Hooked: A Dark, Contemporary Romance

The conclusion to Hooked reveals several unexpected twists and turns as certain hidden relationships between the characters finally come to light. As hinted throughout the novel, James’s organization has been infected by influence from Smee, now revealed to be Sammy Antonis, the son of James’s late uncle, Senator Barrie. Croc was the original nickname of Senator Barrie, and the combination of the watch carried by James’s uncle and his nickname fully explain James’s negative associations with ticking clocks. Smee has taken on his father’s nickname while poaching men from James’s Lost Boys; to this end, he has used James’s abusive and cold demeanor as leverage to convince James’s men to betray him.

This hidden plot point also falls in line with the ongoing theme of Revenge as a Cycle, for the driving force behind Smee’s actions, like those behind James and Peter’s actions, is to exact vengeance for past wrongs. Thus, the issue of perception becomes instrumental in breaking down the different relationships between characters. For example, James was not aware that his uncle had a son, nor was he aware that Smee was present when he murdered the original Croc, which was itself a murder motivated by revenge for years of abuse. Likewise, Peter had not yet made the connection between Andrew Barrie (James’s father) and James himself. Similarly, James did not know that his father’s death was a matter of Peter getting revenge on Andrew. The web is tangled, and the key concept is that most of the characters do not perceive the wrongs that they have committed against others to be true wrongs, nor do they realize that their own pursuit of vengeance is likely something their victims don’t understand. This speaks to the novel’s implication that the cyclical pursuit of revenge is ultimately a hollow venture, for those who seek revenge cannot attain closure unless all involved parties grasp their roles in the events that led to the vengeance itself. When Smee reveals himself to kill James, James is not aware of their shared past, and this ironically renders Smee’s declarations of revenge to be irrelevant. At the same time, Peter is shocked to discover that James survived, and he has his own justification for murdering James’s parents, which likewise dissolves some of the power of James’s own motivation for revenge on Peter himself.

Jealousy becomes a main plot point, as well, for Smee is jealous of James for having enjoyed Croc’s attention for any period of time, although he is not aware of the abuse that James suffered at Croc’s hands. This kind of jealousy, in which the jealous person is misguided in their envy, mirrors that of Tina and Wendy, who are jealous of each other. For example, Tina is jealous that Peter loves Wendy more than her, but Wendy is jealous of Tina for monopolizing Peter’s time, attention, and affections. Both women have valid reasons to be jealous of each other, but neither seems to understand the negative elements of the other woman’s position. While Tina spends her time with Peter, she is not the true focus of his life and thus feels and neglected. Likewise, although Wendy is Peter’s daughter, she never gets to see him or spend time with him, leaving her feeling the same way. While a relatively minor plot point, this secondary conflict illustrates the finer nuances of Peter’s interactions with those who share his world, thus fleshing out the subtler aspects of his role as a villain within the story.

In the narrative’s climax, Wendy acts in direct opposition to the wishes of all the men in the room by killing Tina and Peter. This act of disobedience brings Wendy’s character development full circle, for she has shed the control of both men who sought to control her. Throughout the novel, Wendy’s decisions are motivated predominantly by James or Peter, or even Jon in some instances. Now, when she kills Peter, none of those masculine figures have any influence on her; she has therefore triumphed in her own version of Women’s Struggle for Independence in a Patriarchal World. In this moment, Wendy takes on the violent and dominant characteristics of both men in her life, seizing control the situation and bringing it to an emphatic close, though doing so makes her sick. Even killing Tina has a significance, for in this moment, Wendy makes the first crucial choice to wield violence to eliminate the main threats in the room and defend herself and the one she loves. Before Wendy can save James from Peter, however, she must first save herself from Tina, which involves employing the same violence that Wendy feared from Starkey moments earlier. The conclusion therefore shows the positive results of these tumultuous developments, for once free of Peter’s corrosive influence, James and Wendy manage to form a much healthier family of their own. They are now secure in their equitable relationship and are able to care for both their children and for Jon, thus dispelling the cycle of violence.