What is the connection between the book’s title, Serenity Bay, and the small town where most of the action takes place? What is the contrast?

Dr. Russell Koehler certainly leads two lives in this story. At what point did you first suspect a difference between his public and private personalities? Remembering back to your twenty-something years, would you have suspected something amiss if you were Patricia?

What clue do you think she overlooked?

Do you see Patricia as a particularly needy person? Why or why not? What do you think drove her to a relationship with Russ? If she were your daughter, or sister, or friend, what might you have done to protect her from this kind of relationship before it began?

Thinking about friendship: Had you been Susan, what would you have done when you discovered Patricia’s secret? What do you feel that Patricia needed most in a friend? Do you think Susan did everything she could?

Thinking about prejudices. Did you see prejudice uncovered in this story? Where? In whom?

What did you learn about domestic violence? What primary fears keep the cycle of violence continuing in a family? What kept Patricia in the relationship? Did Russell fit your “prototype” of the violent husband? Why or Why not?

What did you learn about friendship from this story? About evangelism? 

Did this story make you reconsider any of your own values? If so, which ones?

Has this story changed your thinking about friendship? How?