Fool Me Once

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of murder, war, and PTSD.

Class is a motif in the novel that Coben uses to accentuate the antagonistic aspects of secondary characters and interrogate the dark side of suburban life. Class privilege creates an illusion of safety in the novel, from the surveillance cameras that dot the lush campus of Franklin Biddle Academy to the bribes that Tom Douglass accepts to keep the truth of Andrew’s death hidden. The Burketts’ wealth insulates them from the harsh realities of the world, but Maya is a wrecking ball of truth. She is uncomfortable with the unnecessary size of her house and both amazed and turned off by Farnwood’s excesses.

Maya’s relationship with class complicates her character and suggests her antiheroic qualities. Maya is able to have it both ways, throwing stones in the glass house that is owned by her in-laws. She may feel like an outsider, but her financial stability distinguishes her from characters such as Isabella and her family.

The Mendezes are the Burketts’ loyal employees, and Maya muses that they are somehow as snooty as their benefactors despite the disparity in class. However, the Mendezes are outsiders, manipulated into trying to take down Maya without having all of the information about Joe’s death and its causes.