The Survivors

Sean Gilroy first emerges as a shy dive instructor who prefers to spend his days underwater exploring the Mary Minerva shipwreck rather than engaging in Evelyn Bay’s social life. Sean’s mentorship of his nephew Liam after the death of Toby presents him as an admirable character. Having never quite fit in with the friend group as a teenager, Sean appears to have come into his own as an adult: “Sean had grown from a quiet, skinny, hippie kid into a thoughtful, rangy, eco-conscious man who was at his happiest out on the water, watching the horizon rock gently from the deck of a boat” (23). Carrying on Toby’s legacy by running the diving business and watching out for Liam, he has carved out a life in the small tourist town. Once Bronte’s body is discovered and Liam becomes a person of interest, Sean protects his nephew, all but begging the police to exonerate the young man. Sean never wanted attention, even refusing to add his autograph to the inside of the caves as a teen. When Bronte’s photos reveal his name cryptically scratched into the wall in handwriting not his own, Kieran begins to suspect his friend has been suppressing more than just his grief over the loss of his brother.

As Sean begins to tell the story of what happened the day of the storm, the author briefly shifts the focus from Kieran’s point of view to Sean’s giving the reader a closer look at his personality. Having loved Olivia from afar for years, Sean saw taking Gabby to the caves as an opportunity to get back at Olivia. If he could claim a female conquest like his friends, maybe for once he would feel like a part of the crew. Blinded by his immaturity, Sean misreads Gabby’s cues and kisses her without consent. Her rejection humiliates him which quickly morphs into shame and fear causing him to make an impulsive and fatal decision. In the years following Gabby’s death, Sean uses his mentoring of Liam as a cover for his guilt. When Bronte arrives and begins exploring the caves, Sean feels threatened that his long-buried secret will emerge. Gabby’s death was accidental. Bronte’s death was murder.

The reader is unknowingly introduced to Gabby Birch in the prologue as she gathers her skirt from the rising water and innocently sweeps her hair from her neck. As the narrative progresses, Gabby’s story unfolds in the memories of Kieran, Mia, and Olivia as the present timeline plays out in the wake of Bronte’s murder. Gabby is first mentioned as Mia reintroduces herself to Kieran as Gabby’s best friend: “She said the name clearly, which Kieran found interesting. Most people tended to lower their voices at the mention of poor here-then-gone Gabby Birch” (36). The story of her disappearance eerily paralleling Bronte’s murder dredges up old wounds and grief in Evelyn Bay. Her story touches all the main characters in some way and though the reader never meets her, her presence permeates every facet of the narrative.

Daughter to Trish, sister to Olivia, friend to Mia, and student of Brian, Gabby was a human of value to many. Shy and unaware of her developing beauty, she preferred to spend time in the library and with her best friend rather than court the lurid gazes of teenage boys. Vanishing on the day of the storm as if she were swept away by the wind, Gabby’s family is left with the torture of not knowing her fate.

Trish is consumed with bitterness over what she believes was a botched investigation. She fills packs with rocks and tosses them into the sea as if she is making an offering to the waves, a sacrifice rendered with the hopes it will return with an answer. When Kieran finally pieces together the past and Sean confesses to the truth about Gabby’s death, the mystery comes to a resolution. However, despite the revelation, there is no justice for Gabby or Bronte as Sean decides to take his own life rather than face the penalty for his crimes. Kieran realizes the haunting feeling he had each time he returned to the cave was not the ghost of his guilt but the spirit of a scared young girl spending her final moments alone as the waters rose.

Mia is Kieran’s partner and Gabby’s high school best friend. Mia was one of the last people to see Gabby alive and, like Kieran, is left with many questions about the day of the historic storm. When Kieran reconnected with Mia after college, he was in a dark place emotionally. Though he had attended talk therapy and processed his trauma with a professional, he was still consumed with regret. Mia gave Kieran the chance to share his feelings about the tragedy without the shame and judgment with which the town burdens him. Like Kieran, Mia left Evelyn Bay, and both have moved on from their small-town life. However, they both still share a hometown and the tragedy of the day when Kieran lost his brother and Mia lost her best friend. In some ways, Mia’s trauma is crueler as she has no closure. She is a kind and compassionate partner and demonstrates her love by helping with Brian’s transition and being a loving mother to their daughter Audrey.

Mia saves Kieran’s life not once but twice. When he confronts Sean in the caves, Kieran feels pulled into the cave to rescue his friend. The final scene in the novel mirrors the rescue from the past with one change. Instead of help coming in the form of a boat on the water, it comes as Mia with baby Audrey strapped to her chest. Mia shouts Kieran’s name, a reminder of who he is to her, and breaks the trance-like call of the caves. She pulls Kieran into her arms and the safety of a future without shame and guilt: “Mia reached down and he stretched up and she helped pull him clear of the sea” (372). The name he leaves behind scratched into the cavern wall represents the Kieran of the past. A life with Mia and Audrey is a chance to start over, and even though Mia will always hold part of the past within her, she symbolizes the future.