There are a number of questions (about the ending, explanations, other spoilers, etc.) that get asked pretty frequently about this book, so I thought I’d just answer them here.
For the full review and a detailed summary of the plot, see the Summary and Review for Where the Crawdads Sing.
Where can I find a full plot summary of Where the Crawdads Sing?
Right here! Summary and Review for Where the Crawdads Sing. There’s a short/quick version and a longer, more detailed version.
What is the meaning of the title of the book “Where the Crawdads Sing”?
The meaning of the title “Where the Crawdads Sing” comes from Delia Owens’s childhood experiences (something her mother used to say). It’s also a phrase that the character of Tate says in the book.
In Chapter 17, when Tate and Kya are looking for a place to hang out, Tate suggests that they go somewhere “where the crawdads sing.” He explains to Kya that it means “far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.” In other words, he’s suggesting they go off somewhere far from other people, deep into nature.
From the book: “Well, we better hide way out there where the crawdads sing. I pity any foster parents who take you on.” Tate’s whole face smiled.
“What d’ya mean, where the crawdads sing? Ma used to say that.” Kya remembered Ma always encouraging her to explore the marsh: “Go as far as you can—way out yonder where the crawdads sing.”
“Just means far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.”
Throughout out the book, Delia Owens’s writing shows a great fondness for the natural world. Her past work (as a wildlife scientist in Africa), as well as the title of this novel, are a reflection of this.
Delia Owen discusses the origins of this phrase and how it relates to her life in an interview with Hello Sunshine. “When I was a young girl growing up in south Georgia, my mother encouraged my girlfriends and me—whether we were exploring on foot or riding our horses—to venture as far into the oak forests as we could go. She wanted me to experience true nature, to find that place where the deer and foxes still behaved as they always had in the wild. She’d say, “Go way out yonder where the crawdads sing.” And we did.”
What happens at the end of Where the Crawdads Sing? Does Kya kill herself in Where the Crawdads Sing?
At the end of Where the Crawdads Sing, Kya is acquitted for the murder, and Kya realizes that she loved Tate all along. They start a life together and turn the shack that Kya lives in into a nice cottage.
As the years pass, Jumpin’ passes away, and Jodie gets married and has kids that he brings by. The village grows into a city, but Tate and Kya never visit either way.
Kya does not kill herself. Instead, she passes away at 64 while she’s out in a boat collecting stuff (“her heart had quietly stopped”). Tate has “The Marsh Girl” inscribed on her headstone.
As Tate goes to look through her possessions he finds a hidden compartment with poems by a local author (these are referenced throughout the book). He realizes the poet was Kya, writing under a nom de plume all these years. There is one poem about murdering Chase, and with it is Chase’s missing shell necklace, tying her to his murder.
Who Killed Chase Andrews? Did Kya (“The Marsh Girl”) Murder Chase in Where the Crawdads Sing? How did Chase Andrews die? And why was he killed?
Yes, Kya was responsible for the death of Chase Andrews. Basically, at the end of the book, we find out that Kya has been writing and publishing poems under a pen name. Tate, her husband, finds one of these poems (that Kya wrote) along with the necklace that ties Kya to the murder.
If you read the poem (see the full text of it below) that’s with the necklace, you’ll see how it clearly describes the situation with Chase and what happened. She lured him to the tower and then she left the grate over the last stair open so he could fall through. (“The last step, a trap. Down, down he falls, His eyes still holding mine / Until they see another world.”)
The necklace ties Kya to the murder because Chase was supposed to have worn it all the time, but it was missing from the scene of the crime. Instead, Tate realizes that Kya has had the necklace all along.
I think the question of “why” Kya chooses to kill Chase (and whether it was justified) is something that’s up for book clubs to debate. Obviously, legally it was definitely not justified. Kya had a lot of reasons to dislike Chase. He dated, tricked and cheated on Kya (he was seeing someone else so he wouldn’t introduce her to people and got engaged while he continued letting her believe he wanted to marry her). Then after all that, he later goes back to see her and attempts to sexually assault her.
Beyond that, after the sexual assault, she worries that he will feel the need to have the “last word” after she left him sprawled on the dirt, and she doesn’t want to live in fear waiting for him to come at her again (“She’d learned over and over from Pa: these men had to have the last punch. Kya had left Chase sprawled on the dirt. The two old fishermen had probably seen her flatten him. As Pa would have it, Kya had to be taught a lesson.” “Chase would not let this go. Being isolated was one thing; living in fear, quite another.”).
The assault happens on August 30th and a month later he’s dead.
How is Kya able to contact Chase to lure him to the fire tower?
It’s not really stated how exactly she lures him to fire tower. We know that she does because it’s referenced in her poem, the Firefly (reproduced below).
As one of the commenters below (thanks Lindsay!) points out below, it may have been via phone because during the trial, the hotel manager, Mr. Lang Furlough, mentions that she was oddly unfamiliar with how to use the telephone. That seems to indicate she may have asked him how to use it in order to contact Chase.
Otherwise, she could have left Chase a note or something.
Was Kya in a disguise as the man on bus #1 or the old lady on bus #2 that’s mentioned in trial? Could Kya have gone back and forth from Greenville to Barkley Cove in that timeframe?
The answer to all of these questions is a (tentative) yes. It’s the most plausible answer to how Kya could have been able to kill Chase, though there’s not a firm confirmation of it.
Kya’s alibi is that she was in Greenville, meeting with her publisher, on the day Chase was killed. This is confirmed by her publisher. She traveled there by bus (Jumpin’ had to explain to her how to buy a bus ticket). However, the detectives determine that it’s possible to travel by bus from Greenville to Barkley and back in one night.
Larry Price (the bus driver for the 11:50 P.M. bus from Greenville to Barkley Cove) says there was no one on the bus that resembles Kya. But Price also says there was “a skinny passenger on that bus who could’ve been a tall woman disguised as a man”. It was a young white man, approximately 5′ 10”, kept his head down.
John King (the bus driver for the 2:30 P.M. bus from Barkley Cove to Greenville) also says there was no one on the bus that resembles Kya. But King also says there was an older lady who was “tall like Miss Clark, who had gray hair, short with curls, like a permanent wave.” King, too, acknowledges it could have been Kya in a disguise.
In terms of whether the timing works, at the trial, it’s mentioned that the 11:50 bus was 25 minutes late. It ended up getting in at 1:40 P.M. at night (meaning, it’s an 1 hour and 35 minute bus ride). The return bus departed at 2:30. So, that means there was a 50 minute window for Kya to get from the bus station to the fire tower, kill Chase and return.
At trial, there’s a discussion of whether this was feasible in 50 minutes. The gist of it is that, depending on factors such as her method of travel or the water conditions, it could have been possible.
What happened to the red hat? How did Kya end up with the red hat?
The infamous red hat. I have gotten so many e-mails and comments about this red hat that (a full year after reading this!) I have finally gone through the book and found all mentions of the red hat and red fibers so everyone can have a definitive answer instead of having to individually e-mail me. I don’t entirely understand why this hat has inspired so much curiosity, but here goes.
So, the red hat mostly serves to provide intriguing but not definitive evidence at the trial and during the investigation. Here’s everything we know about the hat:
In Chapter 43, Tate offers Kya his red hat because it’s cold. Kya initially declines, but Tate tosses it into her boat. They end up passing it back and forth, but it’s not explicitly stated who ends up with it at the end of the exchange. (“Then they stopped laughing and simply looked at each other as they lobbed the cap back and forth until she motored around the bend.”)
Later, there are red fibers found on Chase’s jacket after he is dead. And there is a red hat found in Kya’s place later. It’s confirmed by the detectives who send it to a lab that it’s an exact match (between the fibers on Chase’s jacket and from the hat in Kya’s place).
At trial, expert evidence is given that the fibers could have been transferred at any time and just remained stuck on there for years (even if washed), so they aren’t definitive proof that Kya was with Chase the night he died. So, in the end, the hat doesn’t really prove anything.
So, the answer is, we don’t know how Kya ends up with the red hat. I think you can assume that either a) Kya ended up with it when she and Tate were tossing it around or b) Kya ended up with it at some other point that she was hanging out with Tate.
Why did Kya keep the shell necklace?
The book does not explicitly state Kya’s reasons for keeping the shell necklace. Presumably though, she saw it as some symbol of her relationship with Chase, possibly a representation of her “taking back” something (her dignity, her pride, her sense of safety, her sense of self worth, etc.) from him.
It’s important to remember that it was originally a gift from Kya to Chase, and it only ends up back in Kya’s hands when she murders him. In killing him, she likely wanted revenge, but also to reclaim some sense of power or something like that. So, you could see it as her taking something back from him when she killed him. At that point, it becomes a symbol of Kya taking herself back or taking back the power in their relationship (or her dignity or something else) which could be the reason she would want to keep this symbol of her reclaiming something she feels he took from her.
Another way to look at it is that it’s a memento of an experience that shaped her as a person for better or for worse, so she wanted to keep it.
Of course, another perfectly legitimate explanation is that she keeps it because it was a necessary literary device to provide affirmative evidence of what happened at the end of the story. :)
Is the town of Barkley Cove, North Carolina a real place? What city was it based on?
Where the Crawdads Sing is set in the fictional coastal fishing town of Barkley Cove in eastern North Carolina. (See the map at the end of this post.) From the trial in the book, we know that it is a 1 hour and 35 minute bus ride away (when traveling in the middle of the night with presumably no traffic) from Greenville, NC.
