Book Club Questions for Zero Days by Ruth Ware

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Book club questions for Zero Days by Ruth Ware examines all the twists and turns in this cat-and-mouse thriller. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.

I liked Zero Days! I thought it was entertaining and interesting. I truly wondered how Jack would get herself out of this disaster. An easy, light read for summer reading reason.

Let me know your thoughts about the book below!

The Synopsis

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.

Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery from an author whose “propulsive prose keeps readers on the hook and refuses to let anyone off until all has been revealed” (Shelf Awareness).

Book Club Questions for Zero Days

1. Did you know much about the world of penetration specialists prior to reading this novel? Why was this the right career field for Jack?
2. Ruth Ware’s previous novels were more locked-room mystery type stories. However, Zero Days is all action-filled. Did you like the genre shift? Why or why not?
3. Why does Jack go on the run instead of work with the police? What would you have done if you were Jack?
4. Cole is Gabe’s best friend. When did you suspect he might be involved—either directly or indirectly—with Gabe’s murder?
5. What did you think about the dynamic between Jack and Detective Malik?
6. What were your thoughts on all the adventure scenes and Jack getting away each time?
7. This novel takes a closer look at the hacking world and the dark web. In the end, that ends up being the antagonist as we never know who actually ordered Gabe’s murder. What were your thoughts about this? Did you want more closure about Gabe’s death?
8. Let’s talk about our thoughts when it was revealed that Jack was actually pregnant the entire time. Did you like the ending?
9. What happens next for Jack? Would you read a sequel?
10. If they turn this book into a film adaptation, who do you think would serve well in the leading roles?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Zero Days! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.

There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.

As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer (FSO) on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source.

Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning.

What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the beginning of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena.

As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of powerin the places where it counts the most.

To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state.

Check out my book club questions here.

After talking her way into a job with Dan Mansfield, the leading investigative reporter in Chicago, rising young journalist Jules Roth is given an unusual—and very secret—assignment. Dan needs her to locate a painting stolen by the Nazis more than 75 years earlier: legendary Expressionist artist Ernst Engel’s most famous work, Woman on Fire. World-renowned shoe designer Ellis Baum wants this portrait of a beautiful, mysterious woman for deeply personal reasons, and has enlisted Dan’s help to find it. But Jules doesn’t have much time; the famous designer is dying.

Meanwhile, in Europe, provocative and powerful Margaux de Laurent also searches for the painting. Heir to her art collector family’s millions, Margaux is a cunning gallerist who gets everything she wants. The only thing standing in her way is Jules. Yet the passionate and determined Jules has unexpected resources of her own, including Adam Baum, Ellis’s grandson. A recovering addict and brilliant artist in his own right, Adam was once in Margaux’s clutches. He knows how ruthless she is, and he’ll do anything to help Jules locate the painting before Margaux gets to it first.

A thrilling tale of secrets, love, and sacrifice that illuminates the destructive cruelty of war and greed and the triumphant power of beauty and love, Woman on Fire tells the story of a remarkable woman and an exquisite work of art that burns bright, moving through hands, hearts, and history.

Check out my book club questions here.

Happy reading!