Literature / I Heard That Song Before

I Heard That Song Before is a crime suspense novel written by Mary Higgins Clark, first published in 2007.

Twenty-seven year old Kay Lansing marries forty-two year old millionaire Peter Carrington after a whirlwind romance. However, mere weeks after their wedding old rumours surface of Peter's suspected involvement in the disappearance of his girlfriend, Susan Althorp, over two decades ago, after Susan's dying mother hires private detective Nicholas Greco to investigate. As if that weren't enough, four years ago Peter's pregnant wife Grace drowned in their swimming pool, with some suspecting the tragedy was no accident. Kay is initially convinced that her new husband could never harm anyone. But then she discovers Peter is a sleepwalker and during one such episode, witnesses him with his hand in the pool, either attempting to pull something out...or push something in.

As evidence against Peter mounts, Kay begins to wonder just what Peter is capable of, knowingly or otherwise. Then there's a mysterious argument six year old Kay overheard in the Carrington mansion the day Susan disappeared, which may hold the key to everything. But will Kay live long enough to uncover the truth, or will she meet the same fate as the other women in Peter's life?

---

Contains examples of:

• Age-Gap Romance: Kay is twenty-seven when she marries her husband, forty-two-year-old Peter Carrington. The age gap between them, in addition to the fact Peter is very wealthy and that they married after only dating for a short time, leads many people to assume Kay is a Gold Digger, though in actual fact she's Not with Them for the Money and genuinely loves Peter.
• The Alcoholic:
  • Kay's father Jonathan began drinking a lot after his wife died. This got him into trouble at work and resulted in him losing his job as the Carrington's landscaper...or at least, that's what Kay's grandmother assumed. Peter later reveals that Jonathan was actually fired because he turned down his stepmother's advances.
  • Grace Meredith Carrington had a drinking problem, which was a common source of tension between her and Peter. The night she died, she was openly drunk despite being over seven months pregnant, infuriating Peter, and she ended up falling into the pool and drowning while everyone else was asleep. Given how Grace had been trying to get sober and badly wanted her baby after suffering three miscarriages, Nicholas Greco theorizes that someone could've intentionally spiked her drink with booze to make her fall off the wagon, for nefarious purposes..
• Ambiguous Innocence: One possibility that's brought up is that Peter could've murdered Susan and potentially other people while sleepwalking, and therefore he wasn't fully in control of himself and wouldn't remember what happened. Even he admits it's a possibility and he appears distraught at this prospect. It turns out Peter didn't kill anyone, although he did interact with Susan's body while sleepwalking; he put his head on her chest to check for a heartbeat, causing him to get her blood on his shirt. He vaguely recalls this, but thought it was just a dream and so dismissed it.
• Ambiguous Situation: The first time Kay realizes Peter is a sleepwalker, she sees him kneeling beside the pool, moving his arm in the water. Kay isn't certain if he's trying to pull something out or push something in, and Peter doesn’t remember. Kay convinces herself that he might have been dreaming about trying to save Grace, his first wife who drowned in the pool, but she can't be certain. The other possibility is far more sinister.
• Amoral Attorney: Downplayed in the case of Peter's lawyers. They're willing to defend him even though they all privately believe he's likely guilty of the murder of Susan Althorp, but they're just doing their job and they're genuinely concerned about Kay's well-being.
• "Ass" in Ambassador: Ambassador Charles Althorp is not a pleasant man. He treats his servants contemptuously, cheated on and emotionally neglects his wife, cares more about his reputation than his family's wellbeing and was overly-controlling of his children, especially Susan. Greco even considers the possibility he was involved in Susan's disappearance in some way. It turns out he hid the fact Susan had gotten addicted to drugs and instead of getting her proper help, he just cut her off financially to try and control it (which predictably didn't end well), as he didn't want it getting out that his 'perfect' daughter was an addict.
• Awful Wedded Life:
  • By all accounts, Peter and Grace's marriage wasn't the happiest. They weren't very compatible and fought a lot about Grace's drinking. It later turns out Grace was cheating on Peter and planned to divorce him after their child was born.
  • Downplayed between Gladys and Charles Althorp. There's no real warmth or love between them, and Gladys resented her husband for cheating on her and for the way he handled Susan's disappearance, but Gladys doesn't seem to care enough to feel bitter about it anymore; she's largely indifferent towards Charles, probably because she knows she's dying anyway.
• Bail Equals Freedom: Defied. When Peter is eventually charged with Susan's murder, he's released on bail with strict conditions, including having to wear an ankle monitor and not being allowed to leave the property save for court dates and medical emergencies. When he inadvertently breaks the bail conditions while sleepwalking, he's swiftly jailed again.