It unknown what city Barkley Cove was based on. (If you google this question, the city of Asheville sometimes comes up as the answer, but that is not accurate. Asheville is not a coastal town; it’s simply a large city that gets mentioned a few times in the book. Incidentally, it’s also the city where Delia Owens lives.)
What is the poem (The Firefly) at the end of Where the Crawdads Sing?
The full text of The Firefly is below.
The Firefly
Luring him was as easyAs flashing valentines.
But like a lady firefly
They hid a secret call to die. A final touch,
Unfinished;
The last step, a trap.
Down, down he falls,
His eyes still holding mine
Until they see another world. I saw them change.
First a question,
Then an answer,
Finally an end. And love itself passing
To whatever it was before it began. A.H.
Is Where The Crawdads Sing based on a true story?
No, Where the Crawdads Sing is a work of fiction.
Delia Owens may have been indirectly involved / associated with a murder in Africa, but it is unrelated to the story in Where the Crawdads Sing. The incident in question is only very tenuously connected to Delia Owens, but if you are curious, feel free to read the discussion of Slate’s Delia Owens expose.
Let’s talk about actual science. Do Crawdads Sing? Like the actual animals?
Yes! Well, sort of. Crawdads don’t exactly sing, but they make noises if you want to count that. According to this aquarium, “Crawdads (also known as Crayfish) make produce sounds through their scaphognathite, which is a thin appendage that draws water through the gill cavity. They move the scaphognathite and produce sound and air bubbles.
They will produce a series of pulse trains that is believed to signal an individual’s presence to other crayfish. It is also believed that they produce sounds to alert other crayfish to predators, or to attract a second predator to prey upon the predator.”
What is the “Marsh Girl” / Kya’s full name in Where the Crawdads Sing? Why is Kya called the “Marsh Girl”?
Kya’s full name is Catherine Danielle Clark. She is nicknamed the “Marsh Girl” because she lives in the nearby swampy marshes on the outskirts of town.
What race is the character of Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing? Is Kya black or Native American?
Kya is not black or Native American. Kya refers to herself as “white trash” at one point, so I think we can safely assume that she and her family are white.
Also, commenter Si Aspen adds: On pg 222, there is a conversation between Kya and Jumpin. It states, “In another time and place, an old black man and a young white woman might have hugged. But not there, not then.” So that confirms that Kya is white.
Is there a Where the Crawdads Sing movie or film adaptation?
A movie adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sings is in active development. For all the details, see Everything We Know about the Where the Crawdads Sing Movie.
Where can I find the map of (the fictional town of) Barkley Cove?
Right here! This map of (the fictional town of) Barkley Cove, North Carolina is from the e-book version of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Still confused over something? Drop a comment below and I’ll try to answer if I can! :)
this was helpful thank you
glad to help!
Yes, ery nicely explained.
Why did Kya kill Chase?
I think the question of “why” Kya chooses to kill Chase (and whether it was justified) is something that’s up for book clubs to debate. Obviously, legally it was definitely not justified. Kya had a lot of reasons to dislike Chase. He dated, tricked and cheated on Kya (he was seeing someone else so he wouldn’t introduce her to people and got engaged while he continued letting her believe he wanted to marry her). Then after all that, he later goes back to see her and attempts to sexually assault her. Presumably the sexual assault was the final straw for Kya. That happens on August 30th and a month later he’s dead.
I think it’s not about revenge here. She never thought about revenge after she knew that Chase is a liar and betrayed her. Actually, he didn’t worth her revenge at all because she never loved him. After a long while, Chase came back and endangered her. So, she just wants to take back her freedom and power in her own home, not having to hide and flee, not to live a miserable life as her mother. Carolin’s wild creatures (the valentines and mantis) taught her that killing is not really a sin, but a natural instinct to survive.
Why wasn’t Kya put on the stand to be questioned by the lawyers? Also, was that her in disquise on the buses?
yeah, I think based on what we know, the bus person is her. I don’t know if the book really got into why Kya wasn’t put on the stand, but generally if a lawyer feels like someone is more likely to incriminate themselves or come off badly, then they won’t testify
I just finished the book myself, the Audio book version (Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, who did a great job, if anyone is interested in Audio books… I do because of my commute, and I enjoy a good narrator.
Overall I truly enjoyed the entire story, even though the author puts a lot of detail into the descriptions of nature, and Kya’s work, but it is also cool because it gives you the story from a scientist’s point of view (which our Author happens to be). So I didn’t mind it… there was enough emotion and intrigue to keep me interested.
I find myself feeling such hatred for all of the townspeople who are prejudiced and mean to her, calling her “marsh trash”… proclaiming loudly in my car (all by myself) Hey you A***ole!! She was abandoned to survive by herself, and she has… who do you think you are?! Growing up in the south, myself, and no stranger to opinionated, ‘holier-than-thou’, judgmental and racist people, I get this, but it never-the-less infuriates me (even in a work of fiction).
So I sympathize with Kya, and I think even though I was not abandoned as a child, I have felt abandoned in my life, and identify with her feelings and fears of living her entire life alone and unloved.
My biggest disappointment from this book was that, even though you know Kya ate natural, and was a very slim woman (who I would imagine being in great health) she died way too early in life. I wished she and Tate would have had more years together, and I also hurt for them that they had no children of their own, as I feel Kya would have made such a loving mother… But hey we can’t have it all in a story…
Great book, left me very emotional.
Jackie
thank you so much for your thoughts! I definitely agree about the townspeople, I think stories like these are so important for helping people to think about whether they themselves are acting as “the townspeople” for someone else in their community who is different or unconventional. I really enjoyed this book too, and appreciate your thoughts on it!
Well said. I loved the Marsh Girl from the beginning! Great book. I listened on audible.
I’m confused about the red ski cap. Kya and Tate were tossing it back and forth while boating. According to the story, it ended up on Tate’s boat. How did it get to Kya’s shack?
Ky probably took the hat in the end. that’s the only thing that makes sense.
Ky probably took the hat in the end. that’s the only thing that makes sense.
Kya, who never rode a bus before, executes a plan wearing 2 disguises and taking the bus back & forth an extra time, in order to murder Chase. Is this realistic?
This does not seem realistic.
Also was the publisher of her books the same one who published her poems.? If not, Tate is the one who made arrangements for her to get published. Where does all this sophistication come from on Kya’s part.
Being an expert on the marsh & it’s plants, critters & tides, does not necessarily make that same person able to excel in other areas, such as a complicated murder plan.
Does Kya ever show remorse? She probably would have not killed a critter, except for food, but killing a human being did not seem a problem.
I believe she was afraid he was going to kill her. She was always looking out for him to jump her and listening for his boat. She was afraid and did nothing like that feeling.
I believe a lot of this novel is unbelievable; however, it is a work of fiction. As far as her not showing remorse for killing Chase, after Chase bruised her face and and tried to assault her, she went to the reading house, she watched and thought about insects killing their mates. She thought the insects knew how to deal with their mates. Most of her life she only had nature as her family, so whether right or wrong, she thought she would get rid of her “mate” the way some insects got rid of theirs.
First paragraph, bingo. Forget the lack of time to pull it all off, but rather the premeditated and calculated effort to know how to do that and get away with it. She just wasn’t worldly enough for considering disguising herself differently twice, etc. This part I’d badly flawed.
How did Kya know Chase would be at the tower?
They must have contacted before..probably through telephone and Kya came before Chase to execute the plan
How do you think Kya lured him without leaving a trace? And why would she leave the hat out in the open when she was so careful to cover her tracks in every other way?
Someone here asked why Kya would have kept the red hat in her home if she ever thought about fiber evidence being used against her. I lived in Atlanta in the 1970s when many young children were being murdered and they talked of “fiber evidence” which was a new thing at that time. The murder of Chase occurred in the late 1960s and even if Kya was a woman of the world and was exposed to news, crime novels, college classes, friends, etc, which she was not, I don’t think she would have been aware of “fiber evidence”. ( Spoiler .., ). In the movie, she’s in jail as the trial continues. She’s petting the resident cat who visits her in her cell. She has just spent a day in court where red, wool ( hat ) fibers were discussed and brought in as evidence against her. She looks down at her hand after petting the car for a while and sees the cat’s “fur/fibers” on her hand. She looks shocked and amazed. I’m sure that’s something she just didn’t know about and did not think of at the time. I also believe she killed Chase for two reasons which she hits at or outright states in the book/and movie: He was nothing more than a dangerous predator ( even his own father, in the move, Chase says, mentions to him ( when his father had been drinking ) that if people knew who he really was, they would hate him/Chase. This speaks to the fact that Chase’s own father knew what he really was: a psychopath. Dangerous predators must be killed or you will die. Kya knows this is the law of nature. She kills him to survive because she knows he will eventually hunt and “eat her/kill her”. It is the law of nature ( which she is a student of) to kill to survive. She also kills Chase because she says “I will not live in fear.” Amen sister.
Hi this is great! But the link is broken on the Chase question!
ooo thanks for letting me know, I’ll take a look to see what’s up!
No one seems to mention this, but wouldn’t Tate have known that Kya killed Chase, because he knew he had only recently given her the cap before the murder? In the trial, Kya’s lawyer said that the red fibers could have been there during Kya’s relationship with Chase, but the lawyer wasn’t aware how recently she’d received the cap. So the fibers were actually the smoking gun.
