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Invite National Readers’ Choice Award Winner Kelley St. John to Your Book Club!
Is your book club reading TO CATCH A CHEAT? If so, I’d be pleased to be a part of your discussion. Email me about visiting with your club, either by phone, email or in person, depending upon the location of your group.
And if I can appear in person, I might bring a Cajun treat! (Okay, it isn’t a sexy Cajun, unless you count my sexy hubby who could make an appearance if the bribes, er, circumstances are right, but I could definitely swing a few pralines for friends!)
Freebies & Contest!
Let me know
if your club selects TO CATCH A CHEAT to read. I'll send a "goodie bag" for members (discussion questions, signed book plates, refrigerator magnets etc.) and schedule a time to visit your club via telephone.
You can also enter your club
in my periodic drawing for a $100 gift certificate to your local bookseller.
Discussion Questions
Book Club Discussion Questions for TO CATCH A CHEAT by Kelley St. John
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Marissa has developed a pattern for dating men who are “terminally unfaithful.” At the beginning of the book, what happens that makes her decide to break this pattern once and for all? What does she do about it?
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Marissa starts TheGuyCheats.com to protect other women from going through the same kind of heartache and betrayal that she’s experienced. Her website allows women to search potential dates and learn whether they have a cheating history, and the site also allows women to report cheaters. Is Marissa doing this to be vindictive, or is she really trying to help other women? Could she be doing both?
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Trent’s reputation is important to him, but he did lie to Marissa way back when. Did he deserve to be put in her cheater database?
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Trent’s family has been extremely successful, yet he’s discontent to piggyback off of his father’s and grandfather’s success. What does this say about his character? Can you think of any modern examples of people who didn’t want their success based on the achievements of their family members, or perhaps even their last name? And on the other side of the coin, can you think of any modern examples of people who felt their own careers were hindered by the achievements (or lack of achievements) of their family members?
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TO CATCH A CHEAT is set in the South (Atlanta). How do you feel the Southern setting affects the reaction the public has on the “World Wide Web War” between Trent and Marissa? Do you think radio personalities such as Coleman and Speedy would have seen the feuding pair as a potential ratings booster if they were located in another part of the country, say New York or Los Angeles? Why, or why not?
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How do you think Trent and Marissa’s web feud would have fared if it hadn’t been picked up by the media? Would they have settled things quietly? Would they have ever spoken at all? And what kind of factor do you believe the media has on relationships now? Once a relationship goes “public,” is it doomed? What celebrity relationships can you think of that have fared poorly due to the media’s interference? What relationships have stood the test of media exposure?
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I’ve never lived anywhere but the South, so I understand the way things are here—everybody’s business is everybody’s business. Family is TIGHT, as in “We’d better hear from you twice a week, and a Sunday visit is a necessity, not an option.” Or is that just my family? How would Marissa and Trent's story have altered if they were members of your family? Could you imagine being as understanding as Marissa if your mother implemented a 6:00 a.m. wakeup call ritual?
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Regarding Marissa’s desire to have “everything Amy has” (the sexy, loving husband and an adorable little boy), is there anything wrong with wanting to have what her friend has already found? Does Marissa let her own desire hinder her relationship with her friend? Would most people?
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This novel underscores a fundamental truth, i.e., children are imprinted by the behaviors of those who raise them. In Marissa’s case, Trent Jackson isn’t really the man who caused her pattern for choosing unfaithful men. That role belongs to her father. What does it take for her to rectify that relationship?
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Is it possible for Marissa to move forward in a relationship with Trent if she hasn’t faced the original problem with her father?
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Does Marissa blame her mother for her dad cheating? Do you believe that Marissa learned her pattern from her mother?
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How does Marissa feel when Mona announces she’s found love again? Why is it such an issue for Marissa?
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Obviously, at some point in everyone’s life, familial roles become blurred. Parents no longer take care of the child’s interests; on the contrary, the adult child takes care of the parent’s interests. Is Marissa comfortable in her new role of watching out for her mother’s easily-broken heart? Would you say Marissa is overprotective of her mother? Would you say Mona is overprotective of Marissa? Why would these two have a harder time letting go than a mother and daughter who haven’t shared their past with Marissa’s father?
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