• Big Brother Instinct:
  • Grace's brother Phillip Meredith furiously and publicly accuses Peter of murdering Grace; soon after he hires Nicholas Greco to prove it. The only reason he didn't voice his suspicions earlier was to spare his parents' feelings, as they believed it was an accident; however, his father is now dead and his mother has Alzheimer's, so he feels he has to speak up for his sister.
  • Peter's stepbrother Richard is protective of him; he vehemently defends him and says he'll be a character witness if needed when Peter's accused on killing Susan. He's also very welcoming towards Kay and fully supports Peter marrying her (whereas Richard's mother and Peter's long-time friend/assistant express reservations). However, it's later revealed this is an act: not only is Richard jealous and resentful of Peter, he is actually the one who killed Peter's girlfriend and first wife, and he's quite happy to let his stepbrother take the fall for it.
• Big Fancy House: The Carrington mansion is a magnificent old country house. It was originally built in Wales in the 17th century, before the whole thing was shipped over to the United States and rebuilt in New Jersey in the early 19th century.
• Birds of a Feather: Despite their age-gap, Kay and Peter have a lot common, which in Kay's mind is why they fell in love and decided to marry so quickly. They're both bookish introverts who prefer a quiet life. Both also experienced loss of a parent and parental abandonment at a young age; Kay's mother died before she could even remember her and her father is assumed to have committed suicide when she was six, while Peter's mother died when he was twelve and his father was emotionally distant. They also both had to deal with a loved one's alcoholism; Kay's father was an alcoholic, as was Peter's first wife.
• Blackmail Backfire:
  • As a six year old, Kay overheard a woman blackmailing a man for money, and years later wonders if the woman was Susan Althorp and that was why she was murdered. It turns out it was Susan, blackmailing Richard Walker for drug money after she found out he was stealing paintings and replacing them with copies, and he indeed killed her to keep her quiet.
  • Alexandra Lloyd tries to blackmail Richard about the forgeries she made for him, prompting him to murder her as well.
• Bridal Carry: Defied. When Peter asks if it's still customary to carry the bride over the threshold after he and Kay return from their honeymoon, Kay senses he feels uncomfortable and wonders if he did this with his late first wife. She says she'd rather walk inside hand-in-hand, leaving Peter visibly relieved.
• Cartwright Curse: Peter's college girlfriend Susan disappeared after he drove her home from a party at his family's estate; she eventually turns up dead. Then his wife Grace drowned in their pool. It's Played for Drama, as a lot of people think he was responsible for their deaths. His second wife Kay nearly ends up dead as well, at the hands of the same man who killed Susan and Grace, but is fortunately saved at the last minute.
• Cassandra Truth: As it turns out Kay was absolutely right all along that Peter wasn't a murderer, even though nearly every other character was convinced he was guilty.
• Chekhov's Gun: A page torn out of a magazine was found in Grace's pocket after she drowned, containing a photograph and interview with her favorite actress. Both Kay and Greco are convinced it's significant. It's revealed that what Grace was really interested in was the photograph of the actress; she was standing in front of a painting, of which there is a copy hanging in the Carrington mansion. When Kay realizes this, she comes to the same conclusion as Grace; the real painting was stolen from the Carringtons and replaced with a forgery.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Throughout the novel, Richard Walker keeps receiving and/or ignoring calls from an Alexandra Lloyd, whom his secretary believes is either an ex-lover or a bookie. It's revealed near the ending that she's actually an artist, whom Richard hired to forge paintings he’d stolen from the Carrington mansion, and is now trying to blackmail him.
• Chekhov's Party: It's mentioned several times that the night Grace drowned in the swimming pool she'd been hosting a small birthday party for Richard at the Carrington mansion. It ended on a sour note because Grace got completely plastered even though she was in her third trimester of pregnancy; when Peter arrived home and saw this, he flew into a rage and publicly berated her. A few hours later, Grace was dead. When Greco questions the guests about their recollection of that night, several people mention that Grace had shown around a magazine article featuring her favourite actress; she later drunkenly tore the page out and still had it in her pocket when she drowned. It turns out that the photograph of the actress – or rather the painting she's standing in front of – is the key to the entire mystery and the reason Grace died, as it was proof the villain was stealing priceless artworks from the Carringtons to sell and replacing them with copies.
• Children Are Innocent: Played for Drama. As a six year old child, Kay overheard a woman blackmailing a man for money, the same day that Susan Althorp disappeared. She never mentioned it to anyone, both because she was afraid she'd get into trouble and because she didn't realize it was important. It never once occurred to her that Susan could’ve been the woman until the present day events. Subsequently, she feels guilty, believing if she'd just told someone then perhaps Susan would've been found sooner and her father wouldn't have been murdered to cover it up. Greco assures her she wasn't to blame, as she couldn't have understood its significance as a child.
