Librarians and Book Clubs
Here you’ll find guided discussion questions for Who to Believe, The Secrets We Share, and Little Comfort. I love to meet with book clubs and library groups both in person and online. If you would to schedule a session with your organization, please fill out this form!
Book Club Questions for Who to Believe
Who to Believe is told from many points of view. As the story is revealed, who did you identify with most? Are all the point-of-view characters reliable, and do they tell themselves the truth?
Did you find yourself switching your allegiances to characters as you progressed through the novel? Do you think the author intended you to side with anyone in particular? Why or why not?
Who would you say it the protagonist of the novel? Why? How did your views of this character change as the novel progressed?
The initial murder victim from the party isn’t revealed until almost halfway through the novel. Who did you believe might be the victim and why?
The main characters in the novel have a variety of careers: psychiatrist, documentary filmmaker, financial advisor, cop, mechanic, eighth grader, and minister. How do their jobs play into each character’s world view? How does a public-facing job impact the way certain characters interact with the community?
One of the themes of this novel is the hidden self, or the shadow self. Where are characters successful in hiding their shadow self? Where do they fail?
Another theme in the novel is perception, which is epitomized by the various views of the burner phone that floats among characters. How else does the theme of perception come into play in the novel?
There are several physical spaces in the story that help establish character (the farm house, the graveyard, the houses on Mooney Point). Which was the most vivid in your mind, and how did the descriptions of the spaces move the story forward or enrich it?
Several secrets are revealed in the final chapters of the novel. Which secrets surprised you? Which secrets were the most satisfying?
What happens next for each of the remaining characters?
Book Club Questions for The Secrets We Share
The Secrets We Share is told from many points of view. As the story is revealed, who did you identify with most? Are all the point-of-view characters reliable, and do they tell themselves the truth?
Did you find yourself switching your allegiances to characters as you progressed through the novel? Do you think the author intended you to side with anyone in particular? Why or why not?
How would you describe Natalie Cavanaugh at the beginning of the novel? Were you confused as to whether she was the hero or the villain of the story? How do your views of Natalie change over the course of the novel?
Angela White and Natalie Cavanaugh are about the same age and have both been detectives with the Boston Police Department for over a decade. Why has Angela been so much more successful in her career?
One of the themes of this novel is reinvention. How are characters successful in reinventing themselves? Where do they fail?
Another theme in the novel is avoidance, or willful blindness. Mavis Abbott exemplifies this by compartmentalizing every aspect of her life as she imagines a closet full of boxes. How do other characters approach avoidance?
Natalie and Glenn were both teenagers when their father was murdered. How have Natalie and Glenn carried the media frenzy around their father’s death into their adult lives? How have they approached it differently? How have they approached it in the similar ways?
There are several physical spaces in the story that help establish character (the abandoned factory, Natalie’s house, Glenn’s house, the town of Elmhurst, Olivia’s farmhouse, Starling Circle). Which was the most vivid in your mind, and how did the descriptions of the spaces move the story forward or enrich it?
Several secrets are revealed in the final chapters of the novel. Which secrets surprised you? Which secrets were the most satisfying?
What was the significance of the title The Secrets We Share? Would you have called the novel something else?
Book Club Questions for Little Comfort
