Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for A Maiden's Grave:
1. Jeffrey Deaver did a great deal of research into the world of deaf people. How convincing is his treatment of their world? What most surprised...and/or impressed you by some of his revelations?
2. A strong bond exists among people in the deaf community, yet there are also serious divisions. Talk about that divisiveness. Whom do you side with?
3. Why might Deaver have chosen a slaughterhouse as the setting for A Maiden's Grave? What affect does it have on your reading of the novel?
4. Talk about the villains of the story, especially Lou Handy. How would you describe him? Is there anything to admire in him? What about his cohorts, Wilcox and Bonner?
5. Discuss the method of hostage negotiations portrayed in the book. What is the standard strategy?
6. Talk about Arthur Potter. What do you think of his character—and his technique as a hostage negotiator? Is he right to take the risks he does? Why does he refer to the hostages as nearly dead—to the situation as a homocide-in-progress? What about his befriending of Handy? Is he a moral man?
7. What do you think of Melanie Charrol and her efforts to avert disaster? How do she and Potter develop feelings for one another...when their only "contact" has been a single glimpse and a mouthed message?
8 What are your feelings toward the hostages, especially, say, Donna Hawstrawn, or Susan, Kielle and Shannon? Does Deaver do a good job of portraying frightened young girls? What about the decision to take matters into their own hands—how did you feel about that? And why do the girls repeat lines of the poem they were to deliver at the recital?
9. What are the conflicts of interest between the various factions of law enforcement officials, politicians, and media? In what ways do they actually endanger the girls' lives? Do you think Deaver has described their competing interests authentically?
10. What is the significance of the novel's title?
11. Does this book deliver in terms of suspense and excitement? Were you surprised by all the twists and turns—or did you find them predictable? How about Deaver's last minute roller coaster ride? Is the ending satisfying? And, finally, what about character development—does Deaver adequately develop his characters in a book dependent on plot?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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