Book Club Questions for Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

Book club questions for Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston take a closer look at this intense thriller that will have you at the edge of your seats the entire time reading.

From the very first chapter, we were immediately pulled into this one! There’s something deliciously unsettling about not knowing who to trust, and Ashley Elston absolutely nails that psychological thriller tug-of-war where you’re never quite sure who’s good, who’s bad, or what everyone’s endgame really is.

The story explores multiple points of views and different timelines, which makes it that much more compelling.

What were your thoughts on this novel? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Book Club Questions

1. What was your immediate reaction to the premise — two women swapping places for twelve hours — and how willing were you to accept that plan as believable? Would you have gone along with it if you were Camille or Aubrey?
2. Who did you trust more at the start: Camille, the glamorous wife, or Aubrey, the woman from the past? Did your allegiance shift as the story unfolded, and why?
3. The novel unfolds through multiple perspectives and timelines. How did that structure affect your reading experience — did it build suspense or make the story harder to follow? Did any timeline or POV feel unnecessary?
4. Ben’s character motivates much of the plot even when he’s not on the page. How would you describe him after finishing the book? Is he a villain, a victim of circumstance, or something more complicated?
5. The idea of an “airtight alibi” sits at the center of the story. How convincing is the book’s depiction of alibis and deception? Did you ever feel the plot strained plausibility to protect the twist?
6. Revenge, justice, and protection of family are recurring themes. Which characters do you think were motivated by a sense of justice, and which were driven by selfishness, fear, or loyalty?
7. Small-town dynamics and family power play a big role here. How did the setting (social, geographic, cultural) shape characters’ choices? Could this story have taken place anywhere else?
8. There are several morally ambiguous choices in the book. Which single decision did you find the hardest to forgive, and which moment made you feel most sympathetic toward a character you perhaps disliked?
9. Elston layers secrets and lies. Which secret reveal surprised you the most, and which one did you see coming? How well did the author plant clues?
10. Camille and Aubrey form a very strategic — and fragile — alliance. What does the book suggest about trust between women when both are protecting themselves? Did you root for their partnership?
11. How did the book handle the role of the legal system and lawyers (Ben’s profession) in the plot? Did it make you question how the law can be used or abused in real life?
12. Several reviewers mentioned confusing timeline jumps. For this group: did the dates and jumps enhance the puzzle for you, or did they break your immersion? If you could change one thing about the narrative order, what would it be?
13. Which supporting character surprised you most (Hank, family members, town figures)? Did anyone feel underwritten or overexposed?
14. How did the pacing feel across the book — were there moments that dragged, or sections that were breathless and unputdownable? Where would you have tightened or expanded the story?
15. The ending is a major talking point. Without spoiling for members who haven’t finished, did you find the resolution satisfying and earned? If not, what would you have changed?
16. If you were the detective investigating Ben’s murder, which three questions would you prioritize first, and who would you interview?
17. Themes of memory, trauma, and the past influence Aubrey’s arc. How well did the book handle trauma as a long-term force on a character’s life and choices?
18. If the story were adapted to film or TV, who would you cast as Camille, Aubrey, and Ben? What director or tone would best suit the book?
19. The book asks readers to decide when lying or deception becomes justified. Is there a moment when you think deceit is morally permissible in the story? Explain where you draw that line.
20. After finishing, what lingering question did the book leave you with — about motive, consequence, or a character’s interior life — that you’d want the author to answer in an interview?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed the book club questions for Anatomy of an Alibi. Here are some more recommendations, along with links to book club questions.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Wild Dark Shore is a book we read in one sitting. We could not put it down; it was everything we needed it to be. It showed us grief, love, compassion, and all the human things we feel but sometimes never voice. The reader in us is assuaged; writing is not a lost art form.

Here’s the synopsis –

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

This is a wonderful dark comedy with a flawed heroine you root for from the very beginning. Funny, tender and dark. For any fans of Samantha Downing. We are looking forward to her next book.

Here’s the synopsis –

Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the overheated Washington, DC suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband Ian ― and in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track ― Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it’s publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand).

A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners’ lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged―but just when she thinks she’s won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, Margo will prove again and again that there’s no boundary she won’t cross to seize the dream life she’s been chasing. The most unsettling part? You’ll root for her, even as you gasp in disbelief.

Dark, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Best Offer Wins is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis.