Mystery · Book club
The Long Call book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The Long Call opens a new series from Ann Cleeves, best known for the Vera and Shetland books, set on the remote north Devon coast.
Ann Cleeves · 2019 · 6h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 12 questions
- 1.
Matthew attends his father's funeral knowing it will cause pain to everyone present, including himself. Was that the right thing to do? What was he looking for?
- 2.
The Brethren community is presented as both harmful and genuinely sustaining for some of its members. Does the novel succeed in holding that complexity?
- 3.
Matthew's sexuality and his expulsion from the community are connected but not identical — his being gay isn't framed as the main thing about him. How does Cleeves achieve that?
- 4.
The day center characters are treated with unusual care for a mystery novel. What does their presence in the investigation change about the texture of the book?
- 5.
Jonathan occupies an unusual position in the book — he is supportive and present but also has his own anxieties about their life in Devon. Did you find him convincing?
- 6.
Several characters in the book are keeping secrets that are not related to the murder but which the investigation exposes anyway. How does Matthew navigate the ethics of that?
- 7.
The Devon landscape — tidal, seasonal, isolated — is used almost architecturally. Where did you feel it most acutely affecting the story?
- 8.
Matthew's relationship to faith is unresolved at the end of the novel. Is that honest, or is it a loose thread?
- 9.
The title refers to a specific symbol from the book — once you know what it means, does it reframe anything about what you read?
- 10.
How does The Long Call compare to the Vera or Shetland series in terms of tone and setting? If you've read those, what does Matthew bring that Vera and Jimmy Perez don't?
- 11.
The murder victim is someone who didn't obviously deserve to die, but who wasn't entirely sympathetic either. How does the novel balance that?
- 12.
By the end, do you trust Matthew as a detective? What about as a person?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Long Call?
Here are 12 book club questions for The Long Call by Ann Cleeves, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on identity and belonging, faith and community, outsiderdom.
How long should a book club discussion of The Long Call last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Long Call?
Identity and belonging, Faith and community, Outsiderdom, Guilt and complicity, Family estrangement. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Long Call or questions for other book club picks.
