A Trick of the Light

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does A Trick of the Light compare to other mystery series you’ve read? Did anything about the novel’s use of, or divergence from, generic conventions surprise you?

2. How did you feel about the novel’s ending? Where you able to guess who the murderer was? Why or why not?

3. If you have read prior installments in the series, such as The Brutal Telling or Bury Your Dead, how did this book resolve or deepen themes and conflicts from those entries in the series?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Peter struggles to be happy for Clara’s success, secretly nursing a lot of jealousy against her. Have you ever struggled with jealousy of someone else’s success, or found yourself the target of someone else’s jealousy? How did your experiences and reactions compare to Peter’s or Clara’s?

2. Consider the core relationships in the novel: Gamache’s father-son bond with Beauvoir, Beauvoir’s love for Annie, Peter and Clara, or Clara and her friends. Do any resemble relationships in your own life? How and why?

3. Clara ends her friendship with Lillian when she realizes that Lillian is not a positive influence in her life, but still has mixed feelings about her after her death. Have you ever had a toxic or problematic friendship? How did you seek to resolve it?

4. What did you already know about 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous before reading this novel? How did this novel change your views of substance use disorder and addiction?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the appearance of AA members in the novel reflect, or contribute to, wider conversations about substance dependencies and societal stigmas attached to them?

2. How does Penny use the Montreal art world to depict the challenges and rewards of a creative life? What aspects of the depiction struck you as especially accurate or inaccurate?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Penny uses multiple points of view in the novel. How does this narrative choice affect the plot, characterization, or illumination of the text’s key themes and ideas?

2. Analyze the use of light/dark symbolism in the text. Where and how does this symbolism appear? What is its wider significance?

3. Closely examine the setting of Three Pines. How is the town depicted? How does it shape the action and mood of the text?

4. Analyze the narrative techniques Penny uses to build suspense around the hunt for Lillian’s killer. Consider elements such as foreshadowing, red herrings, or stylistic choices.

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1.   If this book were adapted into a movie, would you use the cast of the Three Pines miniseries, or choose all new actors? Who would you cast for the characters who first appear in this book, like Suzanne or Thierry Pineault?

2.   Articulate a design for a poster or other form of advertisement for Clara’s next art exhibition. What will the theme be? Where will it take place? How will you convey the nature and worth of Clara’s art to entice people to attend?

3. Imagine an epilogue for the novel. Whose perspective would you write it from, and what lingering questions would you want to answer?