Point of View

For the most part, the narrative is told from the third-person limited omniscient perspective of two different characters: Strike and Robin. This allows the reader to follow the thoughts, actions, and events that affect each character when they are together or apart from one another. This also allows the reader to get glimpses of Strike's personal life, and Robin's personal life, that would not otherwise have been possible (for example, if the novel had been told in the first-person perspective).

The point of view supports the mystery/thriller genre as through the various characters, readers receive clues regarding the identity of the killer. Readers are able to learn information that one character has, but the other does not have to solve the puzzle and identify the killer and discover the identity of the child Billy saw strangled before Strike does. The clues to solve the...