The Crowning Circle Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. Skeet Cullum, the forensic psychologist in The Crowning Circle, has non-standard theories about death, which have appeared in fiction before. Near the end of ch.2 of Women in Love, D. H. Lawrence wrote:
   "No man" said Birkin "cuts another man's throat unless. . .the other man wants it cutting. . . It takes two people to make a murder: a murderer and a murderee. And a murderee is a man who. . .in a profound and hidden lust desires to be murdered."
   Discuss your opinion of this theory. How did it affect your reaction to Skeet in the novel? Skeet also believes the personality survives death. What is your opinion?
   
   
2. Jake was a steadfast character in the novel. Do you think his behavior was reasonable? Do you think Jake had an additional and unacknowledged motive for wanting to help Skeet solve the crimes? If so, what was it?
   
   
3. Discuss which male character you liked best and why. How did they conform with or deviate from societal models of male behavior?
   
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Xlibris. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.