The Reappearance of Rachel Price

“‘It’s been OK,’ she said eventually. ‘I accepted a long time ago that we would never have answers. It’s not my fault I can’t remember any of it; I was just too young. And because I don’t have those memories, we will never solve the Rachel Price mystery, but I’m OK with that. Honestly. I have my dad.’ Bel paused, a small smile stretching her mouth, pulling her chin into a point. ‘He tried his hardest to give me as normal a childhood possible, under the circumstances. He’s the best dad I could ask for.’”

In the beginning of the story, Bel is grateful to her father, Charlie, who provided her with love and constancy in the wake of her mother’s disappearance. At this point, Bel is still loyal to Charlie and trusts him completely. However, Charlie’s initially favorable characterization hides the fact that he plotted to have Rachel killed by his own father, Patrick.

“‘But I wanted you there, Grandaddy would have too. But the only thing he really wanted, before he died, was to finally see his daughter’s killer behind bars. Where he belongs,’ she said pointedly, wiping her nose again for effect.”

Susan, Rachel’s mother, alleges that Charlie killed Rachel, and although this allegation is angrily dismissed by both Bel and Charlie, it nonetheless serves as distinct foreshadowing that Bel will eventually uncover the hidden ugliness of Charlie’s true nature as a violent and controlling man who coldly devised and attempted to bring about the death of his wife.

“‘Oh wait.’ Dad stopped her. ‘I’ve got a bunch of tools and stuff on the front seat. Why don’t you hop in the back instead, kiddo?’

Bel stared at the backseat, through the grimy glass of the window. She swallowed, eyes pulling away.

‘No, I’ll sit in the front,’ she said quickly, opening the passenger-side door.”

Bel’s Fear of Abandonment is a deep-seated trauma. Given the circumstances of her mother’s disappearance, during which Bel was left strapped into her baby seat in the back of the car, Bel’s lingering trauma is associated with the back seat of all cars, which Bel consistently avoids. This wound was deepened years ago when her father left her locked in the back of the car for hours outside of Taco Bell, although Bel doesn’t learn this truth until later in the novel.

“Strangers sometimes mistook them for sisters.”

Carter’s true identity as Rachel and Charlie’s biological daughter and Bel’s sister is subtly indicated through their many similarities and the fact that they are often mistaken as sisters. By the end of the story, Carter and Bel will discover their true relationship and will live together like true sisters with their mother, Rachel.

“‘While I remember, you didn’t seal the trash can properly this morning. You’ve got to tie it with the cord, remember, it’s bl—’

‘Black bear season, I know,’ she finished for him. She thought she remembered doing it, hooking the bungee cord over. Must be thinking of another time. ‘Sorry.’

‘Lucky your daddy’s here to fight off any bears.’”

Charlie’s habit of gaslighting Bel into doubting her own recollections is demonstrated in this passage, although Bel does not yet recognize his behavior for what it is. The contradictions in Charlie’s personality are also indicated in this exchange, for although Charlie is ostensibly a caring and loving father, he actually seeks to control Bel and to compel her belief in his fabricated version of events.

“She could tell by the junk pile of rusted cars and dead equipment in the distance behind them. She recognized the old red truck in the middle of the pileup.”

The truck in which Rachel is imprisoned features prominently in the home video shots, serving as an ominous form of foreshadowing that hints at the climactic scene at the novel’s conclusion, during which Bel confronts Charlie and Rachel and learns the truth of her parents’ respective disappearances.

“Looking down at her menagerie of stolen things, each one small enough to hide in one hand.

Bel closed the drawer, hiding them away. Hidden but not gone. Things couldn’t get up and leave like that.”

In this passage, Bel’s compulsion to steal things is explained to be connected to her Fear of Abandonment, for she takes comfort in the idea that she can control the whereabouts of the items, unlike people, who can never be made to stay. Bel’s reflections reveal her lingering trauma over her mother’s disappearance.

“‘I’m obsessed with this case, oh my gosh. I listened to a podcast about it last fall, called Wine and Murder or something, and I’m obsessed. Ob-sessed.’ She split up the word, holding on to it like a snake.

‘Yes, you said. Three times.’”

Jackson invites a broader critique of people’s morbid “obsession” with murder cases and the ghoulish fascination with true crime documentaries and podcasts, which actively sensationalize real-life tragedies and crimes for the consumption of the fascinated public. In this passage, the author draws attention to the distasteful aspects of this obsession using Bel’s reaction to indicate the point of view of the victims’ families.

“Bel knew who she was. Knew bone-deep, innate somehow, something that couldn’t be learned, only known, only felt. Her heart dancing itself off a cliff edge, into the roiling acid of her gut.

The gray-blue eyes that matched her own. Delicate, pointed chin. Ashen skin that was paler than she’d known it, more lined, sixteen more years of wear. The small tan birthmark on the top of her forehead.”

