True Crime Book Club Questions

Billion Dollar Fascade- The rise and fall of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes

Do you think that Elizabeth set off to defraud people, or do you think that she meant well and got in over her head with investors and fame and it got out of control?
What did you think about Elizabeth’s odd reaction to losing the Monopoly game and running through the sliding door?
Do you think that the folks in the beginning of the project she presented that were skeptical should have pursued that a bit more? They told her that the patch would not work and she didn’t care. She kept taking everyone’s money.
Why did those that knew she was unstable still invest in the company? Is it FOMO or the idea of missing out on the next great thing, even though the evidence did not support it?
What did you think about Elizabeth lowering her voice and wearing black turtlenecks to “be” Steve Jobs of Apple and want all of her products to look like Apple products? You would think she could be sued for this.
What did you think of the relationship between Elizabeth and Sonny? Do you think it was because E wanted his money? Or do you think she cared about him in the beginning?
Should the relationship have been disclosed in the beginning?
How is it that Walgreens signed a deal and never had any actual proof that the product existed?
How come when presented with proof, people would still not listen to the people that brought up concerns. Each person would lose their job.
Sonny ended up taking the fall for Elizabeth when all of the information came out. She then broke up with him to save face. Why didn’t Sunny turn on her at that point?
Investors lost over $900 million dollars. She paid a $500,000 fine and can’t hold an executive position for ten years.
E is now married to Billy Evans who is an heir to the San Diego Evans hotel chain. She seems to have gotten away with her crimes.
It is heartbreaking that Ian Gibbons took his own life to avoid having to perjure himself

A Dance with the Devil by Barbara Bentley

What was your first impression of John when she met him at the party?
How soon did you start seeing the red flags?
Why do you think Barbara didn’t see the red flags?
What do you think about their courtship?
What do you think of his lack of family?
What do you think about him constantly getting her into debt and she always excusing it?
His legal troubles where he needs and attorney to the tune of $8k for typewriters?
What did you think about the marriage proposal?
What did you think about the wedding ceremony in Mexico in Spanish with no rings or flowers?
What did you think about the dinner at the Mexican place where he finally put on her ring and they danced.
What was your impressive of the church not allowing them to marry? Do you think it was never really planned? Were the flowers ever ordered? They said that the florist never arrived.
At the time they went to see the mission and Barbara asked to go see the house, do you believe that he owned the house when the pulled up and there was a fence blocking it and he refused to talk to guard, as to not disturb the renters.
What do you think about him always telling her she is seen as a gold digger from his parents?
When she researched him at the library, why do you think she allowed him to talk her out of what she found?
Do you believe he made the cat sick when they took it to UC Davis? Why do you think she kept buying that he worked there when he refused to take her anywhere but the coffee bar?
Can you even believe the saga with the airport and the trip to Egypt?
Can you believe that after he tried to kill her with ether, that she still wanted to help him and get him help in Bethesda.
Had you suspected that John was not an admiral at any point in the book?
Were you surprised to hear about his previous record and all of the aliases?
Were you impressed that she moved forward in life to get the bill changed to favor victims with the divorce law.

