A Death of No Importance Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Evelyn Nesbit and the "Trial of the Century" and our BookBrowse Review of A Death of No Importance.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Jane begins her story by stating, "I will tell it. I will tell it badly, forgetting things that are important and remembering things that never happened." How do these first two sentences set up Jane's reliability as a narrator? Does Jane acknowledging her potentially faulty memory affect your trust in her positively or negatively?
2. How does Jane's status as a servant impact her investigation?
3. Who did you initially suspect was the murderer? Looking back, which clues pointed toward the killer, and which were red herrings?

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