I would say this book is about profound loneliness and isolation, and how it can turn people into perfect prey for certain types of monsters. We have lonely old people disappearing without a trace, we have a lonely man suffocating in his grief, and a gay couple terribly isolated in a bigoted suburbia. The novel starts deeply sad, then gets brutal, but surprisingly, ends on a hopeful note. Ironically, I feel that one part of the ending, even when seemingly happy, wasn't really cathartic for me. I guess I'm not very forgiving and would like it if it ended more in flames than in bittersweet solace (don't want to spoil anything so I need to stay vague). But I love LaRocca's writing and it was so very easy to let their words take hold of my brain for a few hours and to be let to feel all the loneliness, grief and despair.