Fatal Vows by Joseph Hosey

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

What is your impression of Drew right up front?
Did you feel that Drew only calls his brother, Morphy (stepbrother) when he needs something.
Should the brother have pressed more about the barrel in the room? Chlorine?
Do you think the brother tried to take his own life, or do you think Drew had something to do with it?
Stacie was married at 19 to Drew who was a stable police officer, who was 49. She was a young mother of 2 and became a stepmom to Drew’s kids. Do you think Stacie was groomed? Do you think she wanted to be there? She was 17 when they started dating (while married to his third wife -Kathleen Savio.)
Stacey had a rough childhood. Do you think she might have been looking for a father figure with Drew?
What do you think about Drew bringing Stacy into the basement of the home he shared with his third wife with her upstairs? (Kathleen Savio)
How did Drew continuously get away with the abuse of all wives?
What do you think about Drew’s behavior with the media after Stacy disappeared?
Did you notice the reference to Mark Fuhrman? We had read a book by him. He wrote the book on the OJ case and lives in Sandpoint.
Geraldo Rivera went to interview Peterson. Remember junk TV like Jerry Springer back in the day? Then Peterson badmouthed Geraldo on the Today Show.
Peterson has a publicist.
Peterson’s brother started funding his defense. It was shut down but they wouldn’t disclose how much was raised.
The volunteers spent a lot of time looking. Have you ever participated in a search? Did it strike you as odd that Drew would not go out and search?
It does not sound like Drew was a good cop either, what do you think?
If they had pursued the death of wife #3, Savio, Stacy might still be alive.
Brodsky seems to be a man that is Drew’s friend/lawyer, but Drew doesn’t appear to care that much about him. Do you agree?
He was convicted of both murders, as well as murder for a hire plot for the judge (James Glasgow) in 2015.
There was a 5^th woman that almost married him, named Christina Raines.

The Evil Within: Murdered by her stepbrother – the crime that shocked a nation. The heartbreaking story of Becky Watts by her father Darren Galsworthy

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

In the beginning of the book, what did you think about the father’s upbringing that was described?
When Becky was young and showing signs of being behind and always being upset, did you think that something was wrong, or do you think that they were overreacting at first?
Did you find it strange that he was not offered to take in his own children by social services, and he would have to apply for custody? I understand that he was on the birth certificate, but he had had a test and it was positive he was the father of Becky.
Where do you think that Nathan started to change?
1. The drinking? The house party? The first break up (stalking)
Why do you think that Becky didn’t make friends and was bullied?
The bullying and anoxeria was very disturbing. It was heartbreaking.
1. Have you known anyone that has been bullied?
What do you think about Nathan’s changes over time?
Why do you think that Nathan does not like Becky?
What do you think about the relationship between Nathan and Shauna?
Can you imagine finding out your daughter was murdered and it was by the son that raised as your own?
Do you think you could have remained married to the person whose child took your child’s life?
Would you have wanted to see her remains in that condition?
What do you think about the texts between Shauna and Nathan talking about kidnapping other young girls prior to the murder.
Do you think that Shauna actually new that Becky’s body was in the car, and then later their house.

Book Club Questions: Amber Frey- Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

What do you think of Scott Peterson out on the prowl as a single man wanting to settle down and looking for a partner.
Scott really pulled out all of the stops for their first date. No wonder she was impressed. He seemed to good to be true.
What do you think about Amber staying the night with him on their first date?
What do you think of the love bombing that Scott is doing to Amber? What about the way he seemed to want Amber’s daughter, but didn’t want his own son, Connor.
Do you think Scott was cooking and pulling out all of the stops in his daily life with Laci?
What do you think of the part where Shawn said to Scott that she heard he was married and lived in Modesto? And about saying he lost his wife.
How would you have reacted if you had found out he was married (widowed) after the talk you had about honestly being important to you.
What do you think about all of the red flags that she ignored?
What do you think Scott’s overall intentions are towards Amber? Was he serious about her?
What do you think about her having to call back into the police because no one followed up.
It seems that Amber has gotten into complicated relationships. Do you agree with this?
What do you think about Amber offering to record the calls trying to trap Scott?
Did you get the feeling that Amber was conflicted about religion?
Do you feel bad for Amber?
Do you think that Amber did the right thing?
What was Scott thinking? How can he think he can have this relationship with Amber and he not find out?
Scott was manipulative. He brought the bible verse up to Amber, knowing that she was religious.
What did you think about Amber’s press conference?
What do you think about Amber staying with Amber’s friend, and then meeting the family?
Would you have been able to continue to the charade and phone calls with Scott?
Do you agree that Amber should have hired an attorney to represent her?
How do you think Amber handled herself overall? What do you think of her?
Do you feel bad seeing her entire life put on display and judged?
How did you feel about all of the support mail that was coming in?
Do you think Scott was trying to escape to Mexico when they found him with dyed hair, cash, and his brother’s passport?
Do you think the verdict is correct? Is he guilty?
How did you feel about Scott’s family? Parents/Siblings?
What did you think about the book?

