Chapter summaries With a Vengeance Riley Sager

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager – Chapter Thirty-Eight Summary & 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

Anna jolts awake in a corridor of Car 11, disoriented and hallucinating. Dante finds her and explains she fainted; the lights never went out. She lies about seeing Tommy’s mutilated ghost, blaming exhaustion and hunger. Dante reveals he was the one who returned to the galley for his sandwich—not Judd or a stranger. Anna admits she misses Tommy, her parents, and the person she used to be, acknowledging the emotional cost of her single‑minded quest for vengeance. Dante tries to kiss her; Anna is briefly pulled into the memory of their teenage romance, but Seamus appears and interrupts. Seamus says he was searching the back of the train. Anna tells him Judd stabbed Agent Davis. Seamus doubts the timeline and leads Anna and Dante to Room B, where Judd’s body is found crammed in the bathroom.

Key Events

  1. Anna wakes from a fainting episode in Car 11, confused by what she thought were flickering lights.
  2. Dante explains he went back to the galley for his sandwich, clearing him as a suspect in Anna’s earlier fears.
  3. Anna lies about seeing Tommy’s ghost, choosing not to reveal the hallucination to Dante.
  4. Anna reflects on her emotional losses and the sacrifices made for her vengeance quest, including happiness and love.
  5. Dante attempts to kiss Anna; she nearly yields to the memory of their past.
  6. Seamus interrupts and questions the situation, especially Anna’s claim that Judd stabbed Davis “a half hour ago.”
  7. The trio moves to Edith’s room in Car 13, where Seamus points out Judd’s corpse stuffed in the bathroom.

Character Development

Anna

Anna’s vulnerability deepens as she admits to missing her family and her former self. The hallucination of Tommy underscores how grief distorts her perception. Her lie to Dante shows she still guards her inner trauma. The near‑kiss with Dante reveals a longing for normalcy and human connection, yet she is pulled back into the nightmare when Seamus appears. Anna’s internal conflict between vengeance and the desire for a full life becomes explicit.

Dante

Dante is portrayed as caring and attentive—wiping Anna’s tear, offering physical comfort. His presence is reassuring, but his attempted kiss suggests he sees Anna as more than a fellow survivor. The revelation that he was the one retrieving his sandwich subtly absolves him of some earlier suspicion, though his exact role remains ambiguous.

Seamus

Seamus is alert and logical, immediately questioning Anna’s timeline. His dazed look upon seeing Anna with Dante hints at jealousy or suspicion. He takes charge by leading them to the body, reinforcing his investigative instincts.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Grief and Hallucination: Anna’s vision of Tommy’s mutilated body returns, blurring the line between trauma-induced fantasy and reality. The “storm‑cloud haze” symbolizes her mental exhaustion.
  • Cost of Revenge: Anna explicitly recognizes that her quest has denied her happiness and love. The chapter crystallizes the emotional toll of her single‑minded mission.
  • Time Distortion: Anna cannot recall when Judd stabbed Davis (“a half hour ago” but later contradicted). The unreliable chronology echoes the disorienting nature of the train ordeal.
  • Memory and the Past: The near‑kiss under the willow tree is a motif of lost innocence and the “what if” of Anna’s pre‑tragedy life.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a turning point in Anna’s self‑awareness. She moves from pure vengeful action to introspection, questioning whether the cost has been worth it. The discovery of Judd’s corpse shifts the mystery: Judd is no longer a living threat but a victim, and the timeline of his death challenges Anna’s reliability as a narrator. The chapter also re‑introduces the romantic tension between Anna and Dante, complicating her emotional journey.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Anna lie about seeing Tommy’s ghost?
Anna chooses to lie because she is embarrassed by the hallucination and does not want to appear unstable. She also instinctively protects her deepest grief, sharing it only with the reader.

2. How does Anna’s reflection in this chapter advance her character arc?
For the first time, Anna openly mourns not only her family but also the life she gave up—happiness, fun, love. This admission signals a shift from obsessive vengeance toward a desire for healing, making her a more complex protagonist.

3. How does the discovery of Judd’s corpse complicate the timeline of events?
Anna claimed Judd stabbed Davis “a half hour ago,” but Seamus’s demeanor suggests the body has been there longer. This discrepancy implies Anna may have lost time, or that she is an unreliable witness. It raises questions about who really killed Judd and when the murder occurred.

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