Tate had always wore a red hat, throughout the entire story.
Hi – I’m curious as to why Kia was upset and angry that she was put on trial for the murder when she was guilty? I saw someone comment about the possibility of a mental breakdown and split personalities. Could it be that she had no memory?
Spoiler alert 🚨 There’s a scene where Tate fights Chase on the dock in Kya’s defense after overhearing Chase speak ill of Kya. I believe this scuffle on the dock could’ve been the exchange in fibers from Tate’s red hat. Later on Tate gives Kya the red hat after asking if she’s cold, that’s how she gains possession of the red hat. All the while she doesn’t know that Tate has fought Chase.
I enjoyed the book. Was it just a mistake that late in the book it says Jumpin’ tells Kya the day after she gets back from her trip that Chase is dead and everyone is talking about the shell necklace he always wore being missing. But earlier in the book it’s made clear that Chase’s mother doesn’t go to the police until 8 days after they find his body and tell them about the missing necklace? I didn’t get that.
Yes! That bothered me too. Seems like a mistake to me. Unless, I missed something. I have been looking this up for a couple of days now and yours was the first comment I found in this regard…
I believe Chase’s mother has mentioned that she waited until the autopsy was completed and received the complete report. She was hoping that the sheriffs searched the scene thoroughly to find it. You could sense that the sheriffs were not relying on gossips around the town as it contains more false information and drifts the investigation further away from what has happened.
About the necklace thing and when Chase’s mom was aware the necklace was missing. It states in the novel that she thought it would be with her sons “effects” or “belongings” that they took off her son’s body in order to do the autopsy. But when she got his “effects” it wasn’t there. She even asks the guy to double check for the necklace, but he states it was never there, he never saw it. Do, no, it’s not an error.
I identify with the character a great deal. I grew up a foster child and know what it was to be alone. Also, one side of my family lived in the marshes of Louisiana. Kya’s source of sorrow was being abandoned. Why did her family walk out of her life? Because Pa would get drunk and beat on his mother. One by one, they walked out their life. When Chase attempts to rape her, he was drunk and hit her. Before the incident she unleashed her being lied to and left. She concealed the bruises as her Mother did. She was concerned about being called a whore which I find out ironic as she had no reputation to protect. In short, Kya projected her father to Chase. And that behavior was the cause of her hardships. Nature had become her family and moral compass.
After she was acquitted and returns to the cabin, she was relieved she was angry. She was angry about being abandoned by those whom she loved. Meaning she didn’t kill because she was scared, she killed him because she was hurt. The only thing that is mystifying me is the nomme de plume. I can’t figure out if it was an alter ego, expression of guarded vulnerability, or pride/vanity because she didn’t want people to know how she felt about being treated so poorly.
Was surprised the wife’s testimony wasn’t in the book, was my primary suspect but loved the twist. I never saw that coming. But the pen name is the baffling part. She never expressed vanity before. Also, the insects was a rationalization.
Interesting thoughts, but I see it differently. I think she was deliberate in her decision to kill him. I think it was based on her understanding of the kind of person Chase was, and I agree that he was similar to her father. There are certain people who can’t stand to “lose”, and who feel entitled to make their victims “pay” for fighting back. She assessed Chase as this type of person, and her understanding was that it was either her or him. From my perspective, she didn’t name the stakes – Chase did when he attacked her physically and went on to trash her home. She as alone out there – completely vulnerable and became hypervigilant about every sound. She had already spent years living in fear of her father, she saw what living in fear did to her mother. She saw that she did not want to, nor did she deserve to, live in fear because a predator decided to target her. She did what nature would do when faced with a life or death fight – she took out the predator.
kyra did kill chase trueor false
True
Yes. Her poem, about the fireflies, later at the end of the novel, makes it clear that she did kill him and even looked in his eyes as he fell…at first she says she saw surprise or a questioning look, then his eyes “recognized… or realized what and why”, and finally his eyes looked at another world. But I believe she had help…no, no one else was on the tower but Kya and Chase, but she had help with the logistics of the whole thing…very probably from Jumpin, and perhaps her brother, who was in the military.
I feel Kya killed because she had seen the abuse that her mother had endured. After having been beaten by Chase and him declaring that she belonged to him, she knew that she would have to endure repeated rapes and beatings or death if she refused. No one from the town was going to believe her or protect her. Like her mother having a psychotic breakdown, Kya snapped when she realized that she was living deep in the swamp and was defenseless.
The book doesn’t explain what happened to Kya’s father. Does he die?
He just never came back. That’s all the book says.
How do Kya And Chase know to meet at the Fire Tower when he was killed?
Great book. I cried at the end.
She probably called him over telephone or left a note in her shack.
P.S.Even I cried during the end.I still feel numb about Kya’s and Jumpin’ death and also for Tate especially when he discovered her poems which revealed her true feelings and secrets.
I am confused about one thing. Obviously, Kya did take the bus back to Barkley Cove, murdered Chase and then returned to Greenville. With so little time to do all that, how did she know that Chase would be at the Tower? He could have been anywhere.
Good question. later in the novel, at the end of the novel, her poem, about fireflies, makes it clear that she lured him there. How she did it? I don’t know and the novel and movie do not make it clear. But if you read the poem about “flashing valentines” and female fireflies luring the males to their deaths, you know she did lure him there…and the rest of the poem makes it clear she killed him. Very probably she used the phone in the city at the hotel to call him to meet her there. However, the mention of a “flashing valentine” makes me think she picked him up somewhere in her boat maybe with a flashing signal and they boated toward the tower together, which might explain why there was no truck there nor was his boat there. But it’s never clear.
I think that Chase was killed by Tate as he was watching from the bushes for months waiting for chase to attack and when Kya took the bus he did it. She came home and heard about the murder and Realized it was Tate and being an expert in the swamp covered up the footprints in the marsh and wore the fibers to clean it up to protect Tate.
I love your take on the murder. I kind of thought the same thing, but mostly from Tate’s love for Kya, and perhaps some jealousy on his part.
When Kya came home, the murder was already covered up so she wouldn’t have done it after she got off the bus. The murder was covered when the boys found the body and when she came home, the town was already talking about the murder. Also, she confessed to the murder in her poem and tate found the poem and the shell necklace. Since the book is written in 3rd person, it wouldn’t make sense for tate to pretend to be shocked since there is no audience there to see his reaction. So kya definitely killed Chase. Not Tate.
I realize we’re led to believe that Kya killled Chase. There was no sign of remorse.
However, seems to me when Tate discovers the poetry under the floorboards his astonishment isn’t that Kya is the poet but that she knew Tate’s secret, he’s was the murderer.
Kya would have done anything to protect Tate. Even face jail or the death penalty. If she were innocent she could have figured out what happened then writing her poem later. It was a small town. Folks hear n see almost everything. Surely Mr Jumpin warned Tate of Chase possibly hurting Kya.
Tate had motive, opportunity, strength, time and knowledge to create disguises for the bus. He could have left Chase a not from Kya asking him to meet her. Tate also knew how to cover up tracks. Tate had also abandoned Kya for several years, perhaps he could let her take the blame.
Just a different perspective.
I just finished the book and I thought I got the idea that it was Tate who killed Chase and Kya knew this all along… I also based it on that one time Jodie told Kya back when Tate was only 7 or 8 and how he protected Kya against her Pa by screaming at him. I thought that was a foreshadowing. Tate will protect Kya and Chase knew Kya was assaulted after all. Who else would do that but Chase?
Interesting theory. I’m curious How do you explain the significance of the necklace, then? Where would Kya have found it if Tate had actually killed Chase and somehow hidden it. Also, why would we had heard so much about the firefly sending false signals to mates only to eat them when they came close? Wh
This theory entered my mind, too. However, I think the deep love and protectiveness Tate felt for Kya all her life would not have allowed him to put her through the trial and possibility of life in prison or the death penalty. Though her supposed act of her sneaking back, killing him, and returning, is kind of lame. Otherwise, GREAT book!
How did Kya lure Chase to the tower to kill him? Did she call him?write him?
In the poms that Tate found at the end of the book, all the answers will be in that. I think either it’s a confession from kya or kya knew Tate did it and she meant for him to find the poems she had written with a fake name.
I believe if Tate had murdered Chase he wouldn’t have allowed Kya to be accused of murder. I think she snuck back to the Marsh because the attendant at the motel made her uncomfortable. Remember she is really good at giving people the slip, so he never saw her leave or come back. I think Chase caught her coming back in the night and followed her to the tower. Then tried to assault her again and she pushed him in self defense and he fell accidentally. That’s why she refused to say she murdered him. She took the necklace back as a way of taking back her power from him. It was the marsh that shielded her from being placed at the scene, almost like it was her real family coming to her rescue. There was nothing premeditated in her at all.
Kya should have left all together if she was being mistreated, etc. But to kill someone…. she should have been locked away. You don’t kill a human being because of your circumstances.
Didn’t enjoy reading the book at all. I’m glad that I didn’t purchase it!