Book Club Questions: Conviction-Jody Arias

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

First, I would like to apologize for the gore. I do not usually choose books that have so much detail of the death, as well as the soft porn.

Did it surprise you when they mentioned that she had a hung jury twice?
Did it surprise you when you found out that they were both Mormon?
What do you think about Jodi saying she was the victim, and to feel bad for her?
What do you think of the John Doe letter that Arias sent to the other woman telling her she is committing sin?
What do you think about that phone call in the beginning with the police officer where she had an answer for everything.
What did you make of Jodi’s story/Alibi? (travelling in the rental car). Especially the cell phone “losing power” outside of Nevada.
If you are lost, why wouldn’t you look for the charger so you can get driving directions?
What do you think about her relationship with her parents?
Do you think the story about her meeting Travis at the Rain Café is true?
Do you think Travis ever intended any sort of marriage with Jodi?
It seems like Jodi used promiscuity to trap Travis, but he never saw her as anything serious and wanted a Mormon girl. Her converting was not good enough.
The author spent a lot of time discussing the gas cans. Why do you think this was significant?
Do you think was premeditated?
The more I read/listened, the more I was frustrated that the book seemed all about the author wanting a pat on the back.
What do you think of Jodi taking over as her own lawyer?
Do you feel that the author/Prosecutor was manipulating witnesses to get information?
What did you think of his statement where he said he hopes Jodi’s mother doesn’t cry through the opening remarks.
Do you think a restraining order would have protected Travis from Jodi?
I felt like the book didn’t need to go into all of the details that it did. I understand that the trial needs that information, but do the readers?
What do you think about all of Jodi’s boyfriends and their stories while in court?
Why do you think the trial had so much emphasis on Jodi’s sex life?
Do you believe any of the stories that Jodi said on the stand about Travis’s character?
What did you think of the prosecutor?
What did you think of the book?

While Idaho Slept – Book Club Questions
By J. Reuben Appelman

Book Club Questions: While Idaho Slept

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

Do you think Bryan Kohberger is guilty?
Why do you think that the other two roommates survived?
Do you think this has anything to do with their affiliation with the Greek life?
Do you think Bryan was at the bar while they were In there?
How do you feel about the author going into the dysfunction of the family lives of the victims?
How do you feel about the author portraying this as a party house?
How accurate do you think this storyline is?
Do you think that Kaylee’s boyfriend, Jack could be responsible?
Why did they add the part in there about the officer stopping the three underage Lambda fraternity boys that were stopped for being drunk?
Why do you think it took so long to call 911? Why did they call in their friends before calling in the police?
Who do you think was targeted, of any?
Do you think Xana and Ethan were at the wrong place at the wrong time?
What do you think of Chief Fry? Do you think he did a good job from the beginning?
Did you learn anything that you didn’t know?
What is your impression of the different families?
Do you think Bryan has a mental illness?
What do you think about his questionnaire that was posted on reddit?
Do you think Bryan’s parents knew?
Do you think that his sisters should have lost their jobs?
What do you think about the gag order being placed. Was it a good idea?
Do you think Papa Rodger is Bryan Kohberger on social media?
Were you surprised to learn about Dana Smithers death in PA?
Do you think the house should have been torn down before the trial?
What did you think of this book?

