Triptych

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

“Grady was like a worse-case scenario sitting between them, a living reminder that the city too busy to hate was also too busy to take care of its own.”

With this passage, Slaughter emphasizes the pervasive air of indifference that the city of Atlanta collectively holds toward its less privileged spaces. The repetition of the phrase “too busy” indicates the rush and bustle of everyday commerce that overwhelms the environment and allows some areas to languish, invisible and powerless. By establishing Grady Homes as such a place, the author indicates that a panorama of social injustices is about to unfold.

“It pissed him off to see the cars the bangers drove. In the last month, Michael’s kid had shot up about four inches, outgrowing all his jeans, but new clothes would have to wait for Michael’s next paycheck.”

The bitter tone of this quote captures Michael’s perpetual frustration with his current lot in life, and he also projects an aura of resentment upon seeing the relative wealth of the very people whom he is tasked with policing. While the early chapters imply that Michael is simply a cynical, overworked member of law enforcement, the intensity of his anger foreshadows the eventual revelation that he is more criminal than hero himself.

“If Gina ever answered the door for Phil dressed this way, Michael would have fucking killed her.”

While previous passages have shown glimpses of Michael’s anger at the wider world, this scene indicates that he is just as willing to turn his violent thoughts and impulses inward, toward the contemplation of his own household and family. The misogynistic tone of his thoughts also stands as an early hint that he does not see women as people—not even his wife.