Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel opens with its detective, Ernest, trapped inside a safe and admitting he doesn’t know who the killer is. How did this immediate break from traditional mystery structure affect your expectations for the story? Did you find his journey to the solution satisfying?

2. This book is part of a series and pays homage to Golden Age detective fiction. If you’ve read other books by Benjamin Stevenson, like Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, or classics by authors like Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express, Murder at the Vicarage) or Dorothy Sayers (The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night), how did this novel’s meta-commentary on the genre compare?

3. The story blends high-stakes crime with moments of comedy and a humorous narratorial voice. How did you feel about this tonal balance? Did the humor enhance the story or detract from its tension?

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

1. What did you think of the novel’s argument that the most significant thefts aren’t of money but of things like time, life, or a chance at survival? In your own life, what intangible things do you value most?

2. Ernest describes his passion for detection as an “addiction” that sometimes damages his relationships. Have you ever had a hobby or interest so absorbing that it was hard to balance with other parts of your life?

3. The novel features a number of parent-child relationships: Edward and Ben, and Tobias and Eric, for example. When does a parent’s desire to protect their child cross a line into causing more harm? Which parental figure in the book best illustrates this challenge for you, and why?

4. Ernest takes a morally ambiguous position when he decides to adopt Bryce’s costume in order to solve the case. Have you ever done something that fell into a morally gray area in order to fulfill an obligation?

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

1. How does the novel portray the culture of competitive esports and the real-world consequences of online conflicts, particularly through the “swatting” incident that leads to the death of Ben Huxley, the family’s youngest son?

2. Remy Allard’s insurance fraud rests on the idea of putting a price on a human life. Where else in modern society do you see this kind of cold economic logic applied to people’s well-being or survival?

3. What is your perspective on Felix Gao’s quest for historical restitution? How does his slow, meticulous theft from the Huxley gold nugget challenge conventional ideas of crime and justice?

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

1. Ernest is devoted to the “fair-play” rules of Golden Age detective fiction, the convention that the reader is given all the clues needed to solve the mystery. In what ways does the novel honor these rules, and where does it deliberately break them for effect?

2. In the two “impossible” deaths by fire, the story raises the idea of spontaneous human combustion, famously featured in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House. How does this plot device explore the tension between scientific reason and anecdotal evidence?

3. Did you find Ernest’s first-person narration reliable? How did his internal justifications for impersonating the robber and prolonging the hostage crisis affect your trust in him as the storyteller?

4. The Huxley gold nugget and teapot are initially presented as symbols of family legacy. How does their meaning shift once it is revealed that the family’s wealth was built on land and resources violently taken from Felix’s ancestors?

5. Juliette frequently challenges Ernest’s justifications for his actions, especially during the hostage crisis. How do her accusations prompt you to re-evaluate his detective methods and motivations?

6. The novel details 10 different “heists.” Which one surprised you the most, either in its method or its moral justification? What did that particular theft reveal about the character who planned it?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. What might the next case for Ernest and Juliette’s newly funded detective agency look like? Considering the lessons Ernest learned, how might he approach it differently?

2. If you were casting a film adaptation, who would you choose to play Ernest, Juliette, and Tobias? What qualities would make them right for those roles?

3. Sketch out a new ending in the bell tower. If Tobias had been captured instead of killed, what form of justice or consequence would have been most fitting for his crimes?