Chapter 9 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

The chapter opens with the trio back at camp, sitting on the dock in the moonlight while mosquitoes swarm them. They snack on brownies and muffins as a second dinner. Stevie sums up the evening's lesson: the town did not react well when they learned the library donation was tied to a podcast about a local tragedy.

Janelle has been researching John Barlow, the historical figure behind the statue they encountered. She discovers he enslaved eight people on his property, and yet a statue of him still stands. Nate wonders whether the project will continue given the public criticism, but Stevie believes it will proceed regardless.

The conversation turns to motive. Stevie reasons that Todd Cooper likely killed Michael Penhale, which would give someone a reason to want Cooper dead. But she argues it makes no sense to punish Cooper by killing three innocent people alongside him. Janelle questions whether sense matters in murder at all, but Stevie insists it does for a crime this carefully planned—someone researched the Woodsman, brought supplies, and chased Eric Wilde through the woods for miles.

Nate shifts the conversation to horror movie tropes, pointing out that Patty fits the final girl archetype. He lists the boxes the situation ticks: murder at a sleepaway camp, a serial killer, a final girl, a child who died because of irresponsible teenagers. Janelle reminds him this is real, but Nate says he is only describing the tropes. When Stevie asks if he knows who did it, he jokes about Jason Voorhees.

A drizzle begins, and thunder rumbles. The trio heads inside, walking Nate to the treehouse before Stevie and Janelle continue to their cabin behind the art pavilion. The cabin feels different from Ellingham Academy—the walls are thinner, the air is thick and moist, and Stevie cannot shake the thought that these are murder woods.

Inside, they unpack. Janelle places citronella candles around the room, including near a screen with a hole in it. Stevie arranges her medications on the bureau and takes a pill to help her rest in the unfamiliar, stressful environment. Janelle mentions she can make scented liners for the drawers, and the two settle into their beds.

Stevie opens her tablet to the case files Carson sent—over eight hundred documents organized by subjects like SUSPECTS, CRIME SCENE, and ARTICLES. She opens a file marked SABRINA and reads an excerpt from a book on the case. Sabrina Abbott was born in 1960 to Dr. James Abbott, the town dentist, and his wife Cindy. She had a younger sister, Allison, who worshipped her. Sabrina was valedictorian of Liberty High's class of 1978, maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA, was a skilled pianist, edited the school newspaper, and volunteered at the library reading to children. Her boyfriend, Shawn Greenvale, was a similarly dedicated student. The excerpt notes that perfect is a word often applied to Sabrina, and that her presence in the woods that night is the hardest to explain.

Stevie sets the tablet down, troubled. She tells Janelle that the Ellingham case felt far away, with no one left to feel pain. But here, Allison Abbott is still raw with grief. Stevie wonders if she has any right to be at the camp trying to work it out. Janelle reassures her that she is the person who solved the Ellingham Academy case, but Stevie admits she feels like a fake. Janelle names it: impostor syndrome. She explains that she does not feel it herself because she makes things she can see work, while Stevie works with things she cannot see.

The conversation turns to Janelle's relationship with Vi, who is in Vietnam. Janelle confesses she cannot stop thinking about them—the next text, the next chat, the next picture. She worries she should be more serious about her projects and college, but she keeps checking her phone. Stevie tells her that loving Vi is normal, and Janelle admits she wants Vi there, that September feels too far away. Stevie breaks the tension by imagining how much Nate would hate this conversation, and Janelle laughs.

They settle in for sleep. Stevie feels complete for the first time in months—working a case, with her friends nearby. Her mind drifts through the faces of the victims: Sabrina, Eric, Todd, and Diane. She believes the answer is somewhere in the camp, and she will find it. She falls asleep to the sound of rain.

In the morning, Janelle wakes Stevie by yelling her name. Janelle is standing by the bed, staring in horror at the wall above Stevie's head. Stevie turns and sees the word SURPRISE written about four feet above where she had been sleeping.

