We Are All the Same in the Dark

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses abuse and sexual violence.

Odette is the protagonist of We Are All the Same in the Dark. She is a young police officer following in the footsteps of her late father, and she returns to her hometown to investigate the unsolved disappearance of Trumanell Branson. Her motivation for doing so is personal as well as professional, as she was in a relationship with Trumanell’s brother, Wyatt Branson, when they were teenagers. Moreover, on the night of Trumanell’s disappearance 10 years earlier, Odette was involved in a car accident that resulted in part of her leg being amputated; thus, she feels she is intertwined with the case and takes it upon herself to find out what happened to Trumanell. Similarly, when Wyatt finds Angel, a young girl with a missing eye, Odette works to protect her from whoever may be looking for her, believing they were brought together by fate.

Several people in Odette’s life, including her cousin Maggie and her coworkers, discourage her from investigating the Trumanell case and remark on how much it has consumed her life. Her obsession with solving the case reflects the theme of