John Wade - husband & suspected murderer

Relationship with Kathy
John and Kathy met and became intimate during their college years, despite the number of secrets harbored between the two. John spied on Kathy, which she was aware of, just as he was aware of her affair with the dentist. Worth noting that John's alter ego or inner anger is the "Sorcerer." In the relationship there was a lot of pretending. In the start John and Kathy had a lot of plans which included Marriage, a house and babies, lots of babies. John also makes plans of his own regarding a career in politics.

John state of mind
John and Kathy moved to a cottage in Lake of the Woods. They are continuously troubled by the revelation of John's Vietnam secrets, but pretend to be happy nevertheless. One night John wakes up to boil a kettle of water for tea. Instead of preparing a drink, he pours the boiling water over a few household plants, reciting "Kill Jesus," which seems to please him. He remembers climbing back into bed with Kathy, but the next morning she's gone. As an emerging adult, Johns low self esteem, sense of shame and unfulfilled need for love and affection leave him deeply affected; A victim of the effects of “ Deliberate abandonment”. He was mentally disturbed.

Events at Lake of the woods
Or possibly John had returned to the bedroom with the boiling water and had poured it over her face, scalding her. Afterwards he would have sunk the boat and body in the lake, weighed down by a number of rocks. Or the event might have been John's last great magic trick, a disappearing act. John and Kathy would have planned her disappearance, and to have John join her later on, after the search efforts had been called off, leaving them to a new start at life

Key passages• How unhappy they were Chapter 1.
• First paragraph of chapter 10 – The nature of love
• Pages 32-35 Chapter 7 – The nature of marriage
• Chapter 8 – How the night passed
• Chapter 27 – Hypothesis

Key Quotes
• “The mirrors would warp up; there would be odd folds and creases; clarity would be at a premium” P 51
• “let’s be cobras. You and me. Gobble each other up” P 72
• “Sorcerer shut his eyes and retreated behind the mirrors in his head, pretending to be elsewhere…” P 107
• “The guy offed her” Vinnie Pearson page 12