Summary

The novel starts with a prologue in which a minor character, Boyd, was inside his truck across the street from a school, sweating profusely. The narration is third-person omniscient and is written in the past tense. The reader learns that Boyd had lost a tooth while making chloroform at home. He considered going to the dentist, but “the need was a giant tapeworm twisting in his gut, frustrated hungry, and blind “ (3-4).

The school-bell rang and kids started coming out of the building. At first, “None of the girls fit the bill. They were too old or too big or too grown-up looking” (4). But then he saw a girl that the other kids called Carmela. Boyd went back to his apartment, took a bath, and fantasized about kidnapping the girl.

Chapter 1, “Unlicensed and Underground,” is set in July 2013. We are introduced to...