The Deepest Secret (45 page)

Throughout the book, there is the recurring idea that we can’t ever truly know what another person is capable of. Do you think this is true? Why or why not?

Tyler slips through the night, observing people when they believe they are alone, and is surprised by what he finds. Do you think, in the moments where we are unobserved, we are all different people? That we are more ourselves? How much of our personalities are defined by how others see us?

What did you think of the author’s portrayal of parenthood and parent/child relationships? Did it resonate with you?

How much of a factor did Eve’s age/experience play into your sympathies for her or lack thereof? If it had been Melissa who had hit Amy, would you have viewed the situation differently? If so, in what ways?

Which characters won your sympathy and why? Did this change over the course of the novel? Did your notion of what was best or right shift in the course of your reading?

Mourning and loss are themes of the book. How does loss—or the anticipation of loss—affect certain character’s decisions?

What did you think of the conclusion of the novel? Did it turn out as you expected? Were you satisfied?

By Carla Buckley

The Deepest Secret
Invisible
The Things That Keep Us Here

About the Author

Carla Buckley
was born in Washington, D.C. She has worked as an assistant press secretary for a U.S. senator, an analyst with the Smithsonian Institution, and a technical writer for a defense contractor. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, an environmental scientist, and their three children. She is the author of
The Deepest Secret
,
Invisible
, and
The Things That Keep Us Here
, which was nominated for a Thriller Award as a best first novel and the Ohioana Book Award for fiction. She is currently at work on her next novel.