End of Book Discussion 1 - SPOILER ALERT

[Jayde]

How does the author foreshadow the events of Saturday night and who is eventually proven responsible for what happens? Did you see the twists coming, or were you surprised by the novel’s outcome?

[Missy]

I had my suspicions. I knew Flo probably had something to do with it, and that Clare had probably convinced her to, but I thought she played more of a role than she actually did. I thought she was going to turn out to be the main aggressor with Clare whispering in her ear, planting the seeds, making Flo feel like the ideas were hers.

[Kristin]

My inital suspicion was of Flo, she wanted Clare for herself. The author portrayed her as obsessive and I could see her thinking that she'd lose her friendship with Clare if she ended up getting married. (Side note: what was Flo's actual issue that they kept dancing around?) I never suspected the other guests or Nora. At some point I put Clare on my suspect list. The break up text from James was suspicious, especially aftet Nora couldn't find her phone. I think as soon as the 'intruder' came up the stairs, I knew it would be James. I felt more sure when she was supposed to be calling an ambulance and was MIA for too long. My suspision was that she would try and pin it in Flo, the unstable, obsessive bff. But, why? I didn't guess it was because Clare actually admitted to the break up text. I thought maybe James had not let Nora go and Clare felt threatened.

Also, who else was annoyed they didnt check the house after the first scare with the open door?

[Brenna]

I figured it out pretty quick based on the manipulation Nora described from when they were kids. I knew that no matter who did what, it was Clare to blame. I guessed most of it well before it was revealed. although I also thought Flo' s role would in it all would be bigger.

[Joi]

I'm trying to remember what exactly I thought bc I feel like I devoured the book so quickly I didn't stop and reflect as much as I should have. I always knew it had to be somewhere between Nora, Flo, James, and Clare but I wasn't exactly sure how. The wrap up and ending was very satisfying, but it was very reminiscent of Gone Girl in ways that made it easier for me to predict what was coming next after Nora's memory came back. The sympathetic detective, the life-long manipulative habits of Clare, Nora's inability to be vulnerable in order to exonerate herself.

Foreshadowing-wise, there are so many clues from the beginning that Clare isn't someone to trust. We know she surrounds herself with people that make her look good. We know she's a secret hoarder. We know in the back of her mind, Nora never really trusted Clare to keep her secrets (which is why she left her school in the first place...she couldn't live with wondering if other people "knew). Our first introduction to Clare is her springing her big engagement surprise to Nora in a pretty screwed up way. So many red flags.

[Joi]

YES! Why didn't you check the entire house? Why wouldn't you check the latch!?!?

[Cassandra]

I spent a good portion of the book wondering if it was actually Nora. It might be because I read "The Yellow Wallpaper" not too long ago where the narrator goes mad during the telling of the story, but I felt distrustful of Nora's narration. She found menace in almost everyone as the story went on, which seems really odd at a bachelorette party. I am sure the author intended us to suspect the others, but until Clare showed up at the house after, I was not totally convinced Nora wasn't going insane. if it wasn't her, I definitely thought it was Flo in some way, like Clare made out Nora to be the bad guy in their history and she needed to fix the problem for Clare.

And why why why did they not check the house after the door was swinging open? So stupid.

[Jessica]

I honestly thought it was both Flo and Clare. The dynamic of their friendship just seemed off. It seemed like Clare kept her as a friend because she was weak and easily manipulated. So I really did think it was Flo with Clare whispering in the background. Tom and Nina being implicated was weird for me because they really had no reason. Nina didn't even want to be at the hen weekend and Tom did seem out of place because of the whole guy on a hen weekend, but he didn't have enough passion for a motive. I felt he was there for some comedic relief at the more stressful times.

And I mean she foreshadows it in the first chapter - that Nora is saying "James James James" - why else would she be saying a mantra like that? And I did have problems that they just went back to bed like normal after the door had been found open. I don't think I could have fallen asleep easily after an encounter like that - it's a strange house, secluded in the woods and it's already been set on fire once....I definitely would not have slept following that first scare.

