Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories book club questions

1. 1.

   The title story's twist depends on readers making exactly the same assumptions its narrator does. Did you catch it on first reading, and what does your answer say about how you read mysteries?

2. 2.

   Christie repeatedly uses her characters' underestimation of women as a plot mechanism. Is that a critique of the attitude or an exploitation of it — or both?

3. 3.

   Which story in the collection felt most modern to you? Which felt most dated, and in what specific ways?

4. 4.

   Christie's detectives are famously attentive to human behavior over physical evidence. What does that approach imply about her view of criminal psychology?

5. 5.

   The stories were written between the wars and into the 1940s. How much does knowing that context change how you read the class dynamics and gender dynamics on the page?

6. 6.

   'Philomel Cottage' could be read as a thriller or as a story about domestic danger. Which reading did you find more compelling?

7. 7.

   Christie's short fiction is almost entirely free of moral ambiguity — the guilty are identified and punished. Is that satisfying, or does it feel like a limitation?

8. 8.

   The title story has been adapted for stage, film (Wilder, 1957), and television multiple times. Why do you think this particular story keeps drawing adapters back?

9. 9.

   Compared to contemporary crime writers — Tana French, Kate Atkinson — what is Christie still doing that they can't or don't?

10. 10.

    What does the collection suggest Christie thought justice was for? Is she a moralist, or just a puzzle-maker?

11. 11.

    Several stories feature characters who almost get away with it. Does Christie have sympathy for them, or is she strict about moral accounting?

12. 12.

    If you had to assign one story from the collection as required reading for a course on misdirection in fiction, which would you pick and why?

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.