Nick choosing, for once, not to hold Jacinda back. It is the one moment in his arc where he prioritizes her survival over his own desire.
5. How does Nick's death affect Jacinda's arc?
Nick's death, combined with Faye's arrest, frees Jacinda from the two people who held her past hostage. With Nick gone, she can stop carrying the guilt he imposed on her. The epilogue shows her preparing to leave for South Korea on a Fulbright scholarship, suggesting that Nick's removal from her life allows her to move forward. For more discussion, see the questions and answers page or return to the book overview.