Joining a book club is a great way to share your enjoyment of reading. Members often have very different ideas about what makes their perfect book but, even if the book of the month isn’t what you would usually read, you may be excited to discover a new author or genre. Remain open minded and enjoy a lively discussion!
Perhaps your book club would like to try The Lost Daughter of Venice by Charlotte Betts. Here’s a taste of what the story is about.
Come to Venice. Please, Phoebe, do not fail me.
Venice, 1919
Seventeen years ago, the grand Venetian Palazzo degli Angeli was Phoebe Wyndham’s home; now, the neglected walls of the palazzo are just a haunting reminder of all she has lost.
Arriving back in Italy after a plea from her estranged relative, the Contessa di Sebastiano, the recently widowed Phoebe is shocked to discover her aunt is dead and the palazzo now belongs to her.
All she wants to do is sell the property and return home. However, when a dark family secret is exposed, the shocking deception rocks Phoebe to her very core, and she vows not to leave the City of Water without first unravelling the truth from the lies.
As Phoebe searches for answers, she finds herself growing closer to two very different men. But, when her camera catches something more sinister than the faded grandeur of Venice, Phoebe begins to question who she can really trust and whether her aunt’s death was truly an accident after all . . .
Here are some questions to get you started.
Did the beginning of the story hook you in?
What did you enjoy most about the book?
What was the part you liked least? Why?
What was the most surprising thing about the story?
What do you think were the main themes of the story?
Do you think the author caught the spirit of post WWI Venice?
Did the story make you want to visit any of the Venetian locations in the book?
How important to the story was this time period? Did it impact on the main characters’ actions?
If you’d found yourself in the same situation as Phoebe, would you have acted differently? How?
Which was your favourite character in the story and why?
Did any of the characters or scenes in the book prompt a strong emotional reaction in you?
Have any of the scenes remained in your mind and, if so, why?
If the book was made into a film, who would play the lead characters?
The author’s original title for the book was The Venetian Inheritance. Which title do you prefer or do you have a better suggestion of your own?
Do you have any lingering questions that weren’t answered in the book?
How did you feel about the ending? Would you have written it differently?
If you could ask the author anything, what would it be?
Now available in paperback!
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-lost-daughter-of-venice/charlotte-betts/9780349432724