Yes,you dont kill a human being based on circumstances.But also you dont assault and make fake future promises to someone based on circumstances..If chase knew his marriage with Kya was not possible..why did he try to use her?And assualt her if she was never going to be his.Also he was athletic..she couldn’t allow herself to be a victim like Ma and live in fear forever..She couldn’t leave Marsh and Chase would never let her live without having his last punch..he could assault her again and threaten her to obey him plus nobody would believe prejudiced Marsh girl over chase.Definitely killing is going to extremes and violence and all and no reason would justify it ..but this is Kya’s story and nature is her moral compass..Nothing is right and wrong in nature..Nature has it’s way to thrive and survive-just like female fireflies taught her..She would never let Chase hurt her again like Pa did to Ma…Whatever she did was to survive and protect her..kinda self defence..That’s the motive behind the murder..so it’s pretty justified(from kay’s pov)
What happened to Kya’s father? Did he die?
It’s never mentioned in the book or the movie. A psychologist once told me that when an evil family member dies, people in the family rarely if ever mention that person’s name ever again. Ever. So he’s rarely mentioned again after he’s “gone”, except to comment on his evil nature. Since he was a drunk, violent, and often gambled or dank his money away..,.i would say it’s most likely that he was killed over a gambling debt and his body dumped in the marsh or ocean, or he stumbled and fell/broke a leg or what have you/got snake bit one night stumbling home drunk and died in a remote area of the marsh. People often die the way they live, so these are good theory. I’m pretty certain he did not win the lottery, go to college, and move to New York. He may have run off with another woman, but he was old, ugly, damaged from the war, mean as a snake and had no visible means of support other than his war pension and ir social security. I guess some woman may have been attracted to “that” but I doubt it. If he was alive, even if he was gone for a week or more on a drunk he would have come home at last. No, he’s dead.
How did Kyl get the red hat? I thought she & Tate tossed it back & forth in their boats & it ended up in Tates boat.
What is met by the bird of pray on the limb at her window
Why did the sheriff go out and find Tate and take him away. Think it was the 3rd last chapter in the book. I thought he was the murderer and they were arresting him, but that didn’t happen. Confused by that.
Hi Nancy, the sheriff was letting Tate know that his dad passed away. I think the point is that Kya didn’t know what was going on and seeing him stopped by the sheriff made her realize that she loved him all along.
Where did they find the red cap not just the fibers?
It was hanging on a hook in Kya’s kitchen. The sheriff and deputy found it when they went in with the search warrent.
Just finished the book. Loved it. Reflecting back to the necklace I remember this was a very special shell but couldn’t remember the scenario when Kya gave it it Chase. Looking forward to a beautiful movie.
I don’t think she killed him, I think it was Tate. The only thing tying her to the scene was the fibres from Tate’s red hat, that he gave her only recently. Her lawyer argued that the red fibres could’ve been on Chase for four years (he didn’t know how long she’d had the hat) which is partly why she was acquitted. Tate sat in court every day, and said nothing when the red hat was brought up. If she was found guilty would he have confessed? Or, if not, why didn’t he tell anyone that it was his hat…so I don’t believe that IF it was her who killed Chase, that Tate didn’t suspect it until he found the poem. Also, both of them were experts in minutiae so why did they he she bother taking the necklace and not hiding the hat when they he she cleaned up everything else? Doesn’t make sense.
I think that Kya would have no idea there would be fibers from the hat on Chase’s clothing. She was a person with no experience in that area. They never show the red hat in court, so Tate had no way of knowing it was his own hat. That would explain why he didn’t know it was Kya until the end.
Maybe Tate knew she was harassed by Chase through Jumpin’..Then he might have had a fight with Chase and hence the red fibres.Its clear in the end that Kya killed Chase..and that was a surprise to Tate. And later the cap might have ended up with her later when tate and kya were tossing it..or maybe this is completely different cap which belonged to kya..About he necklace..it represented a part of kya which she gave to chase to supress her loneliness-“And love itself passing ,To whatever it was before it began”.So clearly proves that Kya is retrieving a part of herself which she gave to Chase..
I think Delia is reliving her relationship with her own Mom through the title
I’m hosting a book club about Where the Crawdads sing and needed help remembering sweets she ate in the book.
Petit fours, blackberry jam, Sugar Daddy (candy), caramel cake
I think she was imitating the female preying mantis, she was always talking about.
Did I miss what happened to Kya’s father?
No. He disappeared.
Why does Chase Andrews have a different last name than his parents?
His parents’ last name was also Andrews. In true Southern tradition, his mother was referred to by both her first and second names-Patty Love.
Why did Kya keep the necklace after she killed Chase?
How did Kya lure him to the tower?
Loved the book. Lots of interesting ideas and connections. Reading through the comments I noticed that no one has questioned a mental breakdown as a possibility for Kya and murdering Chase Andrews. I think she had a mental breakdown over the years and developed split personalities. It might explain why she seemed to not have any recollection of chase’s murder and wrote about it in her alter ego and the disguises of the people on the bus during the night. Also, her mother had a mental breakdown so I may run in the family and under stress people change.
🤣🤣🤣 this you describe is another book!
Very interesting anylisis. It makes sense to me.
So how did Chase get to the tower?? No mention is made of his fancy ski being seen that night or mussing.
The fire tower is close to town. He probably walked.
Tate must have known she murdered Chase as she had the red hat he had thrown into her boat just a month before. The fibres couldn’t have been on his jacket for 4 years.
How did kya lure chase to the fire tower in the middle of the night to kill him?
What are the titles of all the books Kya (Catherine Danielle Clark) wrote throughout her lifetime?
Where did Kya get the wig she wore as a disguise on the bus?
I thought Kya mentioned in the book how Chase died and how she covered her tracks but I went back to earlier chapters and I could not find it.
Did she mention it earlier?
I’m not sure what you’re referring to but in Chapter 47 (the expert) there’s a discussion of what may have happened to Chase’s footprints (short version: the tide)
there probably wouldn’t be any part in the book where kya admits to killing chase and covering her tracks since that’s supposed to be ambiguous until the very end
Did Kya have children after ?
i don’t believe so
Good summary wonderfully Very help for me🙏😘❤️😘
How did Skupper die?
He had a bad heart, maybe a heart attack. It said in the book Tate was too busy tending to his broken heart he had totally missed his Dad’s bad health/heart.
How did Chase get to the fire tower that night? Did he drive there? Boat there?
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. …
Thanks for the information, i am bookmarking it for future updates.
I’m still curious why Chase wore the necklace. He was married.I didn’t think he truly loved Kya or he would not have abused her.
Yes, this is my question. It makes little sense to me.
Chase was a narcissist. In my opinion, he wore it as a sort trophy. He was, after all, the one who got “the marsh girl’s cherry”.
I was always intrigued by the reasons why Chase chose to wear the shell necklace gifted by Kya all the time. I can’t shake off the feeling that there’s part of him, deeply buried, that genuinely cared for Kya and was touched by the gift. The small moments, when he played harmonica, are glimpses of “when he had a soul” as Kya put it, and these were the parts of him that maybe Kya brought out and that was partially why he was also caught up with her. I don’t know, I think there’s more depth to him… Almost like Kya’s dad, in those moments in the novel where he was decent and not a complete monster. What do you think about Chase and his true feelings for Kya? Don’t get me wrong, he is despicable, and his behavior and actions towards her were unforgivable, but I think buried deep in all that, there was a small potential to be a good person.
I too think that Chase cared for Kya in his own twisted way. He didn’t want their relationship to end, but he couldn’t imagine bringing her into his world in town. His mother never would have accepted her, which even Kya realized the moment she saw his mother, Patti Love Andrews, testify in court all dressed up in black with all-matching accessories. I think Chase wanted to keep Kya as his mistress in the marsh and married Pearl “Alwayswearspearls” because Pearl was the kind of girl his parents expected him to marry. He may even have cared for Kya more in his shallow, selfish way.
I think like the reply on the comment above, it was a “trophy” for him. It represented what he took from her. Which is also why she took the necklace back.
Agree. Chase was, as most people, multidimensional. His majority was the cliché narcissistic macho man. But Kya’s remarkable strength, exceptionalism and beauty actually touched him, made him feel. And in the privacy of the marsh, he could be soft. At least until the pressures of society and his need to fit in with the persona he had there kicked in. Then it was all win the sex, brag about it, lie to get it, etc.
4 1/2 stars
I loved the book, but one part seemed so out of character even considering the poems she wrote. The type of complexity used for the trip back from Greenville to kill Chase was out of character for Kya. I did not see that referenced in her poems. If it is, please direct me.
I was leaning toward Jumpin as the murderer.
Why didn’t Kya have to testify?
in the U.S. legal system, you have the 5th amendment right to remain silent (it’s the right against self-incrimination). in general, defendants in criminal cases don’t testify unless their lawyer feels they absolutely must for some reason
I can’t figure out when Jodie showed up to the trail. Kya didn’t want to call him and tell him. Then next thing I know he’s sitting at the court behind her. When did that happen, when and how did he find out about her getting arrested and her trial?
Jodie shows up because he saw the book that Kya published. A while after that Kya ends up getting arrested, but Jodie is already in her life by then so he supports her through the trial.
He saw the trial in the newspapers.
I read the book last year. But I can’t recall her motive for killing Chase. When i read rhe book, I understood why. But now I can’t recall why and the summary doesn’t explain it.
Hi Phyllis — if you see the section on this page “Who Killed Chase Andrews? Did Kya (“The Marsh Girl”) Murder Chase in Where the Crawdads Sing? How did Chase Andrews die? And why was he killed?” — it should answer your question.
She saw mantises mating and female ate the head off of the Male mantis while she was on the run. She knew chase was coming for her and didn’t want to live her life in fear.
