Blood in the Low Country
Step back in time a bit. The year is 1973, and by all appearances, Monty Atkins has a wonderful life. Along with his wife, Rose, the girl of his dreams he met in college, they are raising two boys, Eli and Walker. Humble but competitive, Monty is slowly but steadily building a profitable and well-respected law practice in beautiful Charleston, SC. His hard work, steeped in a deeply engrained Protestant work ethic, is paying dividends in the form of a second home on Kiawah Island and membership in the exclusive Wappoo Country Club.Rose, an aspiring socialite, chairs committees and works tirelessly for her church and the school their boys attend. So, yes, Monty Atkins has a wonderful life, until he doesn’t.
In a flash, everything changes when a brutal murder and a shocking betrayal turn their world upside down. Brewing beneath the surface lurks a conspiracy of lies about who they are and what they believe. The wellspring of deception and ensuing dysfunction that threaten to destroy all they have built is Rose’s past, a past she can’t outrun. In the hunt for the killer, Monty draws the ire of one of Charleston’s most prominent businessmen, who sets out to destroy him. Monty now faces a multi-front battle, one to save his family, one to save his business and one to save his life.
Step back in time and immerse yourself in a taut, tension-filled thriller where the genteel veneer of life in the South lived by those for whom Sunday Brunch at the Club is as holy as that morning’s church service is stripped away.
Book club questions for Blood in the Low Country by Paul Attaway
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Did any of the four main characters (Monty, Rose, Walker, and Eli) change over the course of the book? If so, what changes did you notice? And were there any events or scenes that you felt led to a change for a particular character? What were they?
How would you describe each character's relationship with God? To their family? To non-family members?
How do descriptions of weather and nature function in the story?
How did you feel about the book's setting? Did it work for you?
How does the plot of the story drive the author's exploration of its themes? Did you find this effective? Why or why not?
What do you think of the book title? The book cover? Do they capture the story? If ‘yes’, how so? If ‘no’, why not?
Blood in the Low Country Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Blood in the Low Country discussion questions