We Are All Guilty Here

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Discuss your overall impressions of We Are All Guilty Here. Which were your favorite and/or least favorite aspects of the novel, and why?

2. How did your experience reading We Are All Guilty Here compare to your experience reading Slaughter’s other novels? For example, what parallels do you notice between this novel and The Good Daughter and/or This Is Why We Lied?

3. Compare and contrast We Are All Guilty Here with other contemporary crime thrillers. What narrative and/or thematic overlaps do you notice between Slaughter’s handling of the genre and that of Mary Kubica in She’s Not Sorry and/or Alice Feeney in Beautiful Ugly?

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

1. How did you respond to the revelation that Martha Clifton (now Jude Archer) was alive? How would you have reacted to this discovery if you were Emmy Clifton and had believed your estranged sister to be dead?

2. Compare and contrast the North Falls culture to the culture of your hometown. What was different or similar about Emmy’s experiences living there and your own experiences in your hometown?

3. Emmy Clifton has a close connection with her father Gerald Clifton. How does their relationship compare to your relationships with your parents and/or guardians? Which aspects of their dynamic were least and/or most believable, and why?

4. Emmy and Hannah are best friends until Madison Dalrymple’s kidnapping and murder. Have you ever had a friendship or other close relationship end abruptly due to a major event? How did your experience and response compare to Emmy’s?

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

1. We Are All Guilty Here derives its central conflicts from pedophiliac crimes against young girls. Examine how these crimes either do or do not successfully comment on patterns of sexual violence in American culture. How does Slaughter represent her young female characters and the older men who exploit and abuse them? Does she subvert or reinforce cultural stereotypes?

2. The novel’s primary characters are law enforcement agents. Explore how Slaughter’s representations of policing relate to contemporary sociopolitical concerns about police corruption. How does Slaughter represent federal agents and police officers? Is she interrogating these roles or embracing antiquated stereotypes?

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

1. Analyze the author’s approach to point of view. How does the third-person narrator function? What are the narrative benefits and shortcomings of this formal choice? How would the novel resonate differently if written from an alternate point of view, like Emmy’s first-person point of view?

2. Compare and contrast Jonah Lang’s and Dylan Alvarez’s characters. How are they different or similar? What does each man reveal about Emmy Clifton’s character arc?

3. Explore how the novel’s Georgia setting relates to the novel’s overarching mood and atmosphere. How does the culture of this place play into the characters’ relationships and the community’s dramas? How would the novel differ if set elsewhere?

4. Identify three symbols in the novel and discuss their relevance to the novel’s themes. For example, what might the gold necklaces, the pond, and/or the SIM card represent, and what is their relevance to the overarching narrative?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were adapting We Are All Guilty Here into a film, who would you cast in the leading roles? Which plot points might you omit, alter, or add to make the adaptation your own?

2. We Are All Guilty Here is the first title in Slaughter’s new North Falls Series. Based on the novel’s ending, what do you imagine happens next? How do you imagine Emmy and Jude’s relationship evolves over time? Which other aspects of North Falls life might influence the women’s individual storylines?