Comment on structure

The novel is divided into four parts plus a prologue and epilogue. The intensity and pacing of the parts are notably different: the prologue is tense and foreboding, then Part One is calm and meandering, with each following part increasing in intensity until Part Four which moves at break-neck speed, true to the hard-boiled genre which commonly barrels towards the culprit and the answer to the mystery. The epilogue is slow and pensive as Darren returns to his terra firma, Camilla, and contemplates the nature around him.