Book Club Questions: True Crime Addict

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

Did Butch Atwood Make the right decision leaving Maura there at her car?
Do you think he had anything to do with Maura’s disappearance? (Butch Atwood)
What do you think about him at the strip club and the interaction with the dancer?
What do you think about the author’s diagnosis from his therapist? She said he has the same traits as Ted Bundy.
Have you heard of this case before this book?
What do you think of Maura cleaning out her dorm, and mentioning she was leaving for a week saying that she had a death in the family?
Why was she in the New Hampshire?
What do you think of her other odd behaviors?
Do you think Maura is alive and has started a new life, or do you think that she is now deceased?
Do you think her father, Fred Murray, knows something about her disappearance, or do you think he is involved in some way.
Was there anything that was significant about the book “Not Without Peril” that was found in her car. It is about people who climb Mt. Washington and perish. They are honored by having their name memorialized in a log book.
Do you think any of this has to do with her leaving Westpoint with the stealing scandal? What about her boyfriend, Billy Rausch?
What do you think about Fred Murray (her father) denying interviews and not allowing anyone else to speak to anyone? Does this make him look guilty, or is he protecting his family? Does it make the author James look nosey?
Do you think that the Brianna Maitland case is related? She disappeared from the same area in 2004.
Do you feel that Fred Murray should have sued everyone?
What do you think about the idea that the neighbor, Faith saying that she thought she saw someone in the passenger seat of Maura’s crashed car smoking a cigarette?
Do you think Maura left because of her dad?
Do you feel that the New Hampshire police from the crash area are involved?
What do you think of Fred Murray (father) saying he gave Maura the rag to stuff into her tailpipe of her car to keep it from smoking?
Do you think the accident was staged? Do you think she is living her life in Canada as the author thinks?
Do you think she is having problems with her father or anyone else in her family?
What is your impression of the author?
What do you think about the man that contacted the college and complained about him being arrested? This is the same man that posted the now deleted You Tube videos?

Murder and Mayhem in Spokane

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

Book Club Questions

Have you ever heard of the Black Hand Gang prior to this book?
Trivia: What year did McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary open? 1875
1. In 1981, it was removed from the Federal system and renamed to McNeil Island Corrections Center under the State DOC.
Did you find yourself googling addresses in Spokane, as they were given in the storyline?
Do you think that Clein was responsible for the death of Saudawski?
1. What do you think about all of the fiances?
Bad Handwriting Story – Did you know that Spokane had an underground Chinese community in the late 1890’s?
What did you think about about the hanging “event” for Pong that had invitations sent out, as well as circus tent needed to hold everyone? (Over 4000 people)
Sheriff George Conniff: Killed Over Milk and Butter Story: Do you think that Ralstin was involved in the murder of the Sheriff? He was fired 2 years after the murder, for unknown reasons.
Why was he murdered? Did he catch internal officers breaking into the creameries and tobacco warehouses to sell things on the black market? Or do you think the other two criminals Acie Logan and Worden Spinks were the ones that were responsible to his death and the black-market robberies?
The Chinamen Murders: Do you think there were white men with cloth on their face that murdered the Chinese men? Or do you think that it was internal rivalry?
Better obey the carons: Were you aware that Spokane had a sex slave ring in the early 1900’s?
A frozen baby and a jealous husband: Clearly a narcissist that only cared about punishing his wife and not about the child.
There were so many women that were murdered by jealous men.
Did anyone else find the history of the prisons interesting?
Were you surprised to see that Manson was there? (1961-1966)
Was it wild that prostitutes were able to run their business while being under arrest?
1. This is a blatant mishap of the police department who was involved
Did you know about the jailing for street speaking?
What did you think about prohibition?

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Say Nothing (Keefe) – Discussion Questions

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

Discussion Questions
We’ll add publisher questions if and when they’re available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for SAY NOTHING … then take off on your own:

1. A saying at the time of the Troubles went, “If you’re not confused, you don’t know what’s going on.” The times were certainly confusing: for those on the outside of the conflict, let alone those on the inside. Does Patrick Radden Okeefe clear up the confusion for his readers—for you? In what way has reading Say Nothing increased your understanding of Northern Ireland’s decades-long (many say centuries-long) struggle?

2. Keefe has zeroed in on the murder of Jean McConville. Given the level of brutality and carnage that took place for so long, why might the author have used that particular episode as the opening of his book?

