The Summer Of Sin: What Bess Sinclair And The Mothers Really Did In "Summer 16"

The query "What did Bess do in Summer 16" is one of the most compelling and darkest mysteries at the heart of the *We Were Liars* franchise, a secret so profound it became the generational trauma that defined the Sinclair family. As of December 2025, with the Prime Video series bringing E. Lockhart's universe to a new audience, this specific plot point—which is fully revealed in the prequel novel *Family of Liars*—has become a central focus, shedding light on the deep-seated guilt carried by Bess and her sisters, Carrie and Penny. This infamous summer was not a time of carefree youth, but a period of profound complicity, a shared tragedy that Bess, in particular, came to view as a curse that later manifested in the devastating fire that destroyed Clairmont. The event of "Summer 16" is the dark mirror to the main story’s tragedy, establishing the mothers as the original "Liars" who buried a shocking truth to protect their family name and privilege. Bess Sinclair’s actions, alongside her sisters, created a collective lie that would ripple through the decades, ultimately contributing to the psychological damage and the catastrophic events suffered by their own children, the new generation of Liars: Cadence, Johnny, and Mirren. Understanding Bess’s role requires a deep dive into the prequel’s revelations and the complex web of secrets woven on Beechwood Island.

Bess Sinclair: A Profile of Guilt and Privilege

Elizabeth Jane Taft "Bess" Sinclair is one of the four daughters of the wealthy and powerful Harris and Tipper Sinclair, and a key figure in the *We Were Liars* narrative. She is the mother of Mirren, one of the primary "Liars" in the original story. Her entire persona is built on a facade of perfection, which makes the revelation of her past actions in "Summer 16" all the more shocking.

Bess Sinclair Biographical Profile

• Full Name: Elizabeth Jane Taft "Bess" Sinclair.
• Family Role: One of the three surviving Sinclair sisters (alongside Carrie and Penny). The youngest sister, Rosemary, died tragically before the "Summer 16" events.
• Parents: Harris and Tipper Sinclair.
• Spouse: Sheffield.
• Children: Mirren Sinclair-Sheffield (one of the Liars).
• Portrayal (Prime Video Series): Candice King (known for *The Vampire Diaries*).
• Defining Trait: Obsession with projecting a perfect life and a deep-seated belief that the family’s misfortunes are divine "punishment" for past sins.
• Key Entities: Sinclair Family, Beechwood Island, Clairmont, Cuddledown, Penny Sinclair, Carrie Sinclair, Mirren.

Bess’s life is characterized by her desire to please her grandfather, Harris, and secure her portion of the Sinclair inheritance. She is often seen bragging about her children and her life, a behavior that masks her profound insecurity and the heavy burden of the secret she shares with her sisters. Her constant anxiety and religious conviction that the family is cursed are direct consequences of the events of that fateful summer.

The Summer of Secrets: Unpacking the "Summer 16" Trauma

The central question—what Bess and her sisters did in "Summer 16"—is answered in the prequel novel, *Family of Liars*, which provides the full context of the mothers' youth. This summer, when Bess was sixteen, was consumed by a tragic and violent confrontation involving the three sisters and a young man named Pfeff. The event, which is the ultimate source of the mothers' collective trauma, involved the death of Pfeff. The narrative reveals that the Sinclair sisters were all complicit in a terrible sequence of events that led to his demise. The specific actions were:

• The Confrontation: The sisters were involved in a heated, violent confrontation with Pfeff on Beechwood Island.
• The Fatal Blow: While Bess and Penny were present and involved, the prequel novel reveals that it was their eldest sister, Carrie, who delivered the fatal blow to Pfeff.
• The Shared Lie: Following Pfeff's death, the three sisters—Bess, Carrie, and Penny—made a pact to cover up the incident. They successfully suppressed the truth, relying on their family's wealth and influence to ensure the matter was never fully investigated or prosecuted.

Bess's role, while perhaps not the one who struck the final blow, was an active participant in the cover-up and the subsequent denial of the truth. This shared secrecy is what binds the three mothers together in a cycle of trauma and guilt, a psychological state that Bess expresses most clearly through her religious fatalism. The "Summer 16" incident is the foundational lie of the Sinclair family, a dark secret that proves the generational pattern of deception and emotional damage long predates the main story's events.

The True Cost of the Lie: Bess's Belief in Punishment

The most significant impact of the "Summer 16" event on Bess Sinclair is her unwavering conviction that the family is cursed, and that all subsequent misfortunes are a direct punishment for their actions. This is a crucial distinction: while the event itself was a collective tragedy, Bess is the one who verbalizes and internalizes the concept of divine retribution.

The Manifestation of Guilt

Bess's guilt is a powerful, driving force in her life and her relationship with her sisters. This trauma is compounded by the earlier, separate tragedy of their younger sister, Rosemary, who died by drowning at the age of ten. The loss of Rosemary, while not directly related to the Pfeff incident, established a pattern of tragedy that made the "Summer 16" secret feel like a continuation of a dark, inescapable fate.

For Bess, the later events of the main novel—the fire at Clairmont, the death of her niece Mirren, and the psychological breakdown of her nephew Johnny—are not accidents. They are, in her mind, the inevitable consequence of their sin. She explicitly tells her sister Carrie that she believes the fire was "punishment for what happened on her Summer 16," a clear link between the past crime and the present tragedy. This belief is a key element of her character’s topical authority, as it frames the entire narrative as a morality tale about the corrosive nature of privilege and unaddressed trauma.

The Generational Echo of "Summer 16"

The secret of "Summer 16" serves as a crucial piece of the puzzle for the audience, explaining why the Sinclair mothers are so emotionally stunted and obsessed with maintaining the family's image. Their inability to process the murder they covered up led to a toxic environment of emotional repression and competition, which was then passed down to their children, the Liars. Bess, Carrie, and Penny's shared guilt is what makes them so desperate to control the narrative, fearing that any crack in the family facade will reveal the horrific truth of their youth.

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Ultimately, what Bess did in "Summer 16" was not just participate in a tragic death, but participate in the subsequent cover-up—a foundational lie that cemented the Sinclair family's pattern of prioritizing reputation over morality. Her lifelong struggle with guilt and her obsession with the idea of "punishment" are a testament to the devastating psychological toll of that single, shocking summer on Beechwood Island.