[Tansley Reads Score: 57%]
Icebreaker
What would your reaction be
if you were called for jury duty?
Questions
1. Everyone tells Jilly that
Laura Trussardi’s murder is an open-and-shut case, and yet she agrees to defend
Vincent. Why do you think she takes the
case? And what keeps her digging for the
truth even when she’s threatened?
2. Did you find Jilly believable as a person?
3.
When
we first meet Cy, Jilly explains that he has been her mentor and friend, even
though they’re destined to oppose each other in the courtroom. What was the relationship between Cy and
Jilly? Why did he become so vengeful
toward her?
4.
What
do you think about Cy’s relationship with his wife?
5. Why is Jilly drawn to
Damon even after he is acquitted? At the
end of the novel, was she justified in seeing Damon’s crime as separate from
the person who committed it?
6. What effect did Jilly’s sudden illness have
on the plot?
7.
Did
the inclusion of the Pickton storyline in the plot, enhance or detract from the
mystery?
8.
In the
final chapters of the novel two deep secrets are revealed. Were you surprised by either?
9.
Do you
think Jilly will approach cases differently going forward?
10. As the former chief
justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, McLachlin’s view of the legal system
should carry some weight. Were you surprised by the way our legal system was
presented in this novel?
11.
Many
of the main characters get a second chance in the novel. Discuss the role of leniency, grace, and
rehabilitation within the legal and penal systems.
12.
Imagine
you practiced law. Would you be a
defense attorney like Jilly, a prosecutor like Cy, or a judge? What kinds of cases would you prefer to take?
13.
Quick
round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss
that we missed?