I still have questions about the red hat! (I know, I know) One flaw I see is that we know when the red has is introduced in the story line, and it was after her relationship ended with Chase. (Tate doesn’t comes back into the picture after Chase married Pearl.) My point is, she couldn’t have deposited fibers “more than four years ago”, and wouldn’t Tate know that she couldn’t possibly have deposited fibers from a red hat that he gave her only recently unless she was involved? Seems like he knew (would have known) all along she was guilty.
Another flaw I see is when Jumpin tells Kya that Chase is dead, he reveals to her that “he was missing the shell necklace”. How would he know that information only one day after Chase had passed. Even Chase’s mother didn’t recognize that her son was missing the necklace until well after the fact, weeks later even. How would Jumpin know that unless he was involved somehow?
The comment by Jumpin’ is definitely an error that the author and editor didn’t catch. I don’t believe the red cap is shown in court. Tate never sees it. How would he know it was HIS red hat?
I just finished reading and I’m pretty sure it says that they held up the plastic bags up in court. One with the fibers and the other with the hat. So Tate would have seen it. I think that both Tate and Jumpin did it together. That’s my theory. He loved her like is own daughter and he said he deserved to die for what he did. Tate would have figured or even heard Chase bragging about the necklace so he could have ripped it off and thrown it some place around the fire tower. The police didn’t look for it until after Patty Love came in the office and asked about it. Kaya could have went to the Fire Tower once back in town and found it. Who knows for sure, but she didn’t seem she could or would have been able to do the whole bus thing. They made sure to mention both Tate and Jumpin were the only 2 that knew she was going out of town and Jumpin made sure she told him when she left.
Did Kya take to the stand during her trial and if not why not
OK, I just finished the book for the first time. i get what happened and why with all he hints throughout about Kya’s thought on Nature and lovers etc.
However, what bugs me the most is how do we know for sure that their is still not a plot twist to the story?
1. Where is Chase’s wife in all the drama after Chase is found dead? Why was she not a subject, at the trial, or even say why her husband was gone from her side out in the marsh? What was Chase’s wife’s alibi?
2. How do we not know that Chase went looking for Kya one evening (she was gone visiting her publisher for the first time), and his wife followed Chase out to the Marsh? Chase’s wife then gets upset when she sees with her own eyes he really does not love love her, but Kya ” the marsh girl.”. They somehow end up at the fire tower arguing or trying to make up. His wife ends up pushing her husband Chase off the tower that night. She then removes his shell necklace. Her tracks are then covered by the tide theory. Chase’s wife shocked at the murder she just commuted and furious that Kya a marsh girl had captivated her husband, she sets out to lay the necklace on Kya’s front porch as a means of Chase’s final good buy to Kya and to possibly frame her. Chase’s mother is the one that pushed the necklace theory to the cops after all. The sheriffs just couldn’t find the necklace.
3. Also, I couldn’t help reflect further on the contrast wiht Chase and Tate with the alfha male and “sneaker fuckers data. “Observing this, females mate more often with these alpha males (Chase). Interestingly enough, though, some of the less impressive males (Tate) find ways to trick females into thinking that they’re the alpha males, doing so by strutting about loudly with their bodies puffed up to look larger than they actually are. These males, the article explains, are known as “sneaky fuckers,” and end up alone. Tate ends up alone with no offspring with Kya. Was this a subtle hint of the author, or just a crazy thought of mine.
Oh and the Firefly poem is just her observation on what may have happened to Chase and his wife, not reflection on Kya and Chase’s relationship.
Sequel in the making? Would be nice to hear about Tate’s perspective all the years he was gone and thought of Kya, or even visited from afar. Jodi’s memories growing up of stories untold, the fathers final whereabouts/news articles on possible cause death and date, other siblings whereabouts.
That’s all. =)
Please excuse all the grammar errors, typos, misspelling, and run-on sentences. I had to get it out before I forgot.
I believe you mixed up the males. Tate was definitely the alpha male, Chase the unworthy.
You have to wonder if Owens had ever set foot in NC before she wrote this book, or if she did any research, or if her editors were really careless. I found the story compelling, but why would people travel to Asheville on business when Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte are all closer to the coast? Why does she describe the Piedmont as flat, with the mountains visible in the distsnce? The Piedmont is rolling hills.. How is there no mention of Hurricane Hazel which did tremendous damage to the Carolina coast in 1954, two years after the beginning of this novel, and would surely have affected the marshlands where Kya lived.
And where were her editors when her cringeworthy attempts at writing in dialect were included? They are both inaccurate and insulting, not to mention kind of (unintentionally, I’m sure) racist. Then there is the related issue of how Kya, who had heard little standard English, learned to speak it. Most of us learn to pronounce words we have read by connecting them to language we have heard.
Excellent commentary on the geography of North Carolina and of Kya’s lack of any dialect.
I think that it is likely that Jumpin helped Kya, as he does mention how it is good that she will be out of town and how she should let him know when she goes. I can’t imagine how kya could find disguises and lure Chase on her own. It would make sense to have an accomplice.
It’s quite easy to imagine a conversation taking place planning Chase’s murder.
Yeah it’s pretty possible..If Kya is using disguises she must have went to the town or somebody had to buy it for her.And if she went to town to buy disguises..we would have more witnesses.So probably somebody helped her and since only Jumpin knew this..it might be him
That’s a very good theory. I had not thought of that. However, if this theory were true, it was not in Jumpin’s character to murder ( I never saw anything in his character in the novel or the movie ) and considering the time and place they were living in, it could be very, very risky if he were caught. I think he might have given her clothes and food, may have discussed the tides/bus schedules/whether the moon would be out, etc….May have helped her with the logistics of it, but I do not think he thought of it ( I think it was her idea ), and I do not think he ever visited the tower other than to perhaps act as a lookout, if he was there at all. I think he mainly stayed home … and prayed. It was the error of the Sherriff ( and spoke to his ignorance and prejudice ) that he never looked at any others besides Kyra for this murder….and he was dogged because of his decisions and was not re elected…in the book.
Did Tate know that Kya killed chase?
No,he didnt knew for sure but may have doubts..he was pretty sure Kya would make it out of the case and they would soon be exploring lagoons..So he didnt believe she would have murdered chase but the evidences somehow could atleast convince him to have doubts..which he might never confront to her due to fear of losing her.
ohhhhh i love this, thank you!!!
How did Chase get to the fire tower.
His truck wasn’t there. nor his boat, when the sheriff first investigated.
Yeah..that’s a missing one..The shrimpers saw kya alone in the boat driving towards tower..so chase either came in his boat or by truck or bike..But nothing is mentioned about it.So maybe he was dropped from a truck or bike from his friends or something or there is a secret route from Barkley Clove to fire tower which he covered by walking as it is mentioned fire tower is close to the town.
The book was too far fetched for me. Kya raised herself from the age of 5 in a swamp? No vaccines, no dentist but she grows up so beautiful the two most eligible men in town want to date her? Another child teaches her to read? And she becomes a best selling author? And with her money she gets plumbing and electricity out to the marsh? On top of all that, she plots, and gets away with murder? ooooohkaaaaay.
I can get on board with the age of 5 being a little far fetched; however, everything else is not so hard to believe for me, plus her father was around for a few years in the beginning. She had no vaccines, but little enough interactions with other humans that she could have avoided contracting illnesses or diseases. I work in the dental field, it is extremely likely that someone with a natural diet who eats very little sugar wouldn’t have cavities. Tate was 4 years older than her, and she was 15 when he taught her to read, definitely not a child. She spent years reading only biology textbooks and her lifetime surrounded by the organisms of the marsh, meaning she absolutely could be an expert capable of becoming a published author, especially since Tate was backing her. Money used to go a lot further than it does today, and her first check alone was for $5,000.
It seems like you just didn’t like the book so you did your best to poke holes in every aspect of the plot. It wasn’t my favorite book, but I think it is definitely a story of resilience. Kya’s situation was absolutely a do or die scenario and she chose not to lie down and let the marsh erase her existence.
Yeah. Me too. And her meager shack ( that was not the best in the first place ) never leaks; the front steps never rot. She never gets snake bit or breaks an arm ( most kids break an arm or a toe, or something, in their lives ). And she cooks at age 7 or 8, but never burns herself or burns down the house. The well never goes dry…never freezes up or gives her any trouble. And she never gets sick..,only steps on a rusted nail once. Not one major hurricane ( heck, I live inland on the Alabama/Georgia line outside Atlanta, and we have hurricanes here all the time …they take down major trees, and blow homes apart. I really liked this novel, but I really had to “suspend judgement” and give the author a lot of leeway. I feel ya.
How did Kya get Chase to the fire tower that night? Did she have his phone number? I thought she only had her brother’s number.
Back in the day they used to have these things called phone books where you could find people’s phone numbers.
It never says she called him. Although the hotel clerk testifying she wasn’t sure how to use a phone could indicate that she did.
Just wondering how Kya got all the knowledge about birds. When Tate left the first feather for Kya, she already had a big collection of feathers and she knew the names of the birds. But who taught her? She was always by herself, her father rarely talked and she could not read.
From Ma’s book maybe..it had pictures of birds with their names and the rest facts..she had good observational skills
At one point, the book also mentioned Kya took a trip to a library and the librarian had to get her requested books from the university library.
