Book Club Guides

These novels were written with discussion in mind. Neither resolves its central questions easily — and that's intentional. The best conversations about these books will be the ones where not everyone agrees.

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Dust and Mercy Historical Literary Fiction — Available August 7, 2026

Set in a 1959 Appalachian valley, Dust and Mercy follows Eli McKinnon, a third-generation farmer whose quiet stewardship of inherited land is disrupted when a boundary dispute and the roadside beating of an itinerant laborer force his tight-knit community into a reckoning.

Discussion Questions

1. When Lester Combs is found beaten on the back road, the community's response reveals the distance between what they profess and what they practice. Where do you see that distance in your own community?
2. Eli's decision to accept Cass Redfield's help fractures the solidarity of Hollow Ridge. Was he right? What would you have done?
3. The novel uses the Good Samaritan parable as its moral backbone. Who is the Samaritan in Dust and Mercy? Who is the priest who passes by?
4. Ruth's mercy is quiet and largely unacknowledged. How does the novel treat the difference between visible and invisible acts of faith?
5. Dale's decision is the most morally contested moment in the book. Did the novel make you sympathize with him? Should it have?
6. How does the Appalachian setting shape the moral choices available to these characters? Would the story work in a different place or time?
7. What does the novel suggest about the difference between community and solidarity?

The Letters We Couldn't Read Contemporary Fiction — Available Now

The Letters We Couldn't Read follows Caleb Harper, who discovers a box of letters written by his wife before her death — and is forced to confront the life they shared, the moments he understood, and the ones he never knew were happening at all.

Discussion Questions

1. Caleb is afraid to open Lauren's letter because he fears what will start once he breaks the seal. Have you ever delayed something out of fear of what it would change? What finally moved you forward?
2. Connor says "if I open it, I can't unread it." How does the novel treat the tension between wanting to hold on and needing to move forward?
3. Lauren's love is described as quiet — she watched over people without announcing it. How does the novel distinguish between love that performs itself and love that simply stays?
4. Connor's words at the dedication — "I used to think love was loud. Turns out it's quieter than that" — arrive late in the story. How did your understanding of love's quietness shift as you read?
5. The bench is dedicated not because Lauren is gone but because she was there. What is the difference between memorializing loss and honoring presence?
6. Caleb and Connor's relationship deepens through grief rather than despite it. What does the novel suggest about what shared loss can do for a family?
7. The novel ends with Connor saying "we're going to be okay" — not as a question but as a statement. What earned that moment for you as a reader?