The Girl Who Was Taken

One of the themes in The Girl Who Was Taken focuses on society’s obsession with turning abducted girls into pop-culture. Do you find this topic intriguing, disturbing, or taboo?

Dr. Livia Cutty is a fellow in forensic pathology and uses her emerging skills to uncover the truth about her sister’s abduction. Did you find Livia’s morgue scenes and ride alongs fascinating or stomach-turning?

The Girl Who Was Taken has its fair share of red herrings. Who did you most suspect as the culprit?

Megan suffers from “survivor’s guilt.” Livia suffers from “sibling guilt.” What worked or didn’t work when these two unlikely characters became partners, and then friends?

Did you like or loath Nicole? Did Nicole’s history of never getting over the abduction of her cousin make her actions any more palatable?

The Capture Club—an underground organization whose initiation requires new members to be abducted—plays a central role in story. How believable is the existence of such a club? (Spoiler: Do some Google searching. You might be surprised

From Nate to Randy, Mr. Steinman to Dr. Colt, Kent to Sanj, and even the Queen of Morning Television, Dante Campbell. Which secondary character did you like the most?

What are your feelings about how the book ended, and what do you think it means for Livia?

If you could change the ending, what would it look like?

If you knew Livia Cutty showed up in Donlea’s next book, would you be more or less likely to buy it?