Whistler (Grisham) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're  available; in the meantime, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Whistler...then take off on your own:

1. Talk about Lacy Stoltz. Grisham has been accused of ignoring strong females for his lead characters. Does Stoltz satisfy that lack? What do you think of her?

2. Do you find anything enviable about Lacy's life in the following passage? If so what? If you're a woman, do you ever envision a life like Stoltz's?

The truth was that, at the age of 36, Lacy was content to live alone, to sleep in the center of the bed, to clean up only after herself, to make and spend her own money, to come and go as she pleased, to pursue her career without worrying about his, to plan her evenings with input from no one else, to cook or not to cook, and to have sole possession of the remote control.m. Describe Judge Claudia McDover.

3. Grisham's writing contains some sharp observations about lawyers. Pick out a few passages, like the lawyer he describes here as a "ham-and-egg street hustler." Are Grisham's observations about the legal profession in general fair? What things does he reveal about the law that perhaps we'd rather not know?

4. Talk about the Coast Mafia and the crimes they commit. What about Vonn Dubose?

5. Had you figured out the whistle blower's motive before the reveal?

6. How does Grisham ratchet up the suspense in The Whistler? What about that mysterious late night meeting near the Tappacola reservation? Realistically, why would Lacy and Hugo have gone?

7. Can you describe the elaborate crime scheme? Did you understand it...or is it too complicated to grasp?

8. Read other Grisham novels? If so, how does this one compare?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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