Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. This Wretched Valley is inspired by the Dyatlov Pass incident, an event in which nine experienced Soviet hikers mysteriously disappeared and died in the northern Ural Mountains in February 1959. If you are familiar with the Dyatlov Pass incident, how do you see its inspiration present in this novel?
2. Survival/wilderness horror is a popular subgenre of horror. Why do you think readers find this particular kind of story appealing?
3. Within the first few pages of the book, we quickly learn that at least three of the four main characters die in inexplicable ways. How did that knowledge affect the way you read the rest of the book?
4. What were your first impressions of each of the four main characters? Did they surprise you in any way?
5. Interspersed with the points of view of Clay, Dylan, Sylvia, and Luke are flashbacks to how the ghosts in the valley were killed. How did those scenes impact the story? How did they impact you as the reader?
6. Dylan and Clay in particular are adamant about finishing their goals even as their trip takes a harrowing turn. If you were in their shoes, would you have wanted to stay and finish what you started, or would you have trusted your gut that something was wrong?
7. From bleeding rocks to ghostly apparitions, how do you think the supernatural elements of this book captured the real-life horror of the wilderness?
8. Dylan, Luke, Clay, and Sylvia all have different reasons for going on the trip and all meet their fate in different ways. Was there any one character that you felt more sympathy for compared to the others?
9. Luke's dog, Slade, plays a big role in the beginning of the story, even after he vanishes. How did Slade's inclusion in the novel affect your reading experience? Did you believe he would survive?
10. Our four main characters die in gruesome ways. Was there one in particular that struck you as most disturbing or unpleasant to read?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Quirk Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.