The Last House Guest

Sadie is from Connecticut and spends her summers in Littleport with her family. At first glance, she is a happy young woman, but the closer she becomes to Avery, the more she reveals that her life is not all it appears to be. The summer before her death, Sadie engaged in behavior Avery found suspicious; first, Sadie siphoned funds from the Lomans’ property management business, and then she treated Avery with surprising cruelty and coldness after Avery told Grant about the missing money. Sadie experiences a great deal of pressure from her parents, and she feels she will never be treated as her brother’s equal. She also seems captivated with the world outside Littleport and its innumerable possibilities.

Sadie uncovered two payoffs from the Lomans to persons unknown around the time Avery’s parents died. Although Avery is the novel’s primary truth-seeker, Sadie is the first to uncover the biggest secret in town: Parker was responsible for the crash that killed Avery’s parents, and the first officer at the scene, Detective Collins, helped cover up his involvement. Ironically, Grant once told Avery that his children are not capable of taking a risk or being willing to lose, but Sadie takes the biggest risk of all in trying to expose this coverup. She loses her life attempting to uncover the truth and ensure justice can be served.

Parker is Sadie’s elder brother and a fleeting romantic interest for Avery. He briefly dated Luciana Suarez, bringing her to Littleport for the first time the summer Sadie died. When Parker was younger, perhaps 14 or 15 years old, he was involved in a car accident that killed Avery’s parents. His family covered up his involvement, paying off Avery’s grandmother and Detective Collins. Parker is dismissive of public perception, not caring who hears or sees his behavior—evidence of a life lived without fear of consequences. While Sadie sees no point in apologizing for who she was in the past, Parker takes that philosophy to an extreme; he does as he pleases and cares little for who is affected by his actions.

Luce’s relationship with Parker is fraught from the beginning. She perceives Avery as a rival not just for Parker’s affections but for a place in the Loman family. In summer 2017, she discovers Parker’s affair with Faith Sylva, Avery’s former friend. Although the two break up, they pretend to still be together at Sadie’s funeral. Luce was disgusted by Parker’s insistence they keep up appearances: “he said it wouldn’t look good if we’d broken up the same night his sister died” (254). Luce sees the Lomans very clearly, comparing the family to a chess game in which they will “sacrifice anything for the king” (255).

Connor was briefly involved with Avery in the years before she met Sadie. Connor seemed to be interested in Avery since their youth, and he remained attracted to her even after catching her with another man. Connor’s father runs the docks, and Connor takes his work there seriously, demonstrating an honorable sense of duty to his community. Connor unknowingly helps Sadie hide evidence of the Lomans’ wrongdoings; he also keeps quiet about Faith’s involvement in the break-ins at the Lomans’ rentals. Connor is privy to a great deal of knowledge about the upper-class circles that Sadie and Avery move in, despite existing outside them himself.

Faith was once Avery’s close friend, but their friendship ended when Avery lashed out at Faith and broke her arm. Faith’s parents own the town’s bed and breakfast, which went deep into debt while Faith was away earning her degree. When she returned to Littleport, Faith caused disturbances at the Lomans’ properties in an attempt to break their monopoly on the town’s hospitality business. If she scared people out of renting a Loman house, the only other available lodging would be her family’s B&B. Faith’s actions reflect the locals’ frustrations with the upper-class vacationers, but she takes it to a new level by acting against them.