Nineteen Minutes

Josie is the daughter of Alex Cormier, the superior court judge in Sterling. Josie doesn’t have a good relationship with her mother; she practically raises herself, as her mother puts work above everything else. Josie was best friends with Peter Houghton when she and Peter were younger. One day, however, Peter shows Josie a gun and the two are caught by their mothers. This event was the beginning of the end for their friendship. Josie also wanted to join the popular group, and so distanced herself from Peter. Though she doesn’t like what the popular kids do or who they are, Josie realizes that she would rather be at the top than be a bullied social pariah. She begins dating Matt, the most popular kid in school, and the kid who bullies Peter the most. Though they seem the darling couple, Josie’s narrative reveals that Matt is abusive. Though Matt seemingly dies at the hands of Peter, when Josie gets her memory back at the end of the narrative, it is revealed that Josie shot Matt in the stomach. Peter then shot Matt in the head so that the wound she inflicted wouldn’t be the bullet that killed Matt. Josie is sentenced to five years in jail for her crime.

Matt is Josie’s boyfriend, and the most popular kid at school. He plays on several sports teams, and he is the envy of most girls. Though Matt looks like the most caring boyfriend, the narrative reveals that he is abusive to Josie, and he treats her like property. At one point he abuses her physically, while another time he has sex with her while drunk and, against her wishes, does not use a condom. Matt is also the biggest bully in the school. He is the one who bullies Peter Houghton the most, with one of his worst acts being pulling down Peter’s pants and underwear in the school lunchroom so that everyone sees Peter’s genitals. Matt is killed by Peter in the school shooting. His death is odd to the detectives because he is the only person shot twice. It is later revealed that he berated Josie during the shooting when she had the chance to shoot Peter, and so Josie shot Matt in the stomach. Peter, not wanting her shot to kill Matt, then shot Matt in the head. 

Courtney is another of the popular kids in school. She is best friends with Josie, yet she is also a troublemaker. Courtney’s actions add to Peter becoming unhinged, and with her dying at the hands of Peter. While bored one night at Josie’s house, Courtney intercepts an email from Peter to Josie that explains how much he likes Josie. Courtney has Drew, another of the popular kids, send the email to the entire school. Courtney then tricks Peter into believing that Josie has feelings for him, only for Peter to be ridiculed in front of everyone in the cafeteria.

Alex is the new superior court judge for Grafton County and its surrounding cities. She was once a defense attorney, and she wants to make a good impression as a judge. To this end, she treats all facets of her life as if she is in court. She also thinks about every situation as a potential for people to judge her, and so acts cool and methodical. Because of her very calculated demeanor, Alex has a poor relationship with her daughter, Josie. Alex can’t connect with Josie emotionally and isn’t able to be the mother she wants to be because she allows work to get in the way. When the shooting happens, Alex wants to try the case to show that she can be impartial. When it becomes apparent that she would rather choose being a mom over a judge, she recuses herself from the case so that she can focus on Josie. Alex begins dating Patrick Ducharme, a police detective, as the case begins. She later resigns and goes back to being a defense attorney and is pregnant at novel’s end.

Patrick is the police detective who must deal with the Sterling High school shooting. He is looked to by the rest of the force as the lead, and though he does not really know what he’s doing (the town has never known a tragedy or event of the magnitude of the school shooting), he tries to act like he does. As a detective, Patrick always feels that he is too late to help other people. He thinks being a detective is ironic in that he only addresses a case once things have happened. Patrick lives a bachelor’s life, and he is trying to understand why Peter did what he did to his fellow classmates. Patrick was one of the first responders on the scene during the shooting. He disarmed Peter, found Josie and carried her out of the school. He later begins dating Josie’s mother, Alex Cormier. 

Lacy is Peter’s mother, and she is confused and upset once she realizes that Peter is the shooter at Sterling High. Lacy is a nurse-midwife. She believes that she knows her children and has raised them right. Lacy’s world is shattered, however, when her eldest son, Joey (the “golden boy”), is killed in a car accident. Lacy always compared her sons to one another, something she later realizes may have helped in causing Peter to feel not good enough. Lacy also found out that Joey was taking drugs, a fact she never reveals to the rest of her family. When Peter kills his fellow classmates, Lacy is stuck with the fact that her surviving son is now being taken away from her as well. She deals with doubts and fears that she has not been a good mother and does not know her own child. Though everyone else thinks Peter a monster, Lacy sticks by Peter and tries to offer him the support she feels he deserves.