Suggested Discussion Points for Book Groups


Thank you for choosing one of my books as your reading selection. Here are
some ideas to get the discussion going.


HOSTILE WITNESS


1. Josie takes on Hannah Sheraton as a client when she finds out the
young girl will be tried as an adult for murder.
Is it right to prosecute a teenager as an adult? Does it depend on their
age? The circumstance of their crime? The circumstances of their
upbringing?

2. Hannah has been around the block. Her mother treated her like an
adult when she was very young. Hannah is beautiful.
Modern teens are physically more mature than they were twenty
years ago. Do adults mistake their physical looks for intellectual
and moral maturity? What are some examples?

3. Josie’s mother abandoned her when she was 13. Linda abandoned
Hannah emotionally and physically most of her life.
Abandonment is a big issue in this book. Do you think a parent’s
abandonment leaves deeper scars if it happens in a child’s teen
years? Are there any valid reasons for a parent abandoning a child?



SILENT WITNESS

1. Archer knows his limitations when it comes to caring for his dead
wife’s retarded son. He was honest with her before she died.
Women say they want men to be honest. But how much
honesty is too much? Shouldn’t we admire the truly honest person?

2. Josie believes Archer should have told Lexi what she wanted to hear
before she died.
Is it ever right to make a promise to a dying person when there
is no intention of keeping that promise?



3. Lexi had major issues with her ex that she hid from everyone.
Is a woman ever justified in keeping a child from his/her father
When abuse is not an issue?

4. Josie wonders how she can love a man who seemed to treat his
dying wife so callously. She never questions what kind of woman
Lexi was.
Does society automatically rally around the woman
during a divorce? Why is society more apt to sympathize with a
woman, rather than with a man?



PRIVILEGED WITNESS

1. Josie is hurt that Matthew did not tell her about his sister.
Is a lover obligated to tell his/her significant other everything
about his/her past life? Is there some litmus test for honesty
between two adults in a relationship?


2. Matthew’s behavior as a teenager was reprehensible but he was
only a teenager.
Is there a ‘social statute of limitations’ on behavior? A time when
all should be forgiven? What kind of transgression should be forgiven
and forgotten if the act was long ago?

3. Josie had a responsibility to her client Susan yet she gave priority to Matthew and Grace.
Should Josie have given more of her time to Susan when her case was over
even since Josie knew Susan was in jeopardy? Do those feelings of
wanting to be important to your first love every go away?