Her Deadly Game

Content Warning: This section refers to alcohol use disorder, child abuse, murder, and psychological manipulation.

Keera Duggan’s family is a big part of her life—and in her mind, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. At the beginning of Her Deadly Game, she reflects, “A counselor once labeled her family as ‘enmeshed’ and not in a flattering way” (40), a reference to a psychological concept in which a family system’s lack of boundaries and ill-defined roles can thwart development and autonomy. Although Keera remains in Seattle near her family and follows the Duggan tradition of practicing law, she maintains her distance by working at the state prosecutor’s office instead of her father’s criminal defense firm. When circumstances force her to join the family firm, Keera transcends her status as the youngest child and establishes a new role for herself in the family firm and, thus, the family itself.

Keera’s primary obstacle to establishing her place within the firm is her status as the youngest of the Duggan siblings. In Chapter 1, when she returns to the office after winning her case, she is not congratulated but instead scolded by her sisters, Maggie and Ella: Maggie for leaving Patsy unattended and Ella for Keera’s reprimand of her client.