With the benefit of hindsight, what signs were there that might have thrown suspicion on Liz, or, in contrast, diverted attention away from her?

Did you suspect at any point that Liz might have been in involved in Cameron's death? Why or why not, do you think? With the benefit of hindsight, what signs were there that might have thrown suspicion on Liz, or, in contrast, diverted attention away from her?

Liz's near panic when anyone touched Cameron's painting did seem a bit extreme. I accepted it as the most tangible and valuable memorial Cameron had left to her. She sometimes seemed to overreact to various events, but I wrote it off as the distress at the death of her son and the family dynamics as Nathan and Xander moved under her roof in the aftermath of Cameron's death. If I reread the book, I would be on the lookout for those smaller signs.

Agree with Terry. Cameron's painting had taken on mythic proportions in her life.

Totally agree about Cameron's painting. This was a tell tale sign.

I suspected something was up with the painting, but I didn't connect that immediately with Liz, because other characters also expressed concern over touching it.

I also think that perhaps the simple fact that Liz is a grieving parent and isn't given too prominent of a role in most of the book throws suspicion off of her. Of course, from a classic mystery perspective, these things probably are reasons to suspect her right away, but as others have pointed out, The Lost Man doesn't really read like a classic mystery.

I agree totally with the others - Liz focus on the picture time and again made me wonder about her relationship with her son. Never any discussion of his talent, how it developed, only that the painting was not to be touched! Made me wonder why or why not. Also, Lis sees her younger grandchildren daily. One would suspect that she would talk to them often and know their habits well. It seemed strange to me that she did not seem to engage with Xander as much as the girls - yes they are younger and their father has died - but Xander is at a crucial stage of his life, does not visit her home often. I would expect her to spend more time with him to discover more about his hopes and dreams. Instead, she seemed to be with the girls more that their mother. I thought this was odd and wondered why she felt the need to do so.

I usually get hints throughout a book like this as to the outcome. But, I totally didn't see it coming. I almost prefer it though. I appreciated the ending, and another thing I appreciate about Harper is that it's not all sunshine and roses, but she ties things together.

I was totally surprised by the ending! One thing that Nathan kept thinking about was the seat in Cameron's car had to be moved back. So to me that suggested it had last been driven by someone smaller, likely a woman. But my suspicions about which woman kept wavering. I never ever did consider Liz to be the culprit.

I did not suspect Liz. I knew the painting and car seat had something to do with the death, but never thought of Liz. Even after we found out about the abuse, it did not occur to me that it was Liz

I didn't catch any of the signs that would have thrown suspicion on Liz and the ending took me totally by surprise. Liz seemed so struck by grief at the death of her son that it just didn't occur to me that she possibly could have had anything to do with it.