Key Events

The trio debriefs on the dock about the town's hostile reaction to the podcast plan
Janelle discovers John Barlow enslaved eight people and still has a statue
Stevie argues Todd Cooper's motive does not explain killing three innocent people
Nate compares the situation to horror movie tropes, naming Patty as the final girl
Stevie and Janelle unpack in their cabin as rain begins
Stevie reads Carson's case files, including a profile of Sabrina Abbott
Stevie and Janelle discuss impostor syndrome and Janelle's long-distance relationship with Vi
The word SURPRISE is discovered written on the wall above Stevie's bed

Character Development

Stevie shows vulnerability in this chapter. She takes medication to manage her anxiety in a new place, admits she feels like a fake despite her success at Ellingham, and questions whether she has the right to investigate a case that still causes living people pain. Yet she also finds a sense of completeness in working the case with her friends, suggesting she has found purpose in the work.

Janelle emerges as a grounding presence. She is practical—placing citronella candles, planning scented liners—and emotionally perceptive, naming Stevie's impostor syndrome and offering reassurance. Her confession about missing Vi reveals a softer, more uncertain side beneath her competence.

Nate provides comic relief and a framework for understanding the case through horror movie conventions. His joke about Jason Voorhees lightens the mood, but his observation about the final girl trope lingers, hinting that the case may follow familiar patterns.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Horror movie tropes vs. reality. Nate's comparison of the case to a horror movie—sleepaway camp, serial killer, final girl—creates a tension between genre expectations and the real human cost. Janelle's insistence that this is real underscores the gap between storytelling conventions and lived tragedy.

The legacy of slavery and public memory. Janelle's discovery that John Barlow enslaved eight people yet still has a statue raises questions about who communities choose to honor and what that says about their values.

The perfect victim narrative. Sabrina Abbott's profile—valedictorian, pianist, volunteer, beloved sister—presents her as flawless. The book excerpt notes that perfect is a word often applied to her, which may complicate the investigation by making her seem too good to have been in the woods that night.

Impostor syndrome. Stevie's admission that she feels like a fake, despite solving the Ellingham case, speaks to the self-doubt that can accompany intellectual work. Janelle's distinction between making things you can see and working with things you cannot see offers a thoughtful counterpoint.

The thin boundary between safety and danger. The cabin's thin walls, the hole in the screen, and Stevie's thought that these are murder woods all suggest that the camp offers little real protection—a feeling confirmed by the SURPRISE message.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the investigation by introducing Sabrina Abbott's profile and the question of motive, while also building the emotional lives of the main characters. The conversation about impostor syndrome and long-distance love humanizes Stevie and Janelle, making the stakes feel personal. The chapter ends with a direct threat—the word SURPRISE written above Stevie's bed—confirming that someone knows they are there and is watching. It transforms the camp from a place of investigation into a place of danger.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Stevie insist the murders must make sense even though Janelle questions whether sense matters in murder?

Stevie argues that a crime this carefully planned—researching the Woodsman, bringing supplies, chasing Eric Wilde for miles—must have a logic to it. If the killer only wanted Todd Cooper dead, killing three innocent people makes no sense. Stevie's insistence on finding that logic reflects her investigative approach: she believes the pattern of the crime will reveal the killer.

2. How does the description of Sabrina Abbott as perfect complicate the investigation?

The profile presents Sabrina as flawless—valedictorian, pianist, volunteer, beloved by her sister. The book excerpt notes that her presence in the woods that night is the hardest to explain, suggesting she does not fit the profile of someone who would be at a camp party. This perfect victim narrative may obscure the truth about who she was and why she was there, and it also makes her death feel more senseless to those who knew her.

3. What does the SURPRISE message suggest about the killer's awareness of the trio?

The message was written on the wall above Stevie's bed, meaning someone entered the cabin while they were asleep or before they arrived. It suggests the killer knows who they are, where they are staying, and wants them to know they are being watched. The word SURPRISE carries a taunting, almost playful tone, implying the killer is confident and may be toying with them.