I love coming to book clubs! If I can’t be there in person, I can appear via Zoom.
Need some inspiration for book group questions? Look no further:
Six Feet Deep Dish
- Delilah O’Leary has some rough edges. Did you like the character? Did she grow on you as the book went on, or not?
- Speaking of characters, who were your favorites?
- Let’s get to the mystery. Did you figure out who the killer was? If so, what tipped you off?
- Six Feet Deep Dish as an example of a sub-genre of mysteries called culinary cozies. These are lighthearted reads that revolve around food. They’re very popular, but it’s pretty weird when you think about it. Lasagna…and a corpse. Peach pie…and a corpse. Adorable pink frosted sprinkle cupcakes…and a corpse! What is it about food that makes it a frequent backdrop for mysteries? In other words, what is wrong with all of us culinary cozy writers for thinking these things go together? I have my own theories!
- Have you ever had deep-dish pizza? Are there other recipes in the book you wanted to try?
- Sometimes cats in books have extraordinary abilities, like telepathy with their owners or the ability to do magic. Butterball has a big role in the mystery, but he’s basically just a cat. Have you read other books with cats in them? How did Butterball compare to other fictional pets?
- Pizza critic Steve Dolinksy (yes, that’s his job!) coined the acronym PIGUE (Pizza I Grew Up Eating) Syndrome to explain why some people are so determined that the kind of pizza they like is the only kind of pizza that’s good. I wrote a blog post about this, too! Do you have a pizza memory from childhood? If so, did you continue to enjoy that same kind of pizza as an adult?
- Geneva Bay is based on the real town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The details of the lake, the mansions, the mob history, etc. are all essentially true, and taken from that area. Have you been to Wisconsin? If so, did you find that the place and people in the book seemed realistic? If you haven’t been, would you like to go?
- This book has a little bit of history and a little bit of romance sprinkled through it. Did you like those elements or did you want more or less of them?
- For you, are mysteries mostly about solving the puzzle, or do you not care that much if you solve it before the big reveal?
A Murder in Mount Moriah
- Before you read the book, what did you think of the idea of having a young, female hospital chaplain as the main character? How did her religious views come through in the book? How did her beliefs match up with yours?
- What did you think of Lindsay as a person? Would you want her to visit if you or a loved one was in the hospital?
- There are lots of complicated family dynamics at play in the book. Which were the most interesting to you? Could you identify with any of the relationships?
- What scene was the most pivotal in the story? How did it change the story or the characters’ trajectory?
- What scenes or characters resonated most with you personally in either a positive or negative way? Why?
- Were there any particular quotes that stood out to you? Why?
Mindy Quigley 