• Clear Their Name: Kay spends most of the novel trying to find out what actually happened to Susan Althorp, among other connected events, in order to clear her husband's name. However, as time goes on, even she starts to have some nagging doubts about Peter's innocence, though she's determined to uncover the truth either way.
• Crusading Lawyer: Prosecutors Barbara Krause and Tom Moran, who are hellbent on getting Peter Carrington convicted for Susan Althorp's murder; Krause in particular is incensed by the knowledge that the murderer of an eighteen year old girl has gotten away with it for twenty-two years, while her family are left to suffer without closure.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Kay Lansing. Her mother died of an embolism mere weeks after she was born. Her father never really got over it and started drinking a lot, which allegedly resulted in him being fired as the Carrington's landscaper; two weeks later he took his own life and Kay was left to be raised by her grandmother.
  • Peter Carrington. He never had a close relationship with his father and his mother died when he was twelve. His girlfriend Susan disappeared and for years he was a suspect because he was the last person to see her. He and his wife Grace suffered three miscarriages and she had a drinking problem; then when she managed to carry a pregnancy almost to term, she drowned in their pool and the last time he saw her alive, he'd shouted at her for being drunk. And though it was ruled an accident, some people believe Peter killed Grace as well as Susan.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Inverted; Kay's mother was holding her in bed and breast-feeding her when she had a fatal embolism; Kay's father returned home to find his dead wife lying in bed, still holding their daughter.
• Disappeared Dad: Literally in Kay's case. When she was six years old, her dad vanished and the only trace that was found was his car, abandoned on a cliff beside the Hudson River. His body was never recovered and his disappearance was ruled a suicide.
• Domestic Abuse: It's strongly implied that Gary Barr is abusive towards his wife, Jane. He is subtly controlling of her and she appears to feel intimidated by him; at one point, he shouts at her and throws a sandwich at her face when she brings up her concerns about something. It's revealed in the epilogue that she has divorced him.
• Driving Question: The two bigguns are "Does Peter kill people when he sleepwalks?" and "Who did Kay overhear in the chapel twenty-two years ago?"
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After being suspected of murder for over two decades and nearly going to prison for life, Peter is finally exonerated once and for all, Kay's love and faith in Peter is vindicated, the real murderer of Susan Althorp, Jonathan Lansing and Grace Meredith is caught, and Peter and Kay live happily ever after with their baby son.
• Easily-Overheard Conversation: A justified example. When she was six, Kay sneaked into the old chapel in the Carrington mansion her father had mentioned. She heard two people coming in and hid between the pews to avoid getting into trouble, and thus overheard a man and woman arguing about money. When the woman promises this will be "the last time" she asks for money, the man sarcastically remarks "I heard that song before", then leaves the chapel whistling the song of the same name. Neither of them realized Kay was there and she never mentioned it until two decades later, as she didn't realize it had any significance.
• Finally Found the Body: Susan Althorp is widely believed to be dead, but her disappearance officially remains a cold case as no body had been found. Her body eventually turns up buried on the edge of the Carrington estate, twenty-two years after she went missing and still wearing the dress she was last seen wearing.
• Fire-Forged Friends:
  • Kay and Nicholas Greco get off to a rocky start, due to him suggesting her father faked his suicide because he may have been involved in Susan's disappearance, and his role in making her husband a prime suspect in Susan's murder. However, she turns to him out of desperation and they work together to uncover the truth; Greco also never held any ill-will towards Kay and is genuinely concerned for her safety.
  • Kay mentions in the epilogue that she and Vincent Slater are now good friends, after they realized they were both just trying to protect Peter in their own way. Kay has also never forgotten how Vince tried to shield her from Richard in the climax.
• Fourth-Date Marriage: Kay and Peter get married a little over a month after they started dating. This, in addition to their fifteen year age-gap, leads some people to speculate that Kay is a golddigger or, worse, that Peter married her to avoid her revealing information that may or may not prove he's a murderer, though Kay is convinced it's true love. It turns out he does truly love her and they're happy together in the ending.
• The Gambling Addict: Richard frequently gambles on horse races...and frequently loses money on them. His mother often ends up bailing him out financially so the people he owes money don't come after him.
• Get Out!: Kay screams this at Peter's lawyers after they suggest Peter only married her to invoke Spousal Privilege, as she had likely overheard him being blackmailed by Susan as a child the day Susan vanished. Although the lawyers' suspicions aren't unreasonable under the circumstances, Kay's anguish is also very understandable.
