Chapter 16: Nantucket – 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
By midmorning after Merritt Monaco’s death, the news spreads across Nantucket through a chain of calls and conversations. Marty Szczerba phones his daughter Laura Rae to check on her and then asks about Adi Conover; Laura Rae shares the story with her fiancé Ty, who repeats it to his mother Carla. Carla, volunteering at the Hospital Thrift Shop, tells every customer who walks in. Meanwhile, Finn MacAvoy receives a text from his girlfriend Lola Budd claiming she caught a murder suspect. Finn casually mentions this to a group of mothers while giving surfing lessons, and soon they are all talking about the “Murdered Maid of Honor.” Finn regrets speaking.
Chloe MacAvoy, Finn’s sixteen-year-old twin sister, stays in bed after her boss Siobhan calls to cancel work for the day. Siobhan explains that Merritt Monaco drowned overnight. The news triggers Chloe’s grief over her parents, who died in a sailing accident when she was seven. She texts a co‑worker named Blake, who replies that he heard there was blood; Chloe rushes to vomit. She then mentally replays the previous night’s rehearsal dinner.
Chloe recalls how she and her co‑workers served punch and champagne, and how she gave in to peer pressure from Geraldo and started drinking the blackberry mojito punch. While clearing dishes, she smelled smoke and discovered Merritt on the side porch. Chloe hid and overheard Tag Winbury, the groom’s father, telling Merritt to “get rid of it” – meaning the baby she was carrying. Merritt insisted she wanted Tag, not the baby, and threatened to tell Greer. Tag offered to write a check and said the affair had to end after the wedding. Shocked, Chloe continued sneaking drinks.
Later, when cleaning up, Chloe dropped a tray of champagne flutes on the lawn. Merritt appeared and helped her pick up the broken glass. They chatted: Merritt said she lived in New York, worked in PR and social media, and gave Chloe her Instagram handle (@MerrittMonaco). Chloe admired Merritt’s dress but also felt conflicted, knowing Merritt’s secret. Afterward, Chloe went to the bathroom and then encountered a British woman who demanded alcohol. Chloe refused, saying she was only sixteen and off the clock, and quickly left the house.
Key Events
- The island buzzes with gossip about Merritt’s death, spreading from Marty to Laura Rae to Ty to Carla, and from Finn’s text to the surfing mothers.
- Chloe learns about Merritt’s death from Siobhan and struggles with grief related to her own parents’ deaths.
- Chloe recalls the previous night: she drinks punch despite being underage, volunteers to serve Greer champagne, and cleans dishes.
- She hides and overhears a tense conversation between Tag and Merritt, in which Tag pressures Merritt to terminate her pregnancy and offers a financial buyout, while Merritt threatens to tell Greer.
- After one of the guests (the British woman) becomes demanding, Chloe clears tables and drops a tray; Merritt helps and they have a friendly exchange.
- Chloe refuses to fetch alcohol for the British woman and exits via a side door.
Character Development
Chloe MacAvoy – A sixteen-year‑old server, Chloe carries long‑standing grief from losing her parents. The chapter shows her vulnerability to peer pressure (drinking the punch), her curiosity (lingering to eavesdrop), and her moral struggle (wanting to comfort Merritt yet keeping distance to avoid revealing what she knows). Her decision to refuse the British woman’s request for alcohol demonstrates a nascent sense of boundaries.
Merritt Monaco – The maid of honor is presented in a new, complicated light. She is not only the glamorous influencer Chloe admires but also a woman trapped in a secret pregnancy and a doomed affair. Her vulnerability shows when she cries after Tag leaves, and her kindness toward Chloe (helping with the broken glass) contrasts with the manipulative blackmail threat she issued moments earlier.
Tag Winbury – The groom’s father reveals himself as calculating and cold. He tries to buy Merritt’s silence, dismisses her emotional claims, and ends the affair with a financial transaction. His language (“Get rid of it,” “I could call your bluff”) reinforces his privileged, controlling nature.
Geraldo – The co‑worker who encourages Chloe to drink illustrates the temptations and lax supervision in the catering environment.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
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Gossip as a currency – News about Merritt’s death spreads through a dense social network: family, friends, volunteers, and strangers. The chain demonstrates how quickly a story can mutate and how people trade information for attention or status.
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Secrets and their consequences – The overheard secret (Merritt’s pregnancy, the affair) is the chapter’s dramatic core. Chloe carries the knowledge, and the secret itself becomes a potential motive for murder.
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Loss and grief – Chloe’s unresolved grief over her parents frames her reaction to Merritt’s death. The chapter uses her personal history to explore how past loss amplifies present tragedy.
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Power and class – Tag’s offer of a check to end the pregnancy underscores an economic imbalance. Merritt’s glamorous but precarious lifestyle (“Young, Fabulous, and Broke”) reinforces the theme of wealth as a source of control.
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Alcohol as escape – Chloe drinks to feel relaxed, Geraldo drinks leftover punch, and the British woman seeks a bottle to continue the after‑party. Alcohol serves as a means to avoid or blur uncomfortable realities.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 16 provides a crucial piece of the murder puzzle: it reveals a clear motive for both Tag and Merritt to want the end of the pregnancy – and, potentially, for someone to have harmed Merritt. Chloe’s perspective connects the glamorous wedding world to the working‑class island community, highlighting how secrets can cross class lines. The chapter also deepens the mystery of Merritt’s death by showing her as a vulnerable person in a messy, high‑stakes relationship, not merely a victim. Finally, the gossip chain foreshadows how the case will become public spectacle.
Study Questions
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What secret does Chloe overhear, and why is it significant to the murder investigation?
Chloe hears Tag Winbury tell Merritt to get rid of the baby, then offer her a check if she leaves after the wedding. Merritt threatens to tell Greer. This gives Tag a strong motive to silence Merritt permanently, and it also suggests Merritt may have been desperate enough to blackmail him, which could have provoked a violent reaction. -
How does Chloe’s personal history influence her response to Merritt’s death?
Chloe lost both parents at age seven and has never fully processed that grief. The news of Merritt’s drowning triggers a visceral reaction (vomiting) and reawakens her sadness, including the feeling of missing her parents. This grief colors her recollection of the previous night and makes her more sensitive to the idea of life being cut short. -
What role does gossip play in the community’s reaction to the murder, and how might it affect the police investigation?
Gossip spreads rapidly through Nantucket’s informal networks – family calls, thrift‑shop chatter, surfing moms. This ensures that nearly everyone knows conflicting or embellished details. The police may struggle to separate rumor from fact, and potential witnesses could be influenced by what they hear secondhand. Additionally, the public buzz may pressure law enforcement or compromise the integrity of evidence.