Book club questions for Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston take a deeper look at this suspenseful story about power and lies. There will be spoilers, so for more context about the book, check out my spoiler-free review first.
I liked this one quite a bit! The writing drew me in immediately, and I was so intrigued by where the story would go next. The characters are pretty flawed, except for Aubrey, but I would say the motivations are clear.
Let me know your thoughts about the story in the comment section below!
The Story
Camille Bayliss appears to have it all. She’s married to a successful lawyer named Ben, and she comes from a wealthy and very connected Louisiana family. But no one knows how much she is struggling inside. She believes Ben is hiding something dangerous, and she wants to leave him. However, she is trapped unless she can find the smoking gun.
Aubrey Price is as different from Camille as one can be. Her parents died in a car accident when she was in high school, and it changed the course of her life forever. Now she lives in a house full of criminals, but she is haunted by that night and seeks to finally find out the truth. She believes Nick is the one who knows what really happened.
After Camille and Aubrey meet, they agree to a plan to switch places for one night. Aubrey will act like Camille, and Camille will spy on Ben.
However, the next morning, Ben is found dead. And now the two need an alibi.
Book Club Questions for Anatomy of an Alibi
- What does the title Anatomy of an Alibi mean in relation to the story as a whole?
- Why was Camille unhappy in her marriage with Ben? Let’s discuss why she couldn’t just leave him and file for divorce.
- Aubrey’s parents died in a car accident when she was in high school. Eventually, as an adult, Aubrey moves into a house full of criminals. Why did she move there, and how did her roommates help her find solace?
- Camille becomes convinced that Ben is having an affair with Aubrey, and she confronts Aubrey at the bar where she works. But eventually, Camille finds out that Ben and Aubrey don’t actually know each other. Why did Camille and Aubrey agree to work together to find out the truth about Ben?
- Did you believe that Ben was responsible for Aubrey’s parents’ death, or did you think it was someone else?
- Ben was very secretive and turned out to be extremely corrupt. We learn a bit about his backstory. Do you think he ever truly cared for Camille, or was it all about gaining power and access to her father?
- Who did you suspect murdered Ben? Did that change as the story went on?
- What was your impression of Hank?
- There is a lot going on in this story, and each character has a different motivation. Did everything flow and make sense for you, or were you confused by some of the story choices?
- Camille’s brother Silas believed that he had killed Aubrey’s parents in the car accident and that his father and Ben helped to cover it up. What did carrying that guilt do to Silas as a person?
- Were you surprised when it was revealed that it was actually Margaret, Silas’ girlfriend, who hit their car?
- There is plenty of corruption at play. With Camille’s father, but also local law enforcement. Detective Sullivan, who was working Ben’s case, turns out to be Ben’s killer as Ben found out that Sullivan was corrupt and worked to cover up crimes. What was your reaction to this news? Was it shocking, or did you see it coming?
- Silas is infuriated that Margaret pinned the deaths of Aubrey’s parents on him and that she assaulted Camille. At the end of the novel, he tells Aubrey and her boyfriend that Margaret was in a fatal car accident. And now they are his alibi. What happens next for all the characters?
Additional Recommendations
Hope you enjoyed the book club questions of Anatomy of an Alibi! Here are some more recommendations, along with links to book club questions.
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Another engaging suspense story is The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark.
A family is shattered when two teenage siblings are found dead in their home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent Taylor, could never shake the accusations that he was involved.
Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent. Now on the brink of financial ruin, she’s offered a job to ghostwrite her father’s last book. What she doesn’t know, though, is that this project is another one of his lies. Because it’s not another horror novel he wants her to write.
Now 50 years later, Olivia might be the one to find out the truth about what happened that night, as her dad is finally ready to talk.
In my Q&A with Julie, I asked her what readers can expect from the novel. And she said, “The Ghostwriter is character-driven. My characters don’t only solve an external problem, but they also work internally to complete a significant emotional arc. You can also expect multiple narrators, two strong female lead characters, and dual timelines — the present as well as 1975.”
For more about the story, check out my spoiler-free review here.
Check out my discussion questions here.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera is another well-done thriller/mystery.
Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood. She has no memory of the night, and while residents of her small Texas town believe she murdered her friend, she’s never formally charged. Lucy escapes to LA and tries to remain anonymous, but is always haunted by that night.
Years later, a true crime podcast takes a closer look at the case, and in doing so, Lucy is thrust back into the spotlight. She is forced to return to the place she never wanted to, in an effort to finally find out what happened that night. And if she is, in fact, the murderer.
You all should definitely pick this one up. Thriller lovers will enjoy the mystery, and non-thriller lovers will like the refreshing prose. For more about the story, check out my spoiler-free review here.
Check out my book club questions here.
Happy reading!