• Gold Digger: It's all but stated outright that Elaine Walker married Peter Carrington Sr. for his fortune. The only reason she hasn't remarried and still insists on being called Mrs Carrington in the two decades since his death is due to her prenuptial agreement; if she doesn't remarry she gets a million dollars a year as a stipend and can reside in a house on the Carrington estate.
• Good All Along: Vincent Slater. He comes off as cold and unfriendly, and is strongly suspected of helping cover up the murders or even of being the killer. However, it's revealed he knew nothing about the murders and all he ever wanted was to protect Peter, though by the end he was willing to do some questionable things to accomplish that, such as hiding evidence. During the climax, he is genuinely furious at Kay due to believing she manipulated Peter into marrying her and is now trying to get him convicted so she can have his money; despite this, Vince still tries to shield Kay when the real killer threatens them with a gun.
• Good Stepmother: Elaine comes across as one to Peter; although part of it is likely because she wants to stay in his good books to mooch off the Carrington fortune, they get along alright and it's later revealed that Elaine has been trying to protect Peter for decades by hiding his bloody dress shirt, which could tie him to Susan's murder. Then it's revealed that Elaine actually helped cover for Susan's real murderer, her son Richard, and was complicit in Jonathan Lansing's murder, and would’ve let Peter go down for both to protect herself and Richard, making her a Wicked Stepmother instead.
• Guilty Until Someone Else Is Guilty: Most of the cast, especially the prosecutor's office, are firmly convinced that Peter is the killer all through the novel, with Kay being one of the few people to continually support him. Heck, even Peter starts to believe he's guilty, thinking that he could've committed murder while sleepwalking. Admittedly, the evidence against Peter looks incredibly damning and it's not until Susan's cocaine addiction and the art theft comes to light that people start to seriously consider other suspects. Everyone finally figures out that Richard is the real killer right near the end, leading to a dramatic scene where Richard has realized the game is up and confronts Kay with a gun. Afterwards, the court apologizes to Peter and immediately releases him; the cop he assaulted while sleepwalking also decides not to press charges as he thinks Peter's been through enough.
• Heavy Sleeper: In contrast to Peter, Kay can easily sleep through the night; she even remarks she's sure she'll "sleep through Gabriel's horn". It's therefore surprising that she wakes up in the middle of the night after returning from her honeymoon, instinctively sensing something is wrong. She notices Peter isn't in bed and sees him with his arm in the swimming pool where his first wife drowned; when he comes back to bed, she quickly realizes he's sleepwalking.
• High-School Sweethearts: Kay's parents got together in high school; her father fell in love with her mother after watching her sing in a school performance. They got married and had a baby, and would probably have been happy together for a long time if Annie hadn't died from an unexpected medical condition.
• Imperiled in Pregnancy:
  • Grace Carrington drowned in the swimming pool when she was seven and a half months pregnant; her unborn child died too.
  • In the climax, Kay, who is in her first trimester, is held at gunpoint by the villain.
• Insanity Defense: Discussed. As the prosecution closes in, Peter intends to plead he's not guilty of murdering Susan because it occurred while he was sleepwalking and therefore he wasn't in control of his actions. His lawyers state that the jury will probably just see this as a new spin on the insanity defense and that it probably won't work; they tell Kay that while this defense is applicable in Canada, in the United States sleepwalking isn't a valid defense in a murder trial, and there are two people currently serving life sentences in the US for committing murder while sleepwalking.
• The Insomniac: Peter tells Kay he occasionally suffers from insomnia and so will go read in his library if he can't sleep. And then it turns out when he does sleep, he sometimes sleepwalks.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After he is charged with both Susan and Jonathan's murders, and it looks increasingly likely he will end up in prison for the rest of his life, Peter starts to urge Kay to divorce him and move on with her life. Kay refuses especially when she learns she's pregnant with Peter's child and tells him this to give him hope.
• Karma Houdini: Downplayed with Gary Barr. He can't be charged with dealing cocaine to Susan - resulting in her becoming an addict - because it happened too long ago; nor can anything be done about his abusive treatment of his wife (which appears to be more emotional than physical). However, Kay does mention that Gary was let go from his job, while Jane stayed on with the Carringtons and has filed for divorce.
• Living with the Villain: It becomes evident that whoever killed Susan and Jonathan Lansing, and maybe killed Grace is likely still living on the Carrington estate with Kay, with both Maggie, Greco and eventually Kay herself becoming increasingly fearful for her safety.
• The Lost Lenore:
  • Grace, but not for Peter, who has managed to move on, but for family friend Jeffrey Hammond. During their first meeting, Nicholas Greco determines from his genuine anguish and anger that he was in love with Grace. Upon confronting him about it, Jeffrey reveals they were having an affair and he intended to leave his wife for her; he’s still in love with Grace more so than his living wife, even after four years.
