The character of Alison is revealed throughout the book mostly through the perception of others. In Chapter 1, “Indigo Bay,” she is cast by the omniscient narrator as a sexually aware 18-year-old. She has “milky skin” that tans in the sun with “apricot freckles” and “russet hair, thick and sleek as a horse’s” (5). Women at the resort look at her longingly while the men lust after her. Her mother notices that “she has developed a talent lately for delivering even the most innocuous words as thinly veiled innuendo” (7).

Many different perspectives of Alison are revealed in the confessional sections at the end of most chapters; the security guard claims that “she had a sweet soul” (135), while her high school English teacher paints a picture of a girl who was talented but also reckless and cocky. Alison’s audio diary recordings complicate the picture, as Claire suspects them to be a curated version of the true Alison.

Alison’s death is the catalyst for the events that unfold throughout the narrative, so though Alison remains at the center, it’s the shadow she casts across the lives of Claire and Clive that plays a persistent role.