In one of the novel’s most dramatic moments, Rachel Price abruptly reappears after a 16-year absence. Rachel and Bel’s connection, which will eventually form once Bel learns the truth behind Rachel’s disappearance and imprisonment, is alluded to in Bel’s innate recognition of her mother.

“His jaw hung open. Blinking hard at Rachel, like she might disappear between the flicker of his eyelids. Taken aback each time she wasn’t.

This was wrong.

He was supposed to be happy. Wrap Rachel in his arms and tell her he loved her. His wife, his vindication, standing right there in front of him, after all this time.

Was he in shock? Because he didn’t look happy. He looked scared.”

Charlie’s fearful reaction contrasts with the elation that Bel expects him to show and indicates the ominous secrets hidden behind the Rachel Price mystery. As the narrative will eventually reveal, Charlie asked Patrick, his father, to kill Rachel many years ago. In retrospect, his reaction in this moment implies that he believed Rachel to be long dead, and his fearful expression indicates his fear that his crime might be discovered.

“Bel hid in her room. Her fortress, badly defended, surrounded on all sides by the possibility of Rachel Price. She could be anywhere, a figure in the shape of her mother, creeping around, laying claim to the house, even though Bel had lived in it longer.”

At this point in the story, Rachel is portrayed as a sinister character with unknown motivations. Bel’s suspicion that Rachel is lying causes her to cringe away from her mother’s presence in the house and to view her as malevolent and sneaky. Furthermore, the narrative indicates that Bel considers Rachel to be an interloper in her father’s house.

“Carter sighed, bumping Bel’s elbow. ‘Bel, you’re doing that thing that you do,’ she said gently, like she was tiptoeing around little land mines of their own. ‘Trying to see the bad in everything. Looking for reasons to push people away, which means you always find them. This is a good thing. Surely you hoped for this your whole life. It’s a miracle she’s back, Bel, most people aren’t that lucky. And she seems nice, Rachel. Really nice. You have to give her a chance, she’s your mom.’”

Carter’s kind and trusting nature allows her to act as a foil to Bel, who is more suspicious and guarded in her relationships. This dynamic has its roots in Bel’s Fear of Abandonment, leading her to treat people with skepticism. Although, Bel’s intuition correctly identifies the fact that Rachel is lying, she does not yet realize her mother’s altruistic reasons for doing so. The Power of Instinct and Intuition becomes an important theme in Bel’s perception of Rachel’s half-truths, even as Carter’s affection for Rachel provides a clue that Rachel is Carter’s mother as well.

“I’m saying what if she no longer had those original clothes she disappeared in, she would have needed to buy some as similar as possible, for her grand planned reappearance. If so, then it’s possible that was her, here, in January. Close by but in disguise.”

Bel suggests to Ash that Rachel staged her own reappearance by purchasing clothes similar to those that she wore when she disappeared. This idea strengthens Bel’s case about Rachel’s dishonesty and leads her closer to the truth of Rachel’s abduction. Although not all of her assertions are accurate, her determination to find the truth propels the plot forward despite many setbacks.

“‘No, you look really great, Rachel,’ Sherry continued. ‘So skinny. I guess sixteen years of captivity is the best diet there is.’”

With this callous comment, the author reveals Sherry to be an unpleasant character, and her behavior toward Carter soon proves to be just as damaging. With her fixation on judging women’s appearances, she incites a negative energy in the family’s interactions and irreparably damages her own relationship with Carter, who gravitates toward the greater kindness that Rachel shows her. By creating such a negative portrayal of Sherry, the author lays the groundwork for Rachel’s eventual decision to oust Sherry from Carter’s life entirely.

“Bel awoke with a start, something hard against the inside of her cheek. A face hovering inches above her own in the morning gloom.

She blinked and so did they. Bel spluttered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

‘Hello, sleepy,’ Carter said, sitting on the bed, Bel’s body dragged toward the dip she made.

‘I thought you were fucking Rachel.’ Bel clutched her chest, relocating her jumped-up heart. ‘Did you just poke me in the mouth?’”

In this exchange, Carter is covertly extracting a DNA sample from Bel. However, this fact remains unknown for the present, and when Bel initially mistakes Carter for Rachel, this interaction serves as foreshadowing of Carter’s true status as Bel’s sister. Furthermore, Bel’s mistrust of Rachel is clear in her panicked profession that she thought Carter was Rachel.

“‘Because,’ Bel lowered her voice, even though Rachel wasn’t in the house. It didn’t feel like something that could be said loud, it belonged to whispers. “I still think Rachel is lying about her disappearance, and I’m pretty sure she’s the reason my dad is now missing.’