  • Annie O'Neil for her husband Jonathan. Her death a few weeks after their daughter was born led to Jonathan becoming an alcoholic out of grief and it's the reason everyone is so ready to believe Jonathan took his own life when he was in fact murdered.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: It's speculated – and Phillip Meredith firmly believes – that Grace didn't accidentally drown, but that Peter deliberately drowned her because she was drinking while pregnant (and possibly because he found out she was having an affair). It would've been easy enough; Grace was extremely drunk, so Peter could’ve theoretically picked her up and just dropped her into the pool while everyone else was sleeping, or that he could’ve seen her fall into the pool and simply didn't bother to save her. Grace was known for having a drinking problem, so no one would question it; Greco even speculates that someone could've deliberately spiked her drink on Peter's orders. It's revealed this was indeed what happened, but Peter wasn't the culprit; Richard set up Grace's drowning because he realized she could expose him as an art thief.
• Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe:
  • Upon learning of their affair, Greco asks Jeffrey Hammond if it was possible Grace's unborn child was his, not Peter's. He fervently denies it, saying he and Grace took precautions in that regard, but Greco points out that if Peter ever suspected he wasn't the father, it would be a strong motive for murdering Grace.
  • Vincent Slater angrily wonders if Kay's unborn baby is actually Peter's, after accusing her of only marrying Peter for his money, although he’s wrong and the baby definitely is Peter's.
• Marriage of Convenience: It's speculated that the reason Peter married Kay after a brief courtship is because she had told him about the argument she overheard in the Carrington chapel, the day Susan disappeared, not realizing she could've overheard Peter and Susan. By marrying her, Peter has ensured she cannot, or at least wouldn't, testify against him if he were ever charged with Susan's murder. Even Kay herself starts to wonder if this is the real reason Peter wanted to marry her, as much as it sickens her. It's not true; Peter wasn't the man Kay overheard arguing with Susan and he married Kay because he truly fell in love with her.
• Master Forger: It's revealed that Alexandra Lloyd is an art forger and has made copies of paintings so convincing that no one could tell the difference, unless they were already suspicious or an art expert.
• Maternal Death? Blame the Child!: Discussed; Kay wonders if her father secretly blamed her for her mother's death, she having died of an embolism while nursing a newborn Kay. However, Jonathan never showed any sign of this and it's indicated to be Kay's way of trying to make sense of her father's drinking and suicide.
• Miscarriage of Justice: Peter is charged and nearly convicted for murdering Susan Althorp and Jonathan Lansing. Shortly before the case goes to trial, the real murderer is identified and he's freed.
• Missing Child: Although she was technically a legal adult and in her first year of college, Susan Althorp was only eighteen years old disappeared and there's been no trace of her for twenty-two years...until her strangled, partially-skeletal corpse turns up buried not far from her home. As there was no discernible reason for her to run away and she was expected home, her disappearance was always treated as suspicious and even gets compared to the Lindbergh kidnapping (which occurred in the same area decades earlier).
• Missing Mom:
  • Kay's mother died very suddenly of an embolism when Kay was a few weeks old.
  • Peter’s mother died when he was twelve.
• The Mourning After: Jonathan Lansing never fully recovered from the death of his wife Annie; he never even considered dating anyone else in the six years after her death. Unfortunately, his grief also resulted in him developing a drinking problem and is believed to have contributed to his suicide.
• Multiple Narrative Modes: When the story is being told from Kay's point of view, it's written in first-person. When it switches focus to other characters, it's written in third-person. This offers up different opinions on the central mystery and helps the reader to gain insights that Kay isn't aware of (and vice versa). This is turn creates dramatic tension, as Kay doesn't always realize trouble is right around the corner while the reader is all too aware.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Richard's go-to solution for covering up his crimes is to just murder anyone he sees as a threat (and let his stepbrother take the fall). It's indicated at least some of his murders are impulsive; he punched and strangled Susan during a cash exchange, and Alexandra Lloyd was stabbed around a dozen times and dumped in the river.
• Never Found the Body: The body of Jonathan Lansing was never found; he was declared legally dead due to the evidence suggesting he took his own life. His body is eventually unearthed near where Susan's body was buried, revealing he was actually murdered.
• Never One Murder: After Susan's body is found, Grace's brother publicly accuses Peter of deliberately drowning her, rather than it being an accident. Then Jonathan Lansing's body is found near where Susan was buried. He was killed because he had landscaping designs that would've unearthed Susan's body; Susan's killer was the only person who had seen the designs after he was fired, with Maggie later finding a copy in her attic. And then Alexandra Lloyd ends up stabbed to death to stop her from trying to blackmail the killer. That's three additional murders.