3. In what way would you describe (as some reviewers have) Say Nothing as a murder mystery?

4. Which individuals—in this book of real life people—do you feel more sympathy for than others? What about those individuals whose actions disturbed you? Despite all the carnage, are you able to find any humanity in those who committed acts of violence? Does it matter that they acted in service to a cause, one they believed in passionately?

5. Follow-up to Question 4: Dolours Price and others feel that the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement took away any justification for the bombings and abductions she had participated in. How would you answer her?

6. What is the significance of the book’s title, “Say Nothing.” What are the ways that phrase resonates throughout the book?

7. Since the peace accord, a “collective denial” has washed over the Belfast society. Is this obfuscation, a hiding of sorts, beneficial? Has it lead to a genuine, settled peace? Would an open reconciliation, through confession and forgiveness, work? What are the varying points of view, including yours?

8. In his poem “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing” Seamus Heaney writes, “Northern reticence, the tight gag of place/And times”. What picture of Belfast does Radden Keefe give in “Say Nothing”?

9. “Say Nothing” could be described as the story of two women: Jean McConville and Dolours Price. What understanding do you take away from Keefe’s telling of their lives within this conflict?

10. Radden Keefe is bringing together stories based on history, but also memory in his interviews, where events unfurl in sometimes contradictory ways. How did you find reading history from the perspective of memories?

11. In Roddy Doyle’s New York Times Book Review, he writes that “Say Nothing” ‘can be read as a detective story’. What makes Radden Keefe’s storytelling so gripping?

12. How important are oral histories in the logging of the past? What do you understand about the work and the controversy around the Belfast Project after reading “Say Nothing”?

13. ‘Who should be held accountable for a shared history of violence?’ How do the people in this book, and you as the reader, answer this question? Can it be answered?

14. In an interview in Hazlitt, Radden Keefe said, ‘I may have this Irish name, but I was clearly an outsider.’ How do you think an ‘outsider’ status affected his research, and the final narrative?

15. ‘Outrage is conditioned not by the nature of the atrocity but by the affiliation of the victim and the perpetrator.’ Where did your outrage fall when you read “Say Nothing”?

16. ‘Before the killing, they summoned a priest.’ There is ritual – at times an everyday domesticity – to the violence reported in “Say Nothing”, from phone calls and knocks on the door to car rides. How do you react to this ‘everyday’ violence?

17. In what way has reading “Say Nothing” increased your understanding of Northern Ireland’s struggle?

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

Written by Dava Jean Wharton

Why do you think Shelly made up stories and acted out?
Why did Shelly pick on Nicki more than Sammi?
Why did Shelly always need someone to harass? Why did she turn on Kathy?
What do you think about Shelly’s cancer?
Shane was sleeping in the closet. Why?
Shelly waterboarding Kathy was shocking. Why didn’t anyone stop this?
Why didn’t anyone turn her in or go tell someone?
Kathy was not allowed to use the bathroom and was sleeping in the pumphouse. Why didn’t Kathy leave back in the beginning when given the opportunity, or when Shane tried to rescue her.
Dave was a piece of work. He seemed freaked out that Kathy was dying the laundry room, but yet…What did he think was going to happen? He participated in the abuse.
What do you think about Nicki spending time under the neighbors crawlspace to spy on them, as well as following them around town?
Shelly taking all of Dave’s money and forcing him to live in a tent in Whidbey Island and then banishing Nicki out there, too
What do you think about Shelly killing Mac and the dog for the inheritance?
We you proud of the girls turning in their mother?
Shelly gets out of prison in 2022. Her daughters worry that she could do it again. What do you think?
Is it really possible that all 3 girls would turn out “normal” for all intents and purposes? Mother their own children, have successful relationships, etc? Why or why not?
Let’s talk about Kathy and Ron. Shelly isolated them to the point where they felt they had no other options. Do you think there was something about their mental state that made it easier for Shelly to manipulate them?
How about Dave? He’s almost worse than Shelly in my opinion, yet the author comes across as somewhat sympathetic towards him in the epilogue. Thoughts?