Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen

Book Club Discussion Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. To get involved with the case of Little Lucy, Liz suggests pretending to accidentally bump into Marisa in Dorset, and have Marisa invite her to tag along with her and DI Jones (p.19). What did you think of this plan?
2. Marisa is amazed no one saw Lucy go missing. ("There is always someone peeping through the curtains in London," p. 32). Do you think this has changed much in large cities since the 1960s? Do you think people are more or less likely to notice something amiss?
3. Were you aware of the WWII practice of taking over villages and using them for target practice? If not, did this surprise you?
4. On page 44, Marisa, Liz and Army Corporal Dave have a conversation about the hippie movement ("From what I've seen, the talk of love and peace is an excuse to experiment with drugs.") None of the characters seem to support the hippie movement. Do you think this accurately reflects the views of the time period? What did you think of the book's portrayal of the 1960s counter-culture overall?
5. To get a better view of the village, Liz climbs past a barbed wire fence. Did this surprise you? If you'd been in her position, would you have dared do likewise?
6. What did you think about Liz's attitude toward her employment at the newspaper? What would you have done, job-wise, if you'd been in her shoes?
7. Liz isn't sure if she's having real flashes of memory or channeling one of the missing children. Mr. Bennington observes that his late wife would try to contact their dead son (p. 104). Do you believe it's possible to contact the spirits of those we've loved, or to channel ghosts in some way?
8. When any of the former residents of Tydeham discuss their relocation, they don't seem bitter, more often saying something to the effect that it was wartime and they were lucky (e.g., Mr. Houghton on p. 157: "[T]he war made things hard for a lot of people. At least we always had a roof over our heads.") Why do you think this is? How do you think most would react to similar deprivations today?
9. Liz's father asks her to move home several times throughout the novel, both before and after her mother's death. Why do you feel this was? Did you think there was any motivation beyond simply missing his daughter?
10. What did you think of Liz's idea to create an "Obituary of a Murdered Village" (p.170)?
11. Early on, Liz finds out that the man who's been romancing her is married. She confronts him later in the book ("I suppose we've both been remarkably reticent with the truth, haven't we, Bob" p. 172). What did you think of this conversation? How would you have handled it?
12. James and Liz discuss how coincidental it was that they met ("A different day and we'd have missed each other," p. 322). Do you believe in fate or coincidence? Can you point to a time in your own life where things could easily have turned out differently, based on something small that occurred to sway your actions?
13. What did you think about the resolution to Jenny's storyline ("[N]o good can come of recriminations at this point" p. 340). Do you think all parties acted with good intentions?
14. Did you believe Liz's father's version of the events that took place during the war? Do you think he responded correctly once he found out Liz knew the truth about her origins? What would you have done in his shoes? What would you have done in Liz's?
15. Two of the girls in the story were raised by someone other than their real mothers ("They had both been given the very best upbringing, adored in every way, and yet it was not the upbringing they should have had. Would they have been happier with their real mothers?" p. 358). Do you think they would have been happier?
16. If you were to write a sequel to The Rose Arbor, what elements would it include?
17. Were there any quotes that stood out to you, or anything you highlighted? Why did those passages connect for you?
18. If you were making a movie of The Rose Arbor, who would you cast in the various roles?
19. Overall, what did you think of The Rose Arbor?
20. For what audience would you recommend The Rose Arbor? Are there other novels you'd recommend that are similar to this one, either in content or writing style?

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