• Never Suicide:
  • Nicholas Greco investigates as to whether Grace intentionally drowned herself, as her marriage was failing, she’d started drinking again after months of sobriety and she may had feared she'd damaged her unborn child via excessive alcohol consumption. However, upon talking to those who knew her best, he comes to the conclusion suicide is unlikely; Grace would've wanted her baby to live after having three miscarriages and she was planning on leaving Peter for her lover; she only stuck it out after getting pregnant because she'd subsequently receive more money in the divorce settlement.
  • It's revealed that Jonathan Lansing didn't commit suicide when his body turns up on the Carrington estate with his skull bashed in; he was murdered and his death made to look like a suicide to prevent Susan's body being uncovered - Jonathan had planned a garden in the area where the body was buried and wanted the Carringtons to see the plans even after he was fired.
• Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker: A downplayed, more realistic portrayal. It's mentioned that you shouldn't wake a sleepwalker suddenly. As a result, Kay doesn't wake Peter when he sleepwalks, just making certain he doesn't harm himself. Vincent Slater reveals that when he found Peter sleepwalking as a teenager, he was forced to wake him suddenly because he'd wandered to the ski lifts at the resort they were staying at, and Peter attacked him as an unconscious reflex. It's Played for Drama when Peter inadvertently breaks his bail conditions sleepwalking, and when a police officer grabs him he punches and seriously injures him, which is not a great look for his defense.
• Not with Them for the Money: Kay genuinely loves Peter and though she's hardly complaining about being rich, it's not the reason she married him. She at one point says she'd give away the entire Carrington fortune if it would mean she and Peter could live in peace together.
• Obnoxious In-Laws:
  • Elaine is a rather overbearing stepmother-in-law to Kay, who gets the sense she resents that Kay has replaced her as the lady of the Carrington estate. She also voiced reservations about the marriage, insinuating that Kay was a golddigger (not unlike Elaine herself, then?), which automatically made things awkward; the revelation that Elaine made a pass at Kay's father and him rejecting her was probably the real reason he was fired doesn't help. However, they do try to get along for Peter's sake. Then Elaine reveals she has the missing, bloodstained dress shirt Peter wore the night Susan disappeared and tries to blackmail Kay for it, and things really go to hell.
  • Maggie makes it quite clear she doesn't approve of Peter as a grandson-in-law; she supports Kay but thinks she’s married a serial killer. After Peter is exonerated, the two become good friends and, much to Kay's amusement, Maggie insists she always knew he was innocent deep down.
  • Richard Walker is in the running for worst stepbrother-in-law ever; he murdered his first stepsister-in-law and tries to murder his second stepsister-in-law when they uncover his crimes. He also killed Kay's father and let her and her grandmother believe he'd committed suicide for two decades.
• Official Couple Ordeal Syndrome: Kay and Peter have only just got back from their honeymoon when Peter is accused of murdering Susan. It only gets worse from there.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Kathryn Lansing goes by Kay most of the time. This, as well as her insistence that everyone - including employees - call her Kay rather than "ma'am" or "Mrs Carrington", is used to underpin her generally laid-back and unpretentious personality, rather than the scheming gold-digger some assume her to be.
• Outliving One's Offspring:
  • Gladys Althorp strongly believes her daughter Susan is dead, and has had to live with the fact she doesn't know what happened to her for twenty-two years. It's soon confirmed her belief is correct when Susan’s corpse is unearthed on the edge of the Carrington estate.
  • Grace Carrington's father outlived her by four years; her mother is still alive, but has Alzheimer's disease and is barely aware of her surroundings.
  • Maggie O'Neil's daughter Annie died shortly after the birth of her granddaughter; after her son-in-law disappeared and was declared legally dead, she raised Kay herself.
  • Peter Carrington's unborn child died when his first wife drowned in their pool.
• Private Detective: Nicholas Greco's occupation. He's genuinely well-meaning and good at his job, agreeing to take the Susan Althorp case despite the lack of any new evidence, because he believes Susan's dying mother deserves to know what happened to her daughter and get justice. He proves to be of great help to the prosecutor's department in uncovering what happened.
• Raised by Grandparents: Kay was raised by her maternal grandmother Maggie after both her parents died. She considers Maggie her grandmother, mother and father all in one.
• Really Gets Around: Implied in Elaine Carrington's case, though the real problem is that her relationships often involve infidelity. She fooled around with other men even while married to Peter Carrington Sr., and Peter reveals to Kay that the real reason her father was fired as the Carringtons's landscaper is because Elaine made a pass at him and he rejected her. It's also revealed early on that Charles Althorp had an affair with Elaine many years ago; she hadn't yet remarried to Peter's father at the time, but Charles was married to Gladys, as she points out to him.