Did ma go back to New Orleans and her family? Did the letter tell pa and he went after her? Was he put in jail or killed?
Maybe..seems possible as his poker friends even didnt knew where he was and came to Jumpin’s for inquiring..
I do not believe Kya killed Chase. How in the world would she demise shut a plan. She was virtually an innocent. Even if the author were to tell me in person, I don’t believe the character of Kya was capable of planning such an intricate plan.
Yes, when they found Chase and the tracks were gone-I though of how her brother said to cover the tracks…. But, disguises, bus schedules, etc. I just don’t believe it.
Now, I could see Chase’s mother killing him or Jumper or even Tate. Maybe Pearl (Chase’s wife) killed him for all his infidelity.
In my opinion, Chase’s mother could have argued with Chase because he told her he wanted to leave his wife for Kya. She Could have followed Chase out there in a boat similar to Kya’s
to go out and KILL Kya. She would not have know Kya was out of town. She could have climbed the Tower and Chase could have been no upset and accidentally fell down the grate and when his mom reached out to grab him all the grabbed was the necklace.
I am very disappointed in the ending of this book. Kya was not conniving or to be honest smart enough to lure Chase, plan out TWO disguises, study bus schedules to know she could go out and back in enough time to not draw attention. There is no way she would have had enough knowledge of the real world for her to make such an elaborate plan.
I do not recommend this book or this author. Turning a poor abandoned child who was ostracized and scorned by people into a conniving murderess is just too much of a stretch – especially when the author portrays Kya at just how simple she is. Simple minded does not mean stupid. Kya is brilliant but simple-not knowing the ways of the world.
I’m inclined to agree that Kya just does NOT fit as the murderer. Her attorney did an excellent job. All the evidence was circumstantial. The presence of the shell on a rawhide necklace ends up in her subfloor is a question I don’t see answered.
The murderer question bothers me…I just finished the book: Kya did NOT kill Chase. Either Jumpin’ killed him or he knew who did; and the time line is quite clear in book!
Yes..I agree it’s not in tune with Kya’s character but throughout the book from Pa treating Ma harshly,Ma living her kids alone to survive, to fireflies mating process Kya learned that she didnt want to live in fear like Ma-waiting where the next fist would hit..Either Chase had to leave her forever which he wouldn’t as he claims that she belongs to him..or she had to live Marsh forever..But Marsh was her only home..not just home but something close to mother.The wilderness taught her she had to find a way to survive-from fireflies giving deceiving signals to second mates and later killing them..the fireflies indeed knew a way to deal with their lovers.Kya learned more by nature than humans(she never really lived with them as they never accepted her the way she is like the marsh).So she accepted and played by the rule of nature than civil human moral code..So she had to kill Chase in order to survive and protect her.More importantly this is more about how situations influence Kya’s decision than her character..she had no choice as nobody would believe her harrassment story and Chase would never stop.
Don’t forget that the one night when Jumpin’ was returning back home at the end of the day and was being harrassed by some boys, it was Kya who threw the rock at them to save Jumpin’.
I thought Kya went to the ‘black’ school for the limited day that she attended. There was a white and black school is if she wasn’t black, why did they put her in that school?
She went to the white school where she saw the other white girls at lunch
The murderer question bothers me…I just finished the book: Kya did NOT kill Chase. Either Jumpin’ killed him or he knew who did; and the time line is quite clear in book!
I think Kya called Chase to organise a meet up. The motel owner mentions that she didn’t know how to use the phone which to me suggests she asked how to use it. I think she called him and asked him to meet her at the fire tower. That’s how she lured him there.
omg this is such a good point, I didn’t think of it before — I’ve updated the post to reflect your comment
Where does the white canoe fit in the plot
I would really like to understand the meaning of some of the poems in the book. I understood the one about The Firefly, and Broken Gull of Brandon Beach, but failed to get a handle on some of the others. The one in particular that I liked but don’t really understand is the one that starts off “Sunsets are never simple…….” Another is “Child to child, eye to eye…”
I have thoroughly enjoyed the book and will certainly endeavour to read others.
Thank you.
Child to child eye to eye depicts Kya’s deep connection to nature and wild and how swamp to be drained would affect her relationship with it..The way humans were destroying ecosystem-“you died before the child,my friend ,the wild”
And about sunsets are never simple..its about advanced sunrise and delayed sunset..sun is visible 2 min early before actual sunrise and 2 min late after actual sunset..So in a way we dont notice these deceptions..-we see brilliant colors and never learn, the sun has dropped beneath earth by the time we see it burn..So she also hints about her deceived relationship with chase..and the way tide helped her cover tracks and lies in fire tower where footprints were missing
Did Tate know this all along? Or is he surprised? It’s just odd with decades of being together and how much they loved each other that she never told him/he didn’t know? He must have known?
Well I think at some point Tate knew that it was Kya who pushed Chase to death. Judging by this sentence, -Then he opened the small box, knowing what he would find. There, laid out carefully on cotton, was the shell necklace Chase had worn until the night he died.
He just don’t want to confront her knowing that she had trust issues and the moment he start to question what she had done, he knew she probably retreat and ran away for good. That’s why he keep her secrets.
In the book Kia noted several times how insects kill each other, devour their mate etc…..I think perhaps she killed in going with “the law nature” seeing it as justified for nearly being raped.
Discuss the importance of art in Kya’s life. Is drawing and painting simply a hobby, or is it in some way a survival skill? Why is poetry important to her?
“What race is the character of Kya,” on pg 222, there is a conversation between Kya and Jumpin. It stated, “In another time and place, an old black man and a young white woman might have hugged. But not there, not then.”
ahh great find!
What happen to Chase’s wife? There was no mention of her during the investigation nor trial.
I wondered the sake thing!
I am having a hard time visualizing how he walked in the fire house and them stumbled backwards? How was she able to move the missing piece? I must have missed something. Also where is the Fire House
On the map, I do not see it?
I think of why did Chase keep wearing that shell necklace anyway? I mean if his intention only for bragging in front of his friends and no feeling involved with Kya, then why he still keep the necklace until his death?
I don’t think Chase was indifferent about Kya. I think he just wasn’t man enough to go against everyone else’s expectations of him and stand up for her and be with her.
Hi – I’m curious as to why Kya was upset and angry that she was put on trial for the murder when she was guilty? I saw someone comment about the possibility of a mental breakdown and split personalities. Could it be that she had no memory?
What I didnt understand was why Kya never was called to declared during the trial. And in the last chapter, it seems like Tate and Kya never had the conversation about what happened to Chase, is only when she died that he knew that was her. How is that possible? Been together for more than 40 years and never ever have that conversation. Really?
I don’t think the book really got into why Kya wasn’t put on the stand, but generally if a lawyer feels like a defendant is more likely to incriminate themselves or come off badly, then they won’t testify. a defendant isn’t required to testify because of the 5th amendment (right against self incrimination)
Was the firefly poem ever published, or was that something that Kya did not send to magazines as Amanda Hamilton?
I don’t understand that meaning of
“Markers of death all weathered into nubbins by elements of life” from chapter 56 – night heron
Thank you absolutely loved the
book
Why was Tate arrested (pgs. 353-354) This was just mentioned and then dropped without any further explanation? I have searched all around the chapter before and after!
He was not arrested. The sheriff came to tell him his father was dead.
Where EXACTLY can I read where Kya and Chase were on the fire tower and he fell/was pushed to his death???
Nowhere.
Why don’t any of Kya’s older siblings come back for her? Or when she is older and on trial, why do none of them but her brother check on her?
Kya is described to have dark tan skin (which makes sense because she’s outside all day), dark brown eyes, full lips and black hair. There are little hints and descriptions about her throughout the book:
Page 98
Her large eyes nearly black
Page 158
Long tanned fingers
159
His skin was dark tan like hers.
161
Her blacker than night eyes blazing
192
One boy, tanned and dark haired looked like Joidie (assuming she looks like her brother)
Page 198
Cheeks sharp, lips full
Page 207
Kay was dressed in white cut off denims, setting off her long legs, a black braid fell over each breast.
And on chapter 15, when her mother his painting her nails and her sisters, her mother said the light pink would contrast very well with the olive skin tone they all had.
Why did Tate burn all her poems when he found them? Not just the one about connecting her to Chase’s murder? Do you think he agreed with the murder or felt differently about her in anyway as a result? Xx
I read WTCS back in 2018. I will always love this book. I identified with Kya as I was misunderstood and wrongly judged by people for a long time. I also had this issue of loved ones leaving so I would always forgive Kya. I always thought that she ‘accidentally’ killed Chase and then covered her tracks and everything. Kya killed Chase because it was what she felt like it was right, her moral compass shaped by the nature. She did what she needed to do to survive. That’s all. Chase, was a threat to her existence, and she killed him because that’s how marsh animals guarantee their survival.
I loved the book! I’m an avid reader of John Grisham’s courtroom drama stories, and haven’t found another author that compares, until Delia Owens’ “Where the Crawdads Sing”. It’s exemplary!
How did Kia get the nickname Kia from Catherine?
Did Kya threaten to kill Chase before she killed him?
Hmmm – I thought of my childhood days living in The Great Dismal Swamp. Yes, it’s real – and now Federally protected wonder where one could encounter many now-endangered species. Take it to the bank – Swamp folks don’t cotton to city folk. Even if we succeed in technical fields and wear shoes when we are required to do so – we know where our souls are. Just north of the Pasquotank. Where the crawdads sing, the copperheads make dandy pets, and shoes are for drylanders.
