How we cite our quotes: Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #4
I've always thought I could commit the perfect murder. People who get caught get caught because they don't have patience; they refuse to plan. (32.14)
One thing that makes Amy such a frightening character is how calculating she is. Because she intends for Nick to get the death penalty, she's essentially committing premeditated murder and actually does commit this crime when she kills Desi later in the book. Statements like this completely expose her sociopathic tendencies—she truly has no remorse for her actions and will go to whatever lengths required to accomplish the "perfect murder."
Quote #5
I have enough [money] to live on until I kill myself. I'm going to hide out long enough to watch Lance Nicholas Dunne become a worldwide pariah […] Then I will travel south along the river, where I will meet up with my body, my pretend floating Other Amy body in the Gulf of Mexico. (34.13)
Wait—did we just read that right? Amy's going to commit suicide? Check this out, guys—she wants revenge on Nick so badly that she's willing to actually die so the cops have the ultimate piece of evidence against him: her body. Now that takes rage to a whole new level.
Quote #6
"[Amy] is righteous. She is one of those people who is never wrong, and she loves to teach lessons, dole out punishment." (35.39)
We know Amy delights in making people pay for even the slightest violation against her, but what exactly makes her the way Nick describes her in this statement to the cops? It could be because of the pressures her parents placed on her to actually be Amazing Amy, not just herself. Because she was raised as a storybook character and not with the freedom to be her own person, there's got to be a lot of pent-up rage there. And someone's got to bear the brunt of it.