The Parker Inheritance

The entire novel is a puzzle in itself, which is referenced often as Candice and Brandon struggle to do as Abigail Caldwell suggests and “find the path. Solve the puzzle” (28). Their struggle to understand the clues is helped significantly when Brandon makes a key comparison to The Westing Game, a book where “most of the information you need to solve the puzzle is provided right at the beginning of the story” (186). Later, it is revealed that Candice’s strong puzzle-solving ability was supported by her grandmother literally “preparing” (252) her as a young child to be able to solve the mystery. Riddles are also at the heart of Siobhan and Reggie’s relationship, which is why the Parker inheritance is only accessible to someone who can solve a series of puzzles. 

Though there are no images included in the novel, photographs play an important role in the plot. Candice and Brandon work to understand the history of Lambert, though this is complicated by the fact that much of their research has to take place using archival materials. They frequently turn to yearbooks to look for who different people might have been in 1957, finally discovering James Parker as Reggie Bradley: “a boy in the black-and-white photo” (215). Without being able to look at photographs, Candice would never have been able to identify the letter-writer or solve the later clues. In another scene, photos pale to reality as a white character, Chip Douglas, must realize that “up close” (210), seeing a Black man who had been attacked was much less difficult than seeing the “pictures” (210). Though this is different than Candice’s realization, this prompts Chip to shift the way he had been thinking about a situation and larger social issue. For both characters, and in other instances, photographs serve as a way for an individual to access a new way of thinking about something that allows them to move forward more productively.