YMMV / Let Me Call You Sweetheart

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Grace Hoover, following The Reveal. Did she ever suspect Jonathan of killing Suzanne, as Kerry speculates? It's left ambiguous, but regardless Grace does not condone his actions. It could also open up different interpretations of the letter she sends Kerry; she says she blames herself for what happened, but does she mean she thinks it's her fault because she told Jonathan to end the affair, leading to Suzanne's murder? Or because she knew he was the killer all along and yet never said anything?
• Captain Obvious Reveal: It's obvious right off the bat that Skip didn't really kill Suzanne, especially because it would be a very short novel otherwise, although the identity of the real murderer is much less obvious.
• Cry for the Devil: It's hard not to feel at least a little bad for Dr Smith. While he's seriously creepy and unhinged, and helped send an innocent man to prison, he sincerely believed Skip was guilty and wanted to ensure he was punished. He also did truly love Suzanne in his own warped way and is still devastated by her death over a decade later.
• Fridge Horror: One wonders how Barbara Tompkins will cope when she learns her face has been made over to resemble her obsessive cosmetic surgeon's murdered daughter. Besides the creepy reasoning behind Dr Smith giving her that face, Suzanne's murder was so infamous that Barbara will also likely have to deal with people recognizing the resemblance between them like Kerry did for many years. And Barbara is going to reminded of all of this every time she looks in the mirror.
• Jerkass Woobie: Suzanne Reardon. She had an unhappy childhood; she wasn't very pretty or popular compared to her attractive and outgoing stepsisters, and didn't appreciate the good things about herself such as her talent at golf. Even after getting plastic surgery and finding a husband, she was still never satisfied and was so insecure she lied to her friends about her past. Her father treated her more like an object than a daughter and was stalking her. And for all her faults, she in no way deserved to be brutally strangled to death. All in all, Suzanne led a rather unhappy life and was never truly able to accept herself just the way she was.
• Moral Event Horizon: Jonathan Hoover crossed it eleven years ago by murdering Suzanne Reardon over a petty, jealous argument and allowing her innocent husband to be convicted of the crime, costing him eleven years of his life (and if it weren't for Geoff and Kerry's efforts, it would've been the rest of his life too). And even if one argues it was a spur-of-the-moment crime and Jonathan wanted to protect his sick wife, he goes on to murder Dr Smith and then attempts to murder Kerry and her ten year old daughter - who both love and trust him - to keep his crime hidden rather than hand himself in. At this point, even his own wife turns on him and shoots him dead.
• The Woobie: Skip Reardon. He was stuck in a loveless marriage to a material-obsessed woman who used him like an ATM and rather blatantly cheated on him, then he spent ten years in prison for killing her even though he knew he was innocent. He definitely deserves his happy ending.

---