Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Dying for Chocolate:
1. What makes Goldy suspect that Phillip Miller's death was not an accident? Who are her initial possible suspects? Were you surprised to learn about Weezie?
2. How well do you think Goldy copes with the various roles she's called upon to play—motherhood, caterer, and detective? How would you describe her as a character?
3. Describe Goldy's relationship with her son Arch. Is she overbearing or careless...or what? How well does she do as a mom? How about Arch—what do you make of him? Why does he run away?
4. Then there's "The Jerk." Want to talk about him...or move on? Up to you.
5. Julian is the young person in the story. Did you come to suspect him in Phillip's death...or not?
6. General Bo and his wife Adele Farquhar are quirky characters. Do you like them...and what roles do they play with regards to the two strands of this mystery, particularly regarding the mysterious birth certificate? Was it fun for you to get a bird's-eye-view of a privileged segment of society?
7. Now that you've finished the book, go back and identify the the clues that Davidson embeds in her story. Did you figure them out as you were reading and thus solve the mystery? Or were the clues cleverly hidden, leading to a surprise (rather than predictable) ending? In other words...does this Davidson deliver a good mystery?
8. What do the recipes add to this book? Have you tried them out; in fact, are you serving them at your book club meeting?
9. Some readers say that Goldy annoys them—she's whiny and complaining—until she puts on her caterer's hat and cooks. Then she is transformed into someone more likable. Care to comment on that?
10. If you've read other Goldy Bear mysteries, how does this one compare? If this is your first, are you inspired to read more of the series? Does this detective remind you of other female crime sleuths, like Stephanie Plum...or Precious Ramotswe...or China Bale? If so, how does Goldy stack up with her co-horts in other series?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)