Thank you for choosing Flat Out Lies for your next book club read. I’m always happy to join you for your discussion. There is no higher honour for a writer than to be invited into your circle. Having been to many book clubs, I often find I learn more from you than you do from me. Please feel free to add any of these questions to your discussion or contact me should you wish.
- What might have happened to Liam and Jacob after the book ended?
- “You can tell the health of a marriage by the number of teeth marks on your tongue.” The decision about what to withhold or reveal puts one in judgment’s gray zone, where most long-term relationships live and die. What truths are acceptable to hold back for the sake of peace or to save one’s partner from pain? What truths are unacceptable to hide?
- Which character’s action or decisions had the biggest impact on the plot, and how did it change the story?
- Rather than defining Jacob, his idiosyncrasies are shown through his interactions and conversations during the novel. We all have quirks that make us wonderfully unique. What are yours?
- Do Ria or Jim’s parenting style play into Liam’s socio-emotional development? Are his actions a result of nature or nurture?
- “I’ll never be anything like you,” says every teenager at some point to their parents. In Ria’s case, was she? How would you describe the relationship between Ria and her mother?
- How did the small-town setting contribute to the characters or plot?
- If you could change on aspect of the plot, what would it be and how would it alter the story?
- The recidivism rate for federally incarcerated offenders in Canada is approximately 40%. Jaxon paints a picture of the struggles faced by those newly released from incarceration. What risk-factors spur recidivism? How might society prevent or reduce this rate?
- Did you anticipate the reveal in the last chapter? Discuss the clues that were left for the reader along the way.