The Lavender Hour (35 page)

9. When Jessie is first questioned by the police, she is still overwhelmed with grief for Luke. How does this harm her case? How, if at all, does the trial help her deal with Luke's death?

10. Luke's daughter, Paige, becomes the linchpin in Jessie's trial. How would you describe Paige's relationship with her father? How, if at all, are she and Jessie alike? Why do you think she is so interested in pursuing the investigation?

11. Why does Jessie choose to stay on the Cape, after it has caused her so much pain? What does it hold for her that Virginia does not?

12. Faye tells Jessie, “The dying can teach us how to die…. Maybe that serves as a model for how to live” (p. 18). How is that true for Jessie and Luke's relationship? What does Luke teach Jessie?

13. Was Jessie guilty of a crime?

14. Have you ever been close to someone throughout the dying process? How did your experience differ from Jessie's?

Anne LeClaire
is the author of eight novels, including the critically acclaimed Leaving Eden and Entering Normal. Her books have been published in twenty countries and translated into eighteen languages. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband, a black cat, and fifteen chickens.

Visit the author's website at
www.anneleclaire.com
.

A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original

Copyright © 2007 by Anne LeClaire

Reading group guide copyright © 2007 by Random House, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House

Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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