Characters The Girl from Devil's Lake J. A. Jance

Marliss Shackleford in The Girl from Devil's Lake

Overview

Marliss Shackleford is the persistent local reporter for the Cochise County Courier (later a website) in J.A. Jance’s [The Girl from Devil's Lake]. She is a secondary character whose dogged pursuit of a story leads her directly into the path of serial killer Stephen Roper. Her chloroforming and death at Roper’s hands become the catalyst that forces his arrest and exposes a decades-long killing spree. Marliss is portrayed as tenacious, sometimes abrasive, and professionally ambitious, but also as a lonely woman whose tough exterior masks a difficult personal history.

Plot Role

Marliss first appears in Chapter 4, attempting to extract information from Sheriff Joanna Brady about the discovery of a child’s body under the St. David Bridge. Her persistence—catching Joanna off guard to confirm the victim is a boy—establishes her as an aggressive reporter who uses any opening to break news. Throughout the investigation into Xavier Delgado’s murder, she repeatedly pressures Joanna for updates, creating tension between the sheriff’s office and the press.

Her most critical role comes in Chapter 38, when she drives unannounced to Stephen Roper’s home in Naco, Arizona. She tells Roper she is writing a piece on the Xavier Delgado case and understands he was one of the last to see the child alive. This confrontation terrifies Roper, who realizes investigators have put him on the radar. In a panic, he chloroforms her, zip-ties her, and shoves her headfirst into a crawl space, intending to kill her. Her car is then used by Roper in his escape attempt.

In Chapter 42, deputies executing a search warrant discover Marliss in the crawl space – bound and gravely injured. Despite emergency medical care, she dies from a bone fragment that severed her medulla. Her death transforms the investigation: Roper is arrested for attempted murder (later upgraded to murder), and the resulting evidence – including his trophy cigar box – reveals him as a serial killer responsible for dozens of deaths across decades.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Marliss’s primary motivation is professional: she wants a scoop. She stakes out crime scenes, badgers law enforcement, and cultivates anonymous sources. Her cleaning lady’s brother-in-law provides the tip that leads her to Roper – a source outside the department, as Butch later points out. This demonstrates her network of informants and her willingness to act on unverified rumors.

Her trait of persistence borders on recklessness. She shows up at Roper’s home without backup, not telling anyone where she is going. She is also deeply insecure about her place in a “two‑bit” town, as her mother Dianne Borison reveals. Marliss’s choice to stay in Bisbee after inheriting a cabin from her aunt suggests a conflicted attachment to a place she publicly disparages.

Beneath her aggressive exterior, Marliss craves recognition and friendship. Joanna observes that Marliss considered her a “best friend” – a claim Joanna initially doubts but later accepts. In her eulogy (Chapter 55), Joanna speaks of their shared struggle with controlling mothers, implying a bond neither woman fully acknowledged.

Chronological Arc

  • Early chapters (4, 12, 14, 22, 26): Marliss appears at crime scenes and press conferences. She needles Joanna for information, often catching her off guard. She publishes Xavier’s name before the department releases it, causing a leak investigation.

  • Chapter 38 (December 8, 2023): Marliss drives to Roper’s house. She interviews him, revealing her source. Roper chloroforms her and throws her into the crawl space.

  • Chapter 42: Deputies find her. She is alive but critical. She tells Deb Howell she came because of a rumor about “Señor Santa Claus.” She becomes disoriented and dies.

  • Chapter 44: Joanna speaks with Marliss’s mother, Dianne Borison, who requests a eulogy for the memorial service.

  • Chapter 51 (53): Dianne visits Joanna, revealing Marliss’s wish to have her ashes scattered at Juniper Flats.

  • Chapter 57 (55): After the wedding of Joanna’s daughter, Joanna takes Marliss’s ashes to Juniper Flats and scatters them, speaking regret aloud.

Relationships

Joanna Brady: A tense professional relationship. Marliss respects Joanna’s position but constantly pushes boundaries. Joanna dislikes her tactics but later admits their mothers were similarly difficult. At the memorial, Joanna gives the eulogy, acknowledging Marliss as a “tough reporter” who died doing her job.

