The Good Lie

Before the events of the novel, the lives of six teenage boys are taken by the Bloody Heart killer, including Rob Kavin’s son Gabe. Thus, Robert’s grief is central to the novel and drives him to take on Randall Thompson as a client despite the conflict of interest; he is convinced of Randall’s innocence and is determined to ensure that his son’s real killer is discovered. However, as Gwen points out, Robert’s guilt consumes him and causes him to obsess over the Bloody Heart Killer cases and his son’s death, retraumatizing himself by personally reviewing Gabe’s case files and the accompanying photos. Gwen suggests that Robert is dealing with his guilt in an unhealthy way by throwing himself into his work rather than allowing himself time to heal. Gwen and Robert talk more openly about grief when Robert discusses his wife’s death and Gabe’s murder and acknowledges that the grief of losing a child is mingled with a sense of guilt—the feeling that he has failed to protect his child from danger.

In contrast to Robert’s unresolved anguish, Gwen’s relationship to grief and guilt manifests a bit differently, for rather than distracting herself from her negative feelings as Robert does, she almost revels in self-punishment. Early in the book, when Gwen goes to the bar after attending John’s funeral, she admits to misusing alcohol as a way to “atone” for her failure to report John to the authorities. She sees her perceived negligence as a therapist as something that must be punished, but because she refuses to openly admit to her oversight, the only way she can punish herself is by clinging to her negative thoughts and feelings. This sentiment is reflected at the end of the novel as well, when Gwen and Robert again meet in a bar, for she admits that she “rather like[s] cradling [her] sorrows” (244). Rather than taking the path of self-forgiveness and healing, she takes the “well of emotion” as it comes (244), embracing it as a part of the human experience.

Gwen’s struggle between maintaining patient confidentiality and intervening or speaking up when a patient may be a danger to themselves or others is a core part of her character arc over the course of the novel. Similarly, Robert’s profession presents its own ethical implications. Thus, through the two central characters, The Good Lie explores the delicate balance between remaining true to personal duty and operating within the bounds of professional obligations.

Throughout the novel, Gwen is hesitant to tell the police about John’s obsessions and violent fantasies for fear of breaching patient confidentiality. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are bound by a code of ethics, which dictates that they must not reveal anything discussed in therapy sessions with anyone else—with one notable exception. If the patient appears to be an imminent danger to themselves or others, a mental health professional is required by law (in most states) to report the threat. During her sessions with John, Gwen notes clear signs that he might very well harm his wife, but she does not report this information, even after John and Brooke’s deaths. She is unwilling to cooperate with the police because she does not want to turn over his case file and violate his privacy, even in death, and she also operates on a more selfish motivation to avoid exposing her practice to investigation.

Gwen’s struggle between confidentiality and transparency drives her guilt in the wake of Jon and Brooke Abbott’s deaths, and this guilt is exacerbated when she discovers John’s true identity as the Bloody Heart Killer and acknowledges the indirect role that she may have played in the death of Robert’s son. Robert is upset that Gwen did not take action to mitigate John’s violent nature, but by his own admission, he adheres to the same principles of client confidentiality in his profession as a defense attorney. Thus, the novel also addresses the ethical implications of Robert Kavin’s profession. At one point, Rob and Gwen debate the moral implications of their respective professions. Like Gwen’s struggle between maintaining patient confidentiality and being transparent in order to prevent future crimes or solve existing crimes, Robert’s role as a defense attorney involves representing clients whose actions are often morally reprehensible. In Robert’s case, this means defending people whom he knows are guilty of crimes, and in Gwen’s case, this involves keeping her patients’ confidences even when they confess to crimes or criminal intent.