Lying in Judgment Questions for Book Clubs
Characters
- What do you think of Peter? Do you think of him as a murderer?
1a. (Spoiler alert) Did the ending alter your opinion of this?
- Which of the jurors did you like? Which did you dislike? In each case, why?
- What do you think happens between Peter and Christine after the end of the story?
- Which of Peter’s parents do you think had a greater influence on him throughout this story, and why?
Scenes and plot
- Which scene or scenes stood out to you? Why??
- How do the scenes in the jury room compare to your own experience as a member of a jury?
- Would you have preferred Peter to take a different approach toward the verdict in the case? Why or why not?
- How effective is the author’s use of plot twists and red herrings? Were you able to predict certain things before they happened, or did the author keep you guessing until the end of the story??
Personal connection
- For the most part, what emotion(s) did the story evoke in you as a reader?
- Did you identify with Peter? Any other character? How did that affect your enjoyment of the book?
- Have you ever been in an analogous situation – secretly guilty of something and unable to confess, while someone else potentially takes the blame? How did you react? What was the end result of that situation?
Writing
- Lying in Judgment “breaks the rules” in a number of ways for the mystery and legal thriller genres: the anti-hero protagonist, early revelation of “whodunit,” focusing on an “everyman” juror rather than lawyers and judges. Which of these devices works for you as a reader? Which don’t?
- If you could change something about the book what would it be and why?
- Describe what you liked or disliked about the writer’s style.
General
- Name your favorite thing overall about the book. Your least favorite?
- At what point in the book did you decide if you liked it or not? What helped make this decision?
