The 6:20 Man

The opening chapters establish the character of protagonist Travis Devine, who is in many ways an outsider to the Wall Street milieu in which he now lives. Like all the other central characters, Devine is consistently referred to by his surname—a stylistic choice that links the novel with the conventions of narrative nonfiction and reportage, creating the appearance of narrative objectivity.

The novel’s title, The 6:20 Man, evokes Devine’s search for identity: Reeling from a series of traumatic experiences in the military, Devine takes refuge in the impersonal identity of a tireless company man—the sort of employee who is always among the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Devine’s intense discipline comes from different motivations than that of his colleagues. He is not particularly interested in the Competitive Ambition that drives other members of the firm, and he happily takes his lunch in the dining room while others eat at their desks to perform dedication. Instead, he is seeking a replacement for the discipline of his former career in the military—a way to insulate himself from the traumas of that experience. The title encapsulates the essence of Devine’s character while also setting the temporal stage for the unfolding of the novel’s plot.

Devine’s meticulous morning rituals and his immaculately maintained but inexpensive footwear are not merely character quirks; they are the vestiges of a military discipline that continues to define his civilian existence. These exaggerated characteristics crystallize into a representation of a man grappling with the rigor and regimentation of his past life.

As the narrative unfolds, other characters, such as Will Valentine, are painted with broad strokes that evoke cultural stereotypes. Valentine’s Russian heritage and predilection for fast food, along with his hacking skills, construct a persona that is at once a nod to and a critique of popular American representations of post-Cold War immigrants. The narrative seems to question whether Valentine is authentically embodying his cultural background or merely performing an identity shaped by cultural tropes. When Valentine is first introduced in Chapter 6, the narrator says, “Devine could never tell if the guy knew he was playing a Hollywood version of a Russian now free in America, or if he really was like that” (25).

The architecture of a thriller novel is supported by subtle clues, some of which are misleading. These intentionally misleading clues are known as red herrings, named for the practice of dragging rotten fish across a path to throw dogs off the scent. Such careful manipulation of the reader’s expectations is a hallmark of the mystery-thriller genre, with the author shaping events and characters to steer the story toward its denouement while keeping the reader engaged in The Search for Truth alongside the protagonist.

The recurring motif of the train slowing by Cowl’s house, for example, is a narrative device that may at first seem coincidental but is later revealed to be crucial to the plot. The placement of Devine’s residence in Mount Kisco serves as a narrative pivot, initially presented as happenstance but later unveiled as a cog in a larger machination.

Backstories are woven into the fabric of the narrative through introspection and dialogue. In interrogating Devine in Chapter 7, Campbell recites Devine’s military history in detail, including an incident in which Devine was responsible for the death of another soldier named Hawkins. The effect of this dialogue is twofold: It serves Campbell’s purpose by intimidating Devine, and it serves the purpose of the narrative by making this backstory available to the reader. In Chapter 6, Devine reflects on his family history, his sense that his father was always disappointed in him, and his own guilt over Hawkins’s death. These ruminations provide insight into Devine’s psyche and the motivations for his current, self-punishing work routine.

The narrative employs these literary devices not merely for the progression of the plot but as a reflective surface for The Search for Truth. Campbell deliberately misrepresents Devine’s story to manipulate him. Stung by this experience, Devine feels a deep need to find out the truth about what happened to Sara Ewes to save her from being similarly misrepresented. The formal structure of the novel, replete with detailed character studies and orchestrated narrative developments, beckons the reader to delve into a sophisticated analysis of its thematic core and stylistic elements.