Thank you for choosing one of my thrillers for your book club! You may already have some ideas for discussion topics but in case not, here are some questions to get you started...

​

A Time to Lie

​

• From what you understand about Whitehall and the Intelligence Services, do you find the characters from those worlds believable?

• Do you detect any similarities to people from today’s real world? Or should that be irrelevant in a thriller?

• Did you find it credible that the future Prime Minister, as an apparently decent young man, had suffered memory losses?

• Would you have preferred a female protagonist to a male one?

• Endings tend to be the most difficult part of thriller writing. How did you find this ending? Would you have written it another way?

​

The Inquiry

 

• How close do you feel the book’s inquiry is to real public inquiries like Chilcott or Savile?

• What is your reaction to the mix of positive and negative aspects of Islamic beliefs that the book presents?

• When do you feel that state-endorsed execution might be justified?

• How credible is Sara Shah as a portrait of a typical modern Islamic woman?

• What key characteristics would make you follow a charismatic leader?

​​

Woman of State/A Secret Worth Killing For

                              

• When might it be ethical for a politician to hide information about their private life?

• How well do you feel the book describes life during the Troubles?

• What did you find most shocking in the story, and why?

• Which character did you find most credible, and why?

• Did you find the final outcome satisfying?