‘Bel, that’s—’

‘Sometimes you have to trust your gut, Carter. I know that’s what happened, I just need to prove it, and the answers might be on her phone. I need your help, for my dad.’”

The Power of Instinct and Intuition functions as an important theme as Bel follows her hunch that Rachel is lying and pursues the idea that answers can be found on Rachel’s phone. Bel’s instincts are eventually proven to be correct, although she does misjudge Rachel’s intentions. Overall, Bel is established as a discerning, astute, and determined character.

“‘You do, Dad,’ Jeff insisted, the one from now still hiding his face. ‘You do know. Where was she? Where did they find her?’”

In this passage, Jeff is implied to be talking about Rachel, and the scene is initially designed to indicate Patrick’s role in Rachel’s disappearance. However, the narrative later reveals that Jeff is actually asking where Carter was found, and this detail will become clear when Carter’s true identity as Rachel’s baby becomes known, for Patrick took Carter from Rachel soon after the girl was born.

“Ash’s warm hand cupped the back of her neck, a different kind of shiver, one that moved down instead. Bel’s bottom lip slid between his, parting, like this was the easiest thing in the world. It didn’t feel pointless, it felt like everything had always been building to this, a glow that made her forget the knot ever existed. Ash’s nose bumped against hers, the hard corners of the iPad pushing against their bellies.

Bel pulled away first, eyes heavy, lips stung.

‘Uh-oh,’ Ash whispered, breath brushing against her cheek.

His voice brought her back into her skin, into this too-hot room, and Bel remembered how unguarded she was, how defenseless, how stupid.”

In this intimate exchange, Ash and Bel’s developing romance reaches a new moment of closeness in their kiss. Bel’s strong romantic feelings for Ash are implied in the “glow” that indicates their sexual chemistry and her happiness. However, Bel’s inherent guardedness interrupts the moment, and as she suddenly feels defenseless, her anxiety emphasizes her Fear of Abandonment, leading her to feel that human connection is inherently unsafe.

“‘Or maybe Rachel did something to him?’ Bel said, the truth escaping anyway.

‘Why would she do something to him, if he hadn’t done something to her first?’ Phillip grinned, thinking he’d trapped her with that one. ‘I saw him leave, remember. She wasn’t with him.’”

Phillip Alves tells Bel that he saw Charlie leave willingly, and this detail indirectly indicates Charlie’s true nature as a dishonest man. Phillip’s comments also prompt Bel to wonder what Charlie might have done to Rachel, and the passage indicates that Charlie is far from innocent in the matter of Rachel’s disappearance.

“Rachel asked if anyone had given her this book, which—now she thought about it—had been a strange thing to ask. But everything about Rachel was strange in those early days. Bel told her that Grandpa used to read it to her as a kid, that she bought her own copy a few years ago. So Rachel knew Grandpa already had this book, sitting on his shelves at home, Bel had told her so.”

Bel starts to piece together the importance of the book, The Memory Keeper, when she reflects that Rachel was unusually fixated on Bel’s copy and brought Grandpa a copy when she knows that he already has one. By repeatedly featuring the book throughout the narrative, the author establishes its symbolic importance long before its role as a vehicle for coded messages is revealed.

“Dad had lied to her. All this time.

Bel said it was three hours, enough time to piss herself twice, sobbing in the backseat like the world had ended, because part of it had. But Dad told her it had been only fifteen minutes—max—that she was just being silly. Bel had believed him, she’d rewritten the memory in her head, turned it into a funny childhood anecdote.”

The stark, bald tone of this statement reflects Bel’s utter disillusionment with Charlie. Jeff’s admission that Charlie left Bel alone for hours in the car alerts her to the fact that Charlie repeatedly lied to her about this incident. This is an important turning point, for Bel’s allegiance to Charlie begins to shift and change as she reconsiders her entire worldview.

“Help. My name is Rachel Price. I am being kept by Patrick Price in a red truck in Price logging yard. Call police.”

Bel uncovers Rachel’s hidden message in Patrick’s copy of The Memory Thief, allowing her to understand the nature of Rachel’s imprisonment. The novel’s action therefore races toward the climactic scene with Charlie, Rachel, and Bel in the red truck, when the full truth is exposed.

“She closed Rachel’s hand around the key, into a fist. Skin to skin, bone to bone. Held it there, tight.

Eyes on her mom’s.

She chose her.”

In this moment, Bel decides to trust her mother’s version of events over her father’s, relying on The Power of Instinct and Intuition. Faced with her father’s duplicity and murderous intent Bel finally feels that she is being told the whole truth and comes to trust her mother even as she sees her father for who he truly is. Rachel’s characterization has shifted entirely by this point; she was initially portrayed as sinister and untrustworthy, but she is now revealed to be a kind and loving mother who is struggling to protect her daughters from further harm.