• Red Herring:
  • Jane and Gary Barr, long-time servants of the Carringtons, become extremely nervous when the investigation into Susan's disappearance is reopened; Gary especially becomes increasingly agitated and lashes out at Jane. It comes to light that Gary was involved in some sinister-sounding business with Susan; he frequently served as her chauffeur due to her close friendship with the Carringtons. Greco comes to regard him as a suspect, questioning if he had a sexual attraction to her and perhaps killed her for rejecting him, or if he killed her to get back at the wealthy employers who always looked down on him. It turns out that Gary was actually her drug dealer. He wasn't involved in her murder (not directly anyway) but was obviously still concerned about people becoming aware of his illegal side gig.
  • Grace's affair with Jeffrey. Greco speculates that Peter could've orchestrated Grace's death if he found out she was planning on leaving him for another man; Jeffrey concedes that it's a possibility. Grace and Jeffrey's affair is revealed to be completely irrelevent to her death and Peter is apparently still oblivious the affair even happened.
• Remarried to the Mistress: It's revealed that Grace was having a long-standing affair with Jeffrey Hammond and they had both planned to leave their spouses for each other. This never happened, due to Grace's untimely death.
• The Reveal: It's revealed that the main villains are Richard Walker and his mother Elaine. Richard is generally the instigator, with Elaine grudgingly helping clean up his messes. Elaine would be arrested as an accessory for murder and lose her cushy lifestyle, so she has little choice but to help Richard, though she admits he knows how to sweet-talk her too and she doesn't want to see him jailed or harmed (even if it's his own fault). Richard seems to have some level of care for his mother, though it doesn't stop him from dragging her into his murderous schemes or begging her to lend him money. They're both willing to let Elaine’s stepson Peter take the fall for Richard's crimes to save themselves.
• Revisiting the Cold Case: Gladys Althorp hires Nicholas Greco to look into her daughter's disappearance, which has remained unsolved for twenty-two years, as she’s terminally ill and wants closure before she dies.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Greco suggests to Maggie and Kay that Kay's father disappeared because he was involved in Susan's disappearance. It turns out that Jonathan's disappearance was connected to Susan, but not for the reason Greco originally thought: Greco's theory is along the lines of Jonathan being culpable and faking his suicide, since they never found his body. Jonathan was actually murdered by Susan's killer and his body buried in a secret location, not because he knew what happened to Susan but because his intended landscaping designs would've uncovered Susan's body.
• Romantic Runner-Up:
  • Glen Taylor is this to Peter Carrington. He and Kay had been dating at the beginning of the novel and had casually talked about marriage and children, but Kay never truly felt a spark between them, then fell head over heels for Peter. Glen takes it very well and remains friends with Kay.
  • It turns out that Peter was this to Jeffrey Hammond, who was having an affair with his first wife. Jeffrey explains that Grace was going to leave Peter for him after she gave birth, although she died before that happened. The last time Jeffrey saw Grace was the party where Peter argued with her for getting drunk and Jeffrey can't help but wonder if Peter found out about the affair and killed Grace.
• Sadistic Choice: Kay faces one late in the novel; she finds out Elaine has evidence which seemingly confirms Peter killed Susan: the bloodstained dress shirt he wore the night Susan disappeared. However, Kay is still in love with Peter (and is pregnant with his child) and doesn't believe him capable of harming anyone, convincing herself there's another explanation. Handing over the evidence to the police will probably doom any chance Peter has of being acquitted, but suppressing evidence in a murder investigation is not something Kay is comfortable with either. Somewhat luckily for her, the evidence goes missing before Kay can get it and so it's out of her hands.
• Sleepwalking: It's revealed early on that Peter is a sleepwalker; it started in his early teens after his mother died and no one realized it had been continuing for all these years until Kay marries him. It's Played for Drama to the extreme, as Peter acts rather suspiciously while sleepwalking and some people, Kay included, start to wonder if he killed Susan and potentially other people while sleepwalking, which is why he doesn't remember, or if he's re-enacting his crimes while sleepwalking.
• The Sociopath: Though never stated outright, Richard Walker shows signs of sociopathy; he's an impulsive risk-taker (including being a gambling addict and stealing valuable paintings right under his stepfather's nose), has a short temper, can appear highly charming, is very manipulative, and is willing to use violence to get what he wants with little remorse. He's also more concerned about maintaining his own position and potentially getting his hands on the Carrington fortune than the well-being of his family. Just about the only person he has genuine regard for is his mother, but even then he's still willing to use and manipulate her.