Kya so cooly denied killing Chase and she so easily slipped into reciting Amanda Hamilton’s poems, could Kya have had a split personality?
I don’t think so. She saw the world differently because of how she was raised. She mentioned several times that there is no good or bad in the animal world, just life and death. One mate kills another? Just how it is. She didn’t see what she was doing as anything more than protection of her own life. It wasn’t a moral choice, it was simply survival.
If the red hat is the one Tate tossed with her, or even gave her later… that would mean Tate knew she was at the crime scene when they mentioned it in court. He would have known them she killed him.
Tell me why tate dropped his red wool cap, jumping picked it up and rubbed it on his shirt, then handed it back to tate? I thought jumping might have committed the murder. What was the purpose of that scene. Obviously was not necessary unless to make us think.
Does Kya ever verbally say she did not kill Chase in either the book or movie?
What about the books that were supposedly published. Do they in fact exist?
Why didn’t Kya have any children?
In the book wasn’t Tate married to someone else when he returned to Kya?
The 2 shrimpers testified that Kya came out of the woods yelling that if Chase touched her again, she’d kill him. This took place weeks before the murder, but in court when they were questioned, it seems like they were identifying her and her boat the night of the murder?
Why didn’t Kya and Tate have children?
I thought I remembered the courthouse cat, who befriended Kya, having an affinity with only innocents, did I just make that up?!
How did Kya end up with the red hat? Isn’t it the same hat Tate and she were throwing back and forth? And Tate ended up with it, right? Was this to make us think Tate killed Chase?
How did Chase get lured to The Tower at 12:00 at night??
Loved the movie , I was so glad Chase died. He wasn’t anything a man should be . I think Kya didn’t want to take the stand because she killed him . I was so happy when I heard the verdict
How could a 10 year old girl survive by herself in the marshes where she lived?
Who are the kids that are shown briefly at the end of the movie?
Am surprised that no one appears to have suggested one obvious interpretation.
But first a quote from the Firefly Poem in the book’s conclusion: ““Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them; mantis females devour their own mates. ***Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.***” (lovers is plural !)
And, one more quote from earlier in the book: “Kya watched others. The females got what they wanted—first a mate, then a meal—just by changing their signals.
Kya knew judgment had no place here. Evil was not in play, just life pulsing on, ***even at the expense of some of the players***. Biology sees right and wrong as the same color in different light. ”
A possible explanation for why Kya took the shell from Chases’ dead body: in order to use it to frame Tate. (!) And protect herself from blame.
Consider the above quotes, plus these facts.
Witnesses had seen Chase and Tate physically fighting over Kya.
It was well known, and Chases’s mother testified on the witness stand attesting to the fact, that Chase always wore the shell, “he never took it off.”
The shell was missing from the body.
Kya took possession of the shell.
Kya had planned the murder in detail. Her plan called for Tate to be a suspect also, likely even to be the foremost suspect. What she didn’t expect was that she would be arrested so quickly. Her plan had called for planting the shell necklace on Tate, that is why she had taken it off the body in the first place.
Only the author, Delia Owens, can tell us what she had originally intended. Was the reader supposed to realize that Kya had planned to frame Tate?
“*Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.” (lovers is plural !)…even at the expense of some of the players*.”
In the scene where she meets with her publisher in Greenville, she comments about the praying mantis eating it’s mate, but says something to the effect that nature isn’t evil it just does what it has to to survive. Does anyone have her exact line?
Was the necklace hidden under floorboards in her book?
Why didn’t Tate and Kya get married?
Did kya ever have children
From the book:
“Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers.” [lovers is plural !]
…even at the expense of some of the players.”
The survival instinct in the animal kingdom is not good nor evil
it is just about survival.
Again from the book:
“Kya knew judgment had no place here. Evil was not in play, just life pulsing on, even at the expense of some of the players.
Biology sees right and wrong as the same color in different light.”
Kya had planned the murder in fine detail and covered her tracks including by careful study of the bus schedule.
One detail did not work out as planned. She intended to survive at the expense of one of the “players”, her lover Tate; but,
was unable to carry out her plan to plant the shell neckless on Tate.
Kya had intended to frame Tate for the murder. He should have been an obvious suspect in the case as he had been seen by several witnesses
physically fighting with Chase, and while wearing the red cap.
Survival came natural to Kya.
The books she wrote in the movie – are these books real – did Kya’s actually publish books if so, under what name?
Hi!
Thanks for this…very insightful and helpful. I loved the book and just saw the movie last week. Thought it was very well done. When Kya’s books get published, we see Jumpin’ placing them for sale in the window of his store. They looked so beautiful! And whoever did the illustrations that Kya did (I assume it was not the actress, but an illustrator) did such a beautiful job! The book covers and Kya’s illustrations throughout the movie were stunning. I’m hoping that someone…maybe the illustrator, or Delia Owens or Reese Witherspoon will see how nice it would be to actually publish those books! I’ve tried looking online to see if there is any “Crawdads merch” but didn’t find anything. Sure hope that someone who could get those books published sees this! I would love all 3!
In the movie, Jumpin rubs the red cap on his bib overall before handing it to Tate. Why?
To give the reader another suspect.
I’m still so confused about the movie and book I think I have to go wash the book I mean read the book and go see the movie afterwards being a male it doesn’t interest me much but the book was so famous sold a lot of copies just like Harry Potter and Fifty Shades of Gray which both of those I dislike so much I started reading some of it and I just didn’t like it and I did the same thing with this book started reading it didn’t like it went to watch the movie walked out out of it in 15 minutes I guess I have to see the movie from the beginning and to the end to understand what it’s all about?
Who was the man at the end who received the necklace.
I assume the old lady on the 2:30 a.m. bus from Barkley Cove to Greenville was Kya in disguise. “…there was an older lady, …tall like Miss Clark, who had gray hair, short with curls, like a permanent wave.” p.315.
QUESTION: I’m guessing that was a gray curly wig Kya wore. But where did Kya get a gray curly wig?
Jumpins’ wife. She was always offering her dresses, shoes etc…
Where did Kya hide the necklace? Was it under floorboards with the poetry?
Kya was very artistic at drawing and writing. At end of movie showing credits etc. I thought it said her art and writings had been donated to UNC Chapel Hill NC What’s with that?
Why did Kya and Tate not have children? I know they did not get “married” because they were like geese with soulmates, but I didn’t understand why they did not have children.
they tried to have children but couldn’t conceive
Why did Kya and Tate not have children? I know they did not get “married” because they were like geese with soulmates, but I didn’t understand why they did not have children.
Did kya kill her father?
What about the fingerprints?
I just saw the movie, and my mom and I are discussing the covering of the traces.
At the end of the trail when Kya was leaving the court room, the camera focused on her hand laying on her stomach. Did she think she was pregnant?
Why did Kya’s siblings not take her along when they escaped? This seemed realy cruel to me. Also, my husband made the point that at the end it just accelerated so quickly to the part where Kya and Tate are much older with nothing in between like in the movie The Notebook.
Who plays Kya when she died at the end.
I always thought crawdads were birds What relevance do the crawdads have to this film Where the rawdads Sing.So am I correct in thinking that crawdads are a crayfish??
Crawdads make a strange sound when in the water to alert other crawdads of a ‘predator’ nearby. Safety and survival…
Hence the whole story and the plot while living in the swamp.
The engagement notice in the paper caused the break up of Kya and Chase. He was a Big Man on Campus say his mom when she asks the sheriff about the necklace she saw one night at dinner when Pearl, the wife was not there. What happened to Pearl and all chases buddies who he bragged to about his Marsh Minx”. They are not mentioned at the trial as audience or protestors or witnesses. Only Patti and Sam are at the verdict. I found this strange.
Does the book describe how Tate feels about Kya being the murderer after all?
i just watched the movie yesterday, planning on reading the book but I haven’t yet. i was wondering, is there any significance to the cat that kya spends time with in her prison cell? i would imagine it has something to do with her fear of abandonment, as she asks the cat “please don’t leave” when it enters her cell. later on, the cat is found on the chair in the courtroom, im having some trouble seeing the big picture of the cats meaning. part of me thinks it might be symbolic of her mother in some way but im not sure.
Possibly that cat hair sticks to clothing and hands while petting it.
She had realized that the red fibers could have been on her somehow.
The cat in the chair is the subtle hint of what Kya had not realized at the time of the murder if it was her.
why was Chase’s wife never mentioned after his death or at the trial? What was her reaction when he came home battered after Kia’s attack. Why was it all about his mother. Why did he have dinner with his mother without his wife ? I was sure the wife murdered him.
Great questions Virginia! I only saw the movie perhaps the book had these answers?
Do you think there were people that figured Kya murdered Chase but didn’t say anything, i.e., her lawyer and Jumpin’ and Mabel? I didn’t think this until I watched the movie. However, I wondered if Tate speculated that she did. These people knew her and loved her and likely understood that this was the only way she would ever get “justice” or not be murdered herself.
I loved the book and movie! I was wondering if calling Chase “Chase” was a symbolic choice. It seemed like a perfect name for a boy who was chasing a girl the way he was chasing Kya. Thank you!
Consider Kya had made previous arrangements before leaving for Ashville to meet Chase at the top of the tower as she had calculated the time of the last bus to arrive back and her time to get to him. She was familiar with clothing and liked changing costumes as in the foreshadowing of waiting for Tate in a balerina dress on the 4th of July.She again disguised herself to return to Ashville. Her character was a survivor.
