Peter’s answer to “I don't understand. I know Oliver is obviously in love with James, but how does James feel???” > Likes and Comments

That is such an insightful answer. I suppose I knew that but I hate to think of James that way. I really wanted to believe the best in him and to think he might be worth Oliver's loyalty. I like how you compared him to Richard, you make a very good argument there!

I'm so glad I came across your posting. I just finished this book and a few times, asked myself if Oliver was a reliable narrator. Though it never occurred to me to look at James through this lens. Thank you for making me re-think this story.

(view spoiler)[I think this answer is an over-simplification of it all. Richard tried to kill James too, he almost killed Wren and threatened to hurt Meredith and Oliver too. He was causing bodily harm to them all. It's not too far from imagination to think that any of them would have done what James did. So to say he was just "getting rid of a rival" is to ignore the rest of the plot. Sure, it could be unreliable but let’s not forget that the story is a retelling of events as Oliver remembered them after ten years and he does seem to have some clarity about it all. I refuse to think James was just a mastermind behind the whole thing. I think the murder was unintentional and there’s always Filipa’s decision to help James, to think about too.
Plus, James was ridden with guilt and that was for sure not for the sake of Oliver. He was cracking and lashing out in ways that were not flattering for a devotee. If Oliver had any sense or was a little less in love, he woudn’t have fallen for it all so easily.
I think the only reason he didn’t come forward at the end was all the evidence against Oliver and his confession. No way James’ claims would have gone anywhere without revealing everyone else’s involvement, especially Pip’s. Also James is described as small and delicate…it stands to reason that his survival statics in prison were even lower than Oliver’s.
I do think that James, partially and then more intentionally manipulated Oliver but I think it was partly due to his inner denial of his feelings for Oliver too. They were all in denial. There's this one scene when Alexander implies having relations with whoever regardless of gender and orientation, and James is straight-up disgusted. So I think a lot of his interactions with Oliver came from the push/pull feelings he had for Oliver and the whole thing came to a head. Oliver was more honest about himself and his feelings and he definitely loved James more but I think James loved him too but he couldn’t come to terms with it and the fact that he did kill Richard after he mentions his relationship with Oliver is not to be ignores either. (hide spoiler)]

I don't necessarily agree that James was a master manipulator and just used Oliver. If he's totally manipulating Oliver to take the fall why be so careless with what he says to Meredith and why leave Oliver a clue with the Pericles passage? Let's not forget the Richard was basically physically abusing everyone and completely off the rails. But as soon as I finished the book I went back to re-read the beginning and found it interesting that in the opening chapter James makes a comment that they were plotting to kill Richard. . . or something along those lines. You think he is just joking at first but it makes you think. I loved this book!!

Oh gosh, this makes so much sense. I don't know if the author intended it this way, but it makes SO MUCH SENSE.

Thank you! I hadn't put this all together until I read what you wrote, but I absolutely think you're onto something. I just read a whole series of posts about is James alive or dead with people who say he's alive saying why would he fake his death. And that's where I was at. The other big question I had was: When Richard is in the lake, the only one who tries to save him is James. But he doesn't protest when nobody else thinks they should save him. That pointed out immediately to me that James was the killer. He was my only suspect the entire time. And I think if you look at him as always trying to manipulate people, his actions make more sense. Remember Thanksgiving he goes to visit Oliver. And when Oliver says I'll sleep on the couch James says, no, we can share the bed. Master manipulator.