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Photograph
From New York Times bestselling author Brian Freeman, Photograph is an emotional cold case mystery of hidden identities and startling twists--perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mary Kubica, and Freida McFadden.
Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange request: Find out who I really am.
Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel.
The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows--and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.
This discussion guide was provided by the publisher, Blackstone Publishing.
Book club questions for Photograph by Brian Freeman
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Brian Freeman says he likes to write “mysteries with an emotional core.” Talk about how this plays out in the plot and characters of Photograph.
How does Shannon’s “voice” as the narrator of the story reveal more about her character? What was your reaction to Shannon? Do you want to see more of her in future books?
Ultimately, the loss, violence, and tragedy of the story help Shannon find her way to her sister and repair her relationship with her father. As her mother used to say, “The good and the bad of our lives lead us where we’re supposed to go.” Do you believe that?
There’s a rational explanation for everything that happens in the book, but Shannon can’t help wondering if Maro was right about past lives. How did you react to the “mystical” elements of the book? Do you believe in past lives?
Discuss the complex, up-and-down relationship Shannon has with her father. What did you think about Martin Wells? Talk about the good and bad choices he made as a husband and a father.
How did you react to the story’s big twist, when Shannon discovers the truth behind the little girl in the photograph?
Faith Selby (Lara Lovell) appears in the novel only in a single flashback, but she casts a shadow over the entire story. Did she make the right choice in trying to help Dawn West? Was she wrong to keep her secret from her daughter Kate?
Brian says that mysteries often turn on tiny events unrelated to the crime. Lara forgets a roll of film in her raincoat. An Impala runs out of oil. A teenager leaves a CD behind in a stereo. Discuss the many ways in which “fate” can alter the course of a mystery.
Have you read any of Brian’s other novels? How would you compare Photograph to his other stand-alone works, such as The Deep, Deep Snow, or to his Jonathan Stride and Jason Bourne series?
Photograph Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Photograph discussion questions