Did Tate and marsh girl ever have children? If no..why not?
I think Kya’s murder of Chase IS JUSTIFIED, because, at least in the movie, he rapes her. As a mental health therapist, I have clients who fear their perpetrator and feel as though they have no control or little control, unless they move away from that rapist or molester. They can describe the incident IN DETAIL, even years after it has happened. Kya needs and wants to live without fear of Chase beating or raping her again. The shell was meaningful when she gave it to Chase. How clever of her to take it back and hide its existence. How did she get it off his body without leaving footprints?
I can’t find it in the book but did Chase ransack Kya’s home as he did in the film?
Does chase get married in the book
What color hair did kya have. There was a reference wear the kids call her a tall skinny blonde
Was Tate North American Indian?
Has Delia mentioned any reasoning behind why she chose for Kya and Tate not to be able to have children? I can’t find anything anywhere.
I find it interesting that Kya’s family had abandoned her, so she longed for family, then she was not able to create a family of her own, outside of Tate. In some ways it makes sense because her relationship with ‘humans’ (with the exception of Tate and a few others) were never the best experiences for her compared to her relationship with ‘nature’.
Hello- love your explanations. I enjoyed most of the book, Where the Crawdads Sing. The movie was a fair adaptation. One thing I observed in the character, Kya, was her lack of tan lines! I know that’s superficial to the performance but still- a girl, then woman who spends time in the outdoors would have a tan! What say you? Thanks.
What was the dollar amount of the check Kya received from her publisher for her first book?
$ 5,000.00
I absolutely loved and appreciated the movie and will be reading the book but I’m from Asheville, NC and confused about the setting. I understand the author lives in Asheville but using it made me question everything else. The credits said it was filmed in Louisiana which is believable but Greenville is near the coast of NC and I’m not sure there are marshes on the coast of NC so all that was confusing to me
Does Kya’s attorney suspect that Kya killed Chase?
One version of Crawdads has Kya going to Asheville and one version she goes to Greenville, which makes more sense.
would like to know why a fire tower is in a marsh? What was it used for? Do you see them in reality in the marsh? Just saw the movie! Great movie. We all are still talking about it. Three days later. I think it is one of the best murder mysteries I have read. Thank you for pursuing the movies making.
Could Chase have fallen because the grate was removed by her but she wasn’t there but came back to get the necklace?
Good point.
She set it up for a night time meeting. It was dark, he didn’t realize the grate was off.
She could have been watching somewhere and ran over after confirming he was dead..
Hence why she wasn’t so concerned or over worried because she didn’t actually kill him.
How old was kya when she was arrested for murder? How long did the trial take?
Three thoughts, after reading through all the posts and having only read the book (I have not seen the movie)::
Why did no one ever consider whether Kya’s boat left its mooring at the town dock that night when Chase was killed–that was never part of the investigation, yet would have been key to her guilt/innocence. Those dudes saw “her” racing toward the Fire Tower and if people are out working on the marsh/ocean/whatever that late at night, they would have to pull back to the same dock, most likely.
Why was Tate, who always wore a red cap in his work, never considered a suspect in the book?
And for the person wondering how Kya learned to speak correctly, if you read a lot, you do learn–and her mother was intelligent and taught the children many things, such as never to say “ain’t.”
Were the hundred dollar bills that she paid off the property with really bills that would have been used in the 1960s? I have friend who is crazy to know because he is sure they were not of the period. Thanks
I wanted to say that I think another reason the ski cap was such a big deal was to make the reader think that maybe Tate could have killed chase. I happened to see the movie before reading the book and I thought it might have been him because of the ski cap exchange between him and Kya. I loved this book but was hoping for more answers or a detailed account of how she lured/killed him. Oh well! Thanks for your post and answers, very helpful!!
Just like her violent father, after Kya escapes from Chase’s attempted rape, she knows he won’t let it end with her having the victory.He will come back even more determined to finish what he started. He will beat her probably beyond recognition, raped her and even kill her to satisfy his sick ego.
How much was the first check that her 1st made?
how did tate actually feel after he found out that she did kill tate?
* i meant to say chase
I don’t understand why Kya didn’t want to marry Tate? What did she mean by we already are like the geese
Why didn’t Kya want to marry Tate? She said we already are like the geese.
Geese mate for life. Falcons and many other beings as well.
They never choose another.
Did Kya’s attorney think she was guilty?
At a point after a day in court the lawyer sees two men hugging and it’s like this makes everything clear to him. That it was Jumpin and Tate that planned and killed Chase. It was Tate that encourages Kya to go see her publisher and tells her to stay a couple of nights at a nice hotel and eat food you didn’t cook. This gives them time to execute their plan to kill Chase.
After the final scene in the movie pointing to Kya having killed Chase, I wondered about the relevance of the day he-the lawyer saw the two men hugging by the boat and his reaction afterwards seemed like something perplexed him but also left the feeling that he had found a missing puzzle piece. Was he realizing she was guilty after all? Anyone else’s interpretation of what that scene was meant to convey?
Why wasn’t Pearl mentioned in the book or movie right after Chase’s death? I don’t recall her being at the trial or questioned or anything.
I suspect she found out he was cheating.
Same when Chase had dinner with mother she wasn’t there.
Also she wasn’t a big part of the story, only in it to show that he was adulterous.
Did Chase fall backwards or headfirst through the grate?
Hi Jennifer Marie Lin,
ThankYou so much these explanations. Easy to understand & very helpful. The book was Brilliant! And, even more so with your answers. Berta
Is Kya’s published Seashell book shown in the movie an actual published book by another author? Is so, do you know the title and author? Thanks!
How did Chase get to the tower before his death?
Why did Chase wear the necklace all the time?
Did the Asheville references mess with anyone, since it’s like an 8 hr drive from the outer banks to the mountains?? Especially since driving to Raleigh makes more sense? Or for that matter just stick with Greenville as the next big city.
Why was she unable to get pregnant with Tate? Was it because of the beating from Chase?
How could she have met him on middle of night, climbed a tower pushed him off got back to bus and back to that town where she was staying. Pretty far fetched
Did Chase love Kya, in his limited, damaged capacity?
I felt like the obvious side of his character is that he is the full representation of Toxic Masculinity. Entitled to womens bodies, unable to empathize, needing to dominate, rape when rejected, etc.
But I wonder if at the same time he had a glimpse of better and a chance for being more before his toxic attitudes overcame this window of opportunity? In the months before he eventually tricks her into having sex with him, it seems he actually is falling in love with her, for the first time able to be a real person and see the world in a new way. I wonder if he at first resisted be as he had true feelings and respect for her but then succumbed to the toxic masculinity pressures. Ie. to have sex with her, lay claim to that publicly, distance himself by objectifying and reducing her real worth to him.
He did wear the shell necklace every day from the time she gave it to him, even for the year after she dumped him.
What happened to Chase’s boat..where would Kya have hidden it,?surely it was used to to get to yhd tower
I thought Tate found the Poems and shell necklace under a loose floor board, in the book?
My sister thinks kya’s dad died, I think he left her like everyone else did. Could you help us see who wins this bet.
Do you believe that Kya killed her father?
She knew her father would throw the last punch and he was abusive towards her. The night her mum sends a letter he gets drunk and abusive again so did Kya go into survival mode again? Is she not as innocent as she lets off but actually a killer? I mean how else did she know how to get away with it…
What are the names of the James Wright and Galway Kinnell poems that are quoted in Chapter 17?
Nooit gedacht dat ik dit boek zou uitlezen, alhoewel ik het niet voor mogelijk hou dat een meisje dat één dag naar school gaat, zo grote resultaten behaald. En dit in alle eenzaamheid. Toch de voorliefde voor de natuur en de mens, kan de kracht en schoonheid evenaren
Does the lawyer know kya is guilty? What did he see when he was walking at night
does tate know (at the end of the book when he discovers kya killed chase) that chase raped kya and threatened her? or is tate simply left with the fact that kya lied and she was in fact guilty of murder?
does tate know that chase tried to sexually assault kya, when he finds out that she murdered him? or does he go the entire book without the knowledge of the attack and is left with the thought of her as a murderer, the only motive being abandonment?
Awful book. Terrible writing. Even more awful movie.
I’d like to believe Kaya was innocent. I think Chase was looking for her & went to the fire tower looking for her & the tower, being unsafe, he accidentally fell to his death. Perhaps Kaya discovered him dead before the police, and took the necklace from him.
What is it that Kya wrote .. something like .. something bad or evil must die so that the good survives…. Some like that… can you tell me exactly what she says or writes ??
Please and Thank you!
Did Kya and Tate have children?
Tate seems appalled to find out the truth at the end. Why seems he would have done it himself. The his expression was that of ” I’ve lived my entire life with the woman he loved, and she’s a murder”! I wanted to feel he was relieved and understood. Did he?
Another thought about why Kya took back the necklace: when she first found the shell, she remarked how unusual and rare (and by inference, quite special) to find it in those waters. Kya realizes how unique and rare and special she is, so in reclaiming it, she reclaims herself.
Did Tate and Kya have children together. In the movie there was a scene with adults and children running towards her. Where they her children or her sibling(s) and their children?
I’m so curious how she never got pregnant and why nothing was ever said about her having children!