Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Midnight Taxi by Yosha Gunasekera

1. The Midnight Taxi combines a humorous tone with serious issues in the criminal legal system, differentiating it from other crime novels. What was your take on this approach?
2. It's estimated that less than 20 percent of taxi drivers are women. Did it surprise you to see Siri driving a taxi? Why or why not?
3. Siri often feels like she's neither completely Sri Lankan nor completely American and struggles with her identity and sense of self. How does this change as the novel progresses?
4. Siri is lucky to have Amaya's phone number at a dire moment. Who would be the first person you'd call if you found a body and you knew you'd be the number one suspect?
5. Siri is obsessed with true crime, and it shapes her view of the criminal legal system. Only when she finds herself accused of murder does she realize she got a lot of it wrong. Do you feel like the true crime content you consume shapes how you look at the criminal legal system? Has this novel made you reevaluate how you view people accused of a crime?
6. Even though they don't have much in common on the outside, Alex and Siri are best friends. Do you have any friends or connections that seem unlikely?
7. Was there anything that surprised you about how the arraignment process works?
8. Community is a huge theme in this novel. Where do you see pockets of communities where you live, and in what way shave they helped you?
9. Siri and Amaya don't even get the victim's name until they do a bunch of sleuthing themselves. Is it surprising to learn that often times the defense is at a disadvantage in getting information regarding a case? How do you think that affects the way a case progresses?
10. How does Siri's relationship with her parents change from the beginning of the novel to the end?

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