Discussion Questions
(The following questions were graciously submitted to LitLovers by Angela Scott of the Ligonier Public Library in Ligonier, Indiana. Thank you, Angela!)
1. Why do you think that the murder of Honorah Parker became the fascination of New Zealand?
2. The relationships between the girls and Mrs. Hulme and Ms. Parker were vastly different. Both girls individually had rocky relationships with their mothers but only one parent ended up dead, why do you think this was so?
3. The fathers of both girls were relatively weak-willed when it came to their daughters. Discuss the different relationships with them and do you think the girls would have turned out differently with different parents?
4. There has been much speculation on whether the girls were lesbians or just remarkably close friends, children who were outsiders and clung to each other in need. Anne Perry tried very hard to stress that she was looking for Mister Right, yet neither ever married. Based on this book, what do you think?
5. As the girls said, they were completely MAD. Do you think this was true?
6. What do you think of the tohunga’s (a Maori priestly expert) theory that the girls really did find another dimension and Mrs. Parker’s death was needed as a blood sacrifice to the guardians, even though this was done unconsciously.
7. "Perry has an insight that few crime writers can boast of. Perry committed murder, in 1954. Her intimate knowledge of good and evil has brought literary acclaim," wrote the Times. Do you think this is true and why she became an amazing writer of crime fiction?
8. After reading about the childhood Juliet Hulme experienced, do you have any sympathy for her? Do you feel she ever truly repented? Do you think Pauline Parker regretted it?
(Questions written by Angela Scott. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution to both Angela and LitLovers. Thanks.)
Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century (Graham) - Discussion Questions
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