Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, physical abuse, and addiction.

“I am bereft of kin by fate, as Miss Lana puts it, washed into my current, rather odd life by Forces Unknown.”

Mo grows up in a small town in North Carolina with a traditional Southern culture. She is expected to be precise and eloquent, which her speech and inner thoughts reflect. The above description also illustrates the mysterious origins of Mo’s life. The narrative uses religious imagery: Like a child being baptized, Mo was “washed” into this life both by a literal current and by “Forces Unknown.”

“Didn’t like the starch of his shirt, or the crease in his pants. Didn’t like the hook of his nose, or the plane of his cheekbones. Didn’t like the skinny of his hips, or the shine of his shoes. Mostly, I didn’t like the way he didn’t smile.”

Mo expresses her suspicions of Detective Starr upon their first meeting. Her characterization of Starr as a suspicious character is a red herring, or misdirection; the reader is meant to suspect Starr rather than the later-introduced Deputy Marla.

“Miss Lana says the good thing about living in a small town is everybody knows your business, and they pitch in. The Colonel says the bad thing about living in a small town is everybody knows your business, and they pitch in. It cuts both ways.”

Mo points to a humorous quality in small-town life, which is that the same trait can be seen in two totally different ways. In Mo’s life, the sense of community in a small town is positive because it means support, company, and unconditional friendship. The people of Tupelo Landing stick together.