Just Another Missing Person

Julia, the protagonist, is a detective chief inspector with the Portishead police. Lewis describes her with the phrase, “Slight, blond, intelligent eyes” (95). She is known for her relentlessness and attention to detail—so much so that her friend and colleague Erin notices the difference in her behavior during Olivia’s case and becomes suspicious.

Julia’s career is a fundamental aspect of her identity. It also gives her the power to embark on criminal enterprises: planting evidence, erasing CCTV footage, and covering up for her daughter Genevieve. The narrator says that as much as Julia loves her job, “she doesn’t regret doing what she did” for Genevieve (25). Although Julia identifies herself as a detective, she sacrifices her professional integrity, and possibly her career, for Genevieve. Willingness to give up a profession that is part of her identity is one of The Sacrifices of Parenthood.

Julia’s work and home lives often blur. She brings her work home at night and even shares it with her daughter. She also brings her home life into work, decorating her office with items from home and installing the same blinds she has at home. The Difficulty of Separating the Personal and Professional comes to a head when her professional ethics and personal allegiances conflict after she covers up Genevieve’s crime.