Stephen Roper: Marliss becomes his final victim. He sees her as a catastrophic threat – she has linked him to Xavier’s death. The encounter shows Roper’s calculating nature: he feigns cooperation, then attacks with chloroform. The voices urge him to kill her, and he obeys.

Dianne Borison: Marliss’s mother, a wealthy, condescending woman who dislikes Bisbee and her daughter’s career choice. Dianne reveals Marliss hated her stepfather and was estranged from her mother. This backstory adds depth to Marliss’s driven personality.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Choosing to confront Roper alone: Going to his home without telling anyone leads directly to her death. However, her visit forces Roper to attempt escape, which allows law enforcement to catch him in the Traffic Circle. If she had not gone, Roper might have continued killing.

  • Not reporting her location: Marliss’s secrecy prevents any possibility of rescue before Roper attacks. Her car in the driveway alerts surveillance, but by then it is too late.

  • Publishing Xavier’s name prematurely: This leaks the victim’s identity, angering Joanna and exposing a possible informant. It also puts Roper on notice that he is being investigated.

  • Asking Joanna to give her eulogy: In death, Marliss creates a moment of reconciliation. Joanna initially resents the request but ultimately honors it, scattering the ashes as Marliss wished.

Theme/Symbol Connections

  • Serial Killing and Cold Cases: Marliss’s death becomes a key piece of evidence linking Roper to multiple homicides. Her body leads to the discovery of his trophy box.

  • Justice and Legal Procedure: Marliss’s decision to act outside official channels shows the tension between media freedom and police procedure. Her death underscores the danger of civilian involvement in active investigations.

  • Family and Motherhood: Marliss’s difficult relationship with her mother mirrors Joanna’s own mother struggles. Joanna reflects that if they had lived longer, they might have become friends.

  • Intergenerational Trauma and Abuse: Marliss’s mother is dismissive and manipulative, echoing the controlling mothers in the book. Marliss’s choice of career may be an attempt to escape her upbringing.

  • Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW): While Marliss is not Indigenous, her investigation inadvertently draws attention to the MMIW cases via the Amanda Hudson connection. The MMIV director Anna Rae Green plays a key role in linking Roper to old cases.

  • Symbolism of the “girl from Devil’s Lake”: Joanna tells Anna Rae that “a girl from Devil’s Lake helped bring down a monster” – referring to Amanda Hudson’s palm print that identified Roper. But in a broader sense, Marliss also meets her fate in service of justice. Her body becomes evidence, and her death galvanizes the arrest.

5 Book‑Specific Questions and Direct Answers

1. Why does Marliss Shackleford go to Stephen Roper’s home alone?
She has a tip from her cleaning lady’s brother‑in‑law that border guards are investigating “Señor Santa Claus” (Roper) regarding Xavier Delgado’s murder. She believes she can get an exclusive interview and does not realize the danger. (Chapters 38, 42)

2. How does Marliss’s death directly lead to Roper’s arrest?
Roper chloroforms and zip‑ties Marliss, then drives off in her car. Law enforcement sees her vehicle in his driveway and later discovers her in the crawl space. The attempted murder charge allows them to arrest him when he is trapped at the Bisbee Traffic Circle. (Chapters 39‑43)

3. What does Marliss’s mother reveal about her past?
Dianne Borison tells Joanna that Marliss adored her biological father and hated her stepfather Danny. She also says Marliss could have worked at the Washington Post but chose to stay in Bisbee after inheriting a cabin from her aunt. (Chapter 51)

4. How does Joanna Brady feel about giving the eulogy?
At first Joanna is reluctant, feeling guilty that Marliss died while under surveillance. She later accepts, realizing they share a struggle with difficult mothers. The eulogy and ash‑scattering become a moment of closure for Joanna. (Chapters 51, 55)

5. What is the symbolic meaning of Marliss’s ashes being scattered at Juniper Flats?
Joanna performs the task after the wedding of her daughter, symbolizing the end of a chapter. The wind carries the ashes into the canyon, representing Marliss’s final release from a troubled life. (Chapter 55)

For a full summary and analysis of the novel, see [The Girl from Devil's Lake — Ending Explained] and [Questions and Answers].