Alicia’s suicidal tendencies are not new—but why is there no record of that past attempt in the notes Diomedes has given Theo? On a formal level, Max’s reveal that he is married to Tanya shows that Michaelides is teaching his readers to look for clues in the most seemingly mundane sentences; a “family cold,” mentioned offhand in the beginning of the chapter, then allows readers to predict Max’s revelation that he is married to Tanya.