The Boyfriend

Tom is one of the primary narrators of The Boyfriend. He appears in both the “Present Day” plotline as Sydney’s primary love interest (originally introduced as Tom Brown) and the “Before” plotlines, which McFadden narrates from his point of view. The author describes Tom as handsome with a “lean build” and a “pleasing textbook symmetry” to his face (19). Tom has a “strong jaw makes him seem utterly in control and confident” and “coal-black eyes with a level of intensity” that draw Sydney to him immediately (19). These descriptions offer a stark contrast to Kevin and the other men Sydney meets while dating, convincing her that he’s the perfect man for her. Sydney’s physical attraction to Tom obscures her awareness of his red flags.

From his introductory scenes, McFadden emphasizes Tom’s obsession with blood and violence, foreshadowing his involvement—either directly or indirectly—in each of the novel’s central murders. As an adult, Tom keeps his murderous impulses in check, but the “Before” chapters detail Tom’s struggles to contain these tendencies. His violent fantasies as a teen position him as a red herring, he is Brandi and Allison’s killer rather than Daisy. As a teenager, Tom has “an entire shelf full of medical textbooks” (27) in his room and has read all of them in order to learn more about blood and the heart—knowledge that fuels his violent fantasies. Initially, these fantasies are confined to Daisy, whom he dreams of “stabbing or strangling” between “three and four times a week” (104). Tom is specifically interested in how blood moves through dead bodies and fixates on “the color draining out of [Daisy’s] soft cheeks, [and] the way her body would go limp” (90). Tom’s relationship with his abusive father highlights the novel’s thematic interest in Cycles of Violence and Neglect in Families. When Tom kills his father, he crosses a moral and criminal line between thought and action that he describes as “one of the best moments of [his] life” (197). Tom’s taste for murder foreshadows the novel’s climax in which he and Daisy run away together, bonded by their shared attraction to violence and desire to live outside The Pressure of Social Expectations.

Gretchen Driscoll, also known by her childhood nickname “Daisy,” is the primary antagonist of The Boyfriend. She appears in the “Present Day” chapters as Sydney’s friend Gretchen and in the “Before” chapters as Tom’s childhood crush Daisy. The descriptions of this character that appear in the “Present Day” chapters are very different from her descriptions in the “Before” chapters. In the prologue, Tom describes Daisy as an “angel with golden hair and pale blue eyes” (1) who is “perfectly beautiful” (24). Tom is particularly drawn to Daisy’s long blonde hair, which he describes as “the color of the center of a daisy” and “like gold glittering in the sun” (21). Tom’s description of Daisy as golden and angelic reflects his view of her as innocent and perfect. Sydney is less flattering in her description of Gretchen, claiming that their mutual friend Bonnie is “objectively prettier” (43). Sydney describes Gretchen as having “a very sweet face, with big anime eyes and a button nose that has a smattering of pale freckles” (44). McFadden uses the disparity between these descriptions to obscure the connection between Daisy and Gretchen until the reveal of their shared identity in the novel’s final chapters.

Gretchen is characterized by her ability to hide who she truly is from the people closest to her. In the “Before” chapters, Daisy is depicted as a respectable young woman and a pillar of her community: She volunteers, does well in school, and has lots of friends. Tom describes Daisy as “so good” (71), and his father describes her as “much too good” for Tom (159). This depiction of Daisy as an innocent girl offers a stark contrast to the novel’s twist ending, when McFadden reveals that Daisy was responsible for killing three of her classmates. In the “Present Day” chapters, Gretchen is similarly manipulative and violent, hiding her murderous past from Sydney and Bonnie up until the moment she turns on them.

Jake Sousa is a love interest for protagonist Sydney Shaw and the police officer responsible for investigating the murder of her neighbor Bonnie. He appears only in the “Present Day” chapters, and McFadden describes him as a “tall and strong and serious” man (175), handsome and “pushing forty, with just a hint of gray in his temples” (77). Jake’s characterization is marked by his transformation from a work-obsessed detective to an attentive boyfriend. At the beginning of the novel, Sydney feels that there is “nobody more dedicated to his job than Jake Sousa” (81), and attributes the downfall of their relationship to his lack of work-life balance. Jake affirms this belief, telling her that “his job [is] the most important thing in his life and that any woman who [is] with him need[s] to understand and respect that” (88). As Sydney’s dating life puts her in increasing danger, however, Jake begins to realize that he does not want to live without her. By the end of the novel, Jake has promised Sydney that he is “going to make time for what’s important” (356): his relationship with her. Sydney ends the novel “pretty sure that Jake might be [the One]” (357).

Kevin is a secondary antagonist who goes on one date with Sydney Shaw and begins stalking her. He appears only in the “Present Day” chapters, although his description echoes that of Slug, Tom’s childhood best friend, providing an element of misdirection as the mystery progresses. Kevin is described as a “bone thin, bordering on gaunt” man who looks nothing like his Cynch profile picture (4). He has long blond hair that is “badly receding” that he wears “pulled back into an unkempt ponytail” (4). At times, McFadden uses language that evokes a monstrous image of Kevin, describing his “slimy lips” (13), “spindly fingers” (15), and the “stench of sour beer” (16) on his breath.

McFadden positions Kevin as a manifestation of the Misogyny and Safety Risks in the Dating World. His behavior throughout their initial encounter makes clear his goal of sexual conquest, escalating from implicit misogyny to overt assault. During their date, Kevin describes Sydney’s arms as “flabby” and pressures her to drink alcohol, calling her “boring” when she refuses. Kevin’s open criticism of Sydney’s body reflects a seduction technique referred to as “negging,” which is predicated on the idea that attacking a woman’s self-confidence will make her more likely accept sexual advances as a means of seeking approval. Consistently pressuring her to drink exemplifies an attempt to blur the lines of sexual consent. After the date, Kevin becomes more persistent, cornering Sydney in an alley and demanding that she kiss him. Sydney quickly recognizes the threat of violence, noting that Kevin “wants something more than [a kiss] and he’s not going to leave until he gets it” (16). Although a stranger (later revealed to be Tom) saves Sydney from Kevin’s attack that night, Kevin does not give up, and continues to harass and stalk her via Cynch. His constant presence unnerves Sydney, who “feels like he could pop up at any minute” (170). Sydney’s awareness of the threat posed by Kevin reflects the larger threat of misogyny and violence faced by women in the dating world.