[Alicia]

I thought for the first Half of the book I was sure that it was Flo. Crazy Flo saying things like I'll killyou if you ruin this etc. But one thing that she said really solidified it, when she mentioned this being the last thing that she could do for Clare. It seemed ominous, suspicious. And then about half way through I suspected Clare (And briefly, everyone else)

I'm definitely not surprised that it was Clare. Given her past and her tendencies. I'm annoyed that I didn't realise sooner, but I'm sure that's how the author intended it.

[Lyndsey]

I just finished last night.....

I, along with every one had suspected flo and never really trusted Clare. People can change. But you can’t change everything; some of what was, will still be there. I completely agree with Joi’s comment about how this book really pulls on your heart strings and makes you reminisce in the way people of your past can affect you and how being around them can alter your personality to how you had acted around them then.

For a while I thought maybe it was Nora... Cassi said that she thought Nora had actually gone mad and was guilty. I had too for a for a while. I think the author uses a lot of psychology in the book and that had been what drug me in. Her memory was soo spotty. She was extremely insecure in herself. She stated ‘who do you trust when you can’t even trust yourself’. That made her sound guilty.

But over all I loved this book! Good choice!

The manipulation. The obsession. The insecurities. ALOT of emotion.

[Karen]

I always had a feeling it was Flo and Clare, but thought Flo was more behind it. She just seemed obsessed with Clare, in an unhealthy way. I had a feeling the intruder was James, especially since the book started out with his name. That was a big clue to me. The author did a great job of giving us clues along the way that Clare was involved. A big one for me was that she kept calling her Lee, not Nora. Like she was still trying to keep control over her life.

Nora did annoy me quite a bit. She was weak and worried too much about what people thought of her.

[Brooke]

While reading the book, I tried my hardest not to try and guess at the ending so I didn’t have a lot of foresight. I couldn’t help but suspect Flo though. She was clearly obsessed in all of the wrong ways and had a short temper. I also suspected Nora. Especially when she was in the hospital and couldn’t remember the events of the evening. Why would she bother going to an event of someone she disconnected with 10 years prior?

I did think Clare was a bitch, but I didn’t suspect her as much as the others. I just thought that Clare would just end up pissing off everyone else to the point where they wanted to kill her.

[Gretta]

I thought Flo was more involved then she turned out to be. I thought Clare put her up to it and that it was going to be a plot to kill Nora.

[Andrea]

Ok so I definitely initially thought it was Flo, but now thinking about it that's what the author WANTED you to think...her erratic behavior, her obsession...I should have known better! Later in the book I began to suspect that Clare had something to do with it, but like some others was assuming she was putting Flo up to it.

[Leslie]

Right from the start I knew James was going to be involved in whatever happened because she kept saying his name. She was running to save him so I figured he had to be in the woods. So when there was an "intruder" I knew it was him. Early on I thought Clare had brought Nora there to kill her because she was jealous of James's feeling for her. But as the book went on I started to suspect Flo but knew Clare was still involved. If Nora listened to her own stories of her she could have figured it out herself.

I have to say that I was extremely irritated by Nora for most of the book. She behaved so weak. Why would you allow people to continue to treat you the way they did and not just leave. Why was she always so worried about everyone else and never took her own safety into account. I wonder what happened to her that made her self esteem so low that she just let them treat her that way and kept justifying things. People who let others walk all over them make me angry, stick up for yourself dang it!

[Michele]

I suspected Flo as being behind it all from the beginning since she was all up Clare's back side. Everything had to be perfect, and she was always harping and getting upset when things didn't go as planned. I think she was just a pawn for Clare all along, since all Flo wanted to do was please Clare and did what she was told.

[Tiffany]

I also was leaning towards Flo as many of you were. She seemed like the type to do anything to please Clare,she was obsessed with her it was rather disturbing. I suspected Nora at one point, she let people walk all over her and maybe she snapped. The outcome didn't really surprise me, Clare seemed like a jealous type due to her treatment of others.