1. As Sue searches for the truth behind Charlotte’s accident, she realizes she had no idea what was going on in Charlotte’s life. Was that her fault, or Charlotte’s, or is it normal in a mother/teenage daughter relationship?
2. The novel alternates between the main story line and Sue’s diary entries from fifteen years earlier. How effectively do you think this works as a literary device in this novel?
3. Brian lies to Sue several times throughout the course of the novel. Was he justified in doing so, or should he have been completely honest with his wife?
4. There are several clues in Sue’s early diary entries that James is controlling. At what point did you notice the warning signs? What do you think Sue could have done?
5. Discuss the theme of “secrets and lies” in the book and the impact they have on Sue’s attempt to find out why Charlotte stepped in front of the bus.
6. Sue is forty-three. How does she change over the course of the book?
7. Sue won’t go to the police because she doesn’t think they’ll take her seriously (because of an incident that occurred during one of her PTSD “episodes”). At which point would you have gone to the police?
8. Sue sees a mirror of her relationship with James in Keisha’s relationship with Danny. Do you think she is justified in being concerned? How so?
9. Could young Sue’s friends and coworkers have done more to help save her from James?
10. What do you think would have happened if Charlotte had woken up before Liam admitted to Sue that they’d been sleeping together in “Mike’s” house?
11. Sue doesn’t turn to her friends for help during her search for answers. Why do you think that is?
12. At the end of the novel, when James and Sue face each other in Charlotte’s hospital room, Sue asks if he ever really loved her. Do you think he did?
13. What did you think of the ending? Would you have liked it to end differently?
14. What do you think the future holds for Sue and her family? What effect do you think these events will have on their relationships?
15. What other books would you compare this to? What books would you recommend to other readers who have enjoyed this book?