Book Club Discussion Questions for Deadly Focus: A Vega & Middleton Novel Book #1

The following general questions can be applied to any mystery novel, and they provide a good starting point for creating your own discussion questions for a given work.

Initial reaction—did you like the book?

What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?

What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel?

Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to how they chose to handle their crises? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?

What part does race, identity and gender play in the plot?

How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?

What role does losing her family at an early age effect Lucy’s sometimes impulsive behavior?

In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's world view?

Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way?

Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?

How did you feel about the characters? Whom did you like or not like and why?

In a movie version, who would play what parts?

What did you think of the plot line development? How credible did the author make it?

Is there any moral responsibility that was abdicated?

What type of vision does the author use with her word choice? Is it optimistic, pessimistic, prophetic, cautionary, humorous, satirical, venomous, cathartic?

What did you think of the ending?