• Statute of Limitations: The only reason Gary Barr eventually comes clean about selling drugs to Susan Althorp is because the statute of limitations on the crime has run out (it was over twenty years ago). Everyone lets him know they still think he's a piece of garbage for it, anyway.
• Taking You with Me: When Richard realizes people are onto him as the real killer, he knows he only has a slight chance to escape, but he's still prepared to kill Kay to ensure she can't get the Carrington fortune either way.
• That One Case: A non-detective example; prosecutor Barbara Krause is haunted by the fact Susan Althorp was never found and that her office could never pin her disappearance on Peter Carrington, whom she's convinced is responsible. Over the years, she's combed over the case file numerous times looking for a breakthrough, and she agrees to accept Nicholas Greco's help in the hopes of finally cracking the case.
• That Was Not a Dream: Upon realising the extent of his sleepwalking problem (which he didn't realise was happening again until after he and Kay start living together), Peter confesses to Kay that he's had troubling experiences in the past he assumed were dreams, but he now wonders if they really happened while he was in an altered state. Everyone wonders if this extends to killing people. Peter didn't kill anyone, though it's revealed he sleep-walked onto the scene of Susan's murder and touched her body, thus explaining why her blood was on his shirt. He vaguely recalls this but believed it was just a nightmare.
• They Know Too Much: Richard killed Grace because he realized she had become aware of him stealing paintings and replacing them with copies, after she noticed a photograph in a magazine featuring a painting identical to one in her house.
• Together in Death: Familial example; Gladys hopes to be reunited with her daughter Susan when she dies. Following her death, Gladys's sons say that if there's an art museum in heaven, they're sure Gladys and Susan will both be there discussing art together.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Susan Althorp is treated as such by the media and even her mother views her this way; a beautiful, clever, charming eighteen-year old with her whole life ahead her, until it was cruelly cut short. As it turns out, the truth is less rosy; it's revealed that Susan was addicted to cocaine and tried blackmailing a man for money when her father cut off her allowance, in a futile attempt to control her addiction. Charles explains he concealed this information from his wife because he didn't want to tarnish Gladys's image of her as a perfect child. Drug addict or not, Susan definitely didn't deserve what happened to her, though.
• Tragic Keepsake: Jonathan Lansing always wore his late wife's silver locket, which contained a photograph of him, Annie and baby Kay. It was lost after Jonathan went missing. When his body is found, he's still wearing the locket, which is cleaned up and given to his daughter. Kay then begins wearing it herself.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Charles Althorp thought he was doing the right thing when he cut off Susan’s allowance, to prevent her from buying cocaine. But as Greco points out to him, it actually just drove Susan to blackmail Richard for money after she learned about his art theft, which ultimately led to her murder; never revealing this also resulted in Peter being the primary suspect for two decades. Ultimately, Charles’s actions were the catalyst for nearly the entire plot.
• Villainous Breakdown: After his attempts to pin his crimes on Peter are foiled and the truth comes out, Richard goes completely crazy; he tries to murder Kay and Vincent, telling them that even if he gets caught at least Kay won't get Peter's money and Peter will lose his wife and unborn child (again). Then when the cops intervene, he tries to fight them off for a few moments before giving up and bursting into tears.
• What Does She See in Him?: Lots of people think Kay is out of her mind for marrying Peter Carrington, especially after Susan's body turns up, wondering how she can sleep at night under the same roof as a man who has had two significant others die in suspicious circumstances (a few people assume the Carrington fortune is a big factor). When her father also turns out to have been murdered and buried on the estate and Kay still stands by Peter, people think she's hopelessly naive at best and completely delusional at worst. Kay for her part insists Peter is misunderstood and that few other people can see the kind and intellectual man he really is.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The epilogue takes place one year later and reveals what happened to the main characters:
  • Kay Lansing is Happily Married to Peter. She is helping him treat his sleepwalking and insomnia, and they have a son together.
  • Peter Carrington is once again CEO of Carrington Enterprises and has been receiving treatment for his sleepwalking.
  • Jane and Gary Barr have gotten divorced and Jane stayed on as the Carringtons's housekeeper.
  • Nicholas Greco is now a regular crime commentator.
  • Vincent Slater is still Peter's assistant and he and Kay are now good friends.
  • Maggie O'Neil has become close friends with Peter and is a doting great-grandmother to his and Kay’s son.
  • Richard Walker pleaded guilty to murdering Susan Althorp, Jonathan Lansing, Grace Meredith and Alexandra Lloyd; he's in prison for life and Kay has been assured he'll never be released.
  • Elaine Walker-Carrington has been jailed for helping Richard cover up the murders of Susan and Jonathan, though she insists she knew nothing about the art thefts, or the murders of Grace and Alexandra Lloyd.

---