Book Club Questions for Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

Book club questions for Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino take a closer look at psychology, marriage dynamics, class satire and “the American Dream unraveling in real time“, explored in this darkly comedic novel.

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. You’ll definitely forget all your worries and be completely distracted and immersed in Margo’s machinations.

Margo Miyake is impossible not to root for as she battles Washington DC’s brutal real-estate market. You feel every frustration and every near-miss with her. Then the book shifts — slowly at first, then sharply — and you watch her cross lines you did not see coming. I found myself thinking, “Okay, whoa… slow down,” and then, “No, seriously, stop!”

The tension builds without giving away the twists, and the emotional ride is worth it from start to finish. Highly recommend. I’ll be first in line for Marisa Kashino’s next novel. If you enjoy insanity and unpredictability mixed with juicy family drama, you’ll love this one!

Let us know what you thought about the book in the comments section below!

Book Club Questions

1. From the opening chapters, Margo treats the housing market almost like a personal enemy. At what point did you realize her desire had shifted from reasonable ambition to full-blown obsession?
2. Much of Margo’s worst behavior is rooted in fear—fear of falling behind, fear of losing Ian, fear of missing her window to have a family. Which fear felt like the true engine of her unraveling?
3. Why do you think Margo’s voice is so entertaining and oddly charming, even when she’s manipulating, lying, and trespassing? What does that say about how Kashino shapes reader sympathy?
4. How did you interpret the house itself as a symbol? Was it security, status, reinvention, control, or something else entirely?
5. Margo and Ian start the novel aligned in their goals, but their paths diverge quickly. Do you think their marriage cracks because of Margo’s fixation— or did the cracks pre-exist and the house hunt simply exposed them?
6. Margo often believes she’s being strategic when she’s actually being reckless. Which moment felt like the clearest example of her self-delusion?
7. This novel blends humor with genuinely dark choices. Which scenes made you laugh in surprise or discomfort, and why do you think that tension works so well?
8. Jack and Curtis serve as both targets in Margo’s plan and mirrors for her deepest insecurities. What do their interactions reveal about her desire to be the version of herself she’s selling to them?
9. Throughout the book, Margo tells herself she “deserves” the house after everything she’s endured. Do you think this idea of “deserving” reflects broader cultural attitudes about success, struggle, or entitlement?
10. If Ian had shared even half of Margo’s intensity, would the story have ended differently—or would they have become dangerous together?
11. The housing crisis in the DC suburbs is exaggerated but deeply familiar. How did the book make you reflect on the real pressures of modern homeownership and the emotional toll of scarcity?
12. There’s a fine line between ambition and self-destruction. Do you think Margo ever truly understands when she crosses that line, or is she in denial until the end?
13. Margo’s willingness to manipulate (and outright deceive) the homeowners starts as strategy, then turns personal. Why do you think she becomes emotionally entangled with the family she’s trying to exploit?
14. Friendship and social comparison play subtle roles in Margo’s motivations—especially the “everyone else is moving forward” anxiety. Which moments highlighted that pressure most clearly?
15. Several reviewers note rooting for Margo even while yelling “NO, STOP!” internally. What do you think Kashino does to keep readers emotionally hooked to such a chaotic narrator?
16. Do you see Margo as a villain, a victim of circumstance, a satirical exaggeration, or something in between?
17. How does the novel explore the tension between the curated, Instagram-ready version of adult life (perfect home, perfect family) and the messy reality beneath it?
18. Margo rationalizes increasingly questionable behavior with “everyone else has advantages I don’t.” Do you see this as a commentary on class frustration, generational economics, or something more personal?
19. If Jack and Curtis had responded differently—more warmly or more suspiciously—how do you think Margo’s plan would have shifted? Was she looking for opportunity or validation?
20. The ending lands somewhere between chaotic, funny, unsettling, and inevitable. What emotions did it leave you with, and what does it suggest about the lengths people will go to protect the life they imagine they “should” have?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed the book club questions for Best Offer Wins. Here are some more recommendations, along with links to book club questions.

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

This a an honest story of life, through its twists and turns, surprises, disappointments, and grief. It is about the complexities of simple lives, and it makes you consider your own. What a wonderful journey through the lives of Buckeyes!

Here’s the synopsis –

In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: She is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship, out of harm’s way—until a telegram suggests that the unthinkable might have happened.

Later, as the country reconstructs in the postwar boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie—but nothing stays buried forever in a small town. Against the backdrop of some of the most transformative decades in modern America, the consequences of that long-ago encounter ripple through the next generation of both families, compelling them to reexamine who they thought they were and what the future might hold.

Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love and for goodness.

Twice by Mitch Albom

Here’s the synopsis –

When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try—for better or worse.

He grows up correcting his mistakes and saving himself from adolescent embarrassments. He even takes foolishly dangerous risks, just to see what it’s like to come close to death, before tapping back to safety.

Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment.

But as the years pass, Alfie’s eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing if he gives into to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.

The book begins many years later, after an ailing Alfie is arrested for allegedly cheating and winning millions at a casino roulette wheel. As a curious detective interrogates him, he slowly uncovers Alfie’s incredible story, and its most unlikely conclusion.

In Twice, America’s favorite storyteller, Mitch Albom, is at the top of his powers. A love story that is enchanting, probing, and clairvoyant in matters of the heart, Twice will make you think, weep, and overflow with love from beginning to end. And what better way to experience this story than through the delightful audiobook, narrated by Mitch himself.