Book Club Questions for The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz

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The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz is a thrilling mystery full of depth and suspense. The following book club questions will have spoilers so if you haven’t read the novel yet, check out my spoiler-free review first.

In 2009, Edie had New York’s social world in her thrall. Mercurial and beguiling, she was the shining star of a group of recent graduates living in a Brooklyn loft and treating New York like their playground. When Edie’s body was found near a suicide note at the end of a long, drunken night, no one could believe it. Grief, shock, and resentment scattered the group and brought the era to an abrupt end.

A decade later, Lindsay has come a long way from the drug-addled world of Calhoun Lofts. She has devoted best friends, a cozy apartment, and a thriving career as a magazine’s head fact-checker. But when a chance reunion leads Lindsay to discover an unsettling video from that hazy night, she starts to wonder if Edie was actually murdered—and, worse, if she herself was involved. As she rifles through those months in 2009—combing through case files, old technology, and her fractured memories—Lindsay is forced to confront the demons of her own violent history to bring the truth to light.

Let’s get into the book club questions

The Lost Night begins with a prologue from Edie’s point of view. How did it set the stage for what’s to come? Is the best friend she is referencing talking about Jenna?
What was your first impressions of Lindsay?
When Lindsay and Sarah meet up again, they bring up Edie and how Sarah never believed it was a suicide. How did this set in motion of Lindsay’s intent to find out the truth of that night? Do you think she had secretly believed she was involved and tried to repress the memory? What does that say about Lindsay that she thought she was involved in the murder?
Lindsay recruits her friends Tessa and Damien to help her. Tessa, especially, does everything she asks and more. Did you have any suspicions about Tessa or did you think she was just being a good friend?
Let’s talk about Lindsay’s investigation. She goes back to Facebook images, to her old camcorder, emails and connecting with former friends. When did she really start to piece together the clues of that night?
While the story is about the mystery, it also gives a look at life in your early ’20s. Did this group of friends remind you at all of your own group in that time period? What stands out to you most from life in your early ’20s?
Lindsay is fairly forthcoming that she never really fit in with Edie and her friends. How did this insecurity play into her actions after Edie passed? Do you think Lindsay will ever feel like she fits in?
We know that Lindsay has a violent past. But we don’t see it until she gets high and drunk and pushes Josh into traffic. We then find out she had pushed and hurt her mom as a child, too. Lindsay seems to put partial blame on her violent nature due to being on all kinds of prescription drugs as a child. What do you make of her violent behavior? Do you think she can overcome it?
Lindsay connects with Alex, Tessa’s ex and member of their friend group. Why do you think Alex kissed Lindsay?
So let’s discuss the final reveal that Tessa is in fact Jenna, Edie’s friend. And she’s the one who killed Edie. Did you see any of this coming? Or was it a complete surprised? What did you think overall of this reveal?
Why did Tessa become friends with Lindsay? If Lindsay hadn’t remembered her reveal, do you think they would have remain friends or would have Tessa eventually killed her too?
What happens next for Lindsay?
So Mila Kunis acquired the rights to turn this novel into a TV series! Who would you like to see cast in the series for all the main parts?

More thrillers!

If you like thrillers, this is your era! There’s been many solid ones released this year. Here’s some more recommendations.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is an engrossing read with plenty of shocking reveals. Alicia Berenson is married to a successful fashion photographer. Everything seems perfect until one evening, when Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations―a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.

You can order the book on Amazon here. Check out my discussion questions here.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley is murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. A group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students 10 years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands. The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.