The Tenth Circle

About The Tenth Circle

The Tenth Circle (2006) is a novel by Jodi Picoult about date rape and father/daughter relationships.

When freshman Trixie Stone accuses her ex-boyfriend Jason Underhill of raping her, everyone is quick to take his side when he claims their intercourse was consensual. Although her life falls apart initially, when Jason is taken to court. Trixie's parents, Daniel, a comic book artist from a harsh background, and Laura, a university professor sleeping with one of her students, become involved and Jason, who claims his life is ruined, supposedly-suicidally leaps from a bridge and is found dead. Although first presumed to be suicide, Trixie is suspected of pushing him, and so she flees to the Yup'ik region of Alaska where her father grew up, and Daniel and Laura follow.

At the end of the book, Laura confesses to Daniel that it was she who pushed Jason off the bridge, thus revealing that Trixie is innocent. The book concludes with Daniel's comic plot showing a father reunited with his daughter after saving her from hell, which sort of parallels Daniel's own life.