We Begin at the End(111)

Duchess addresses Vincent: “‘Freedom’, she said. ‘Is it the worst thing to take? Worse than anything. Maybe it is.’” (Here) Later, talking about Vincent, Hal tells Duchess: “After that night, after what he did, he knew none of us would find freedom again.” (Here) Why do you think Duchess asks Vincent this? What could be worse than losing freedom? Do any of the characters reclaim it?

Star says to Walk: “You’re like a kid. Better and worse. Bad and good. None of us are any one thing. We’re just a collection of the best and worst things we’ve done.” (Here) Later, Duchess talks about Dolly’s abusive father to Hal: “Some people are all dark.” (Here) But Hal, thinking about Sissy, tells Duchess, “But with children … there is no bad.” (Here) Are any of the characters in this novel morally pure in either direction?

Star believes the universe finds a way to balance the good and the bad (Here). Thinking about the story, do you agree with her?

Warden Cuddy and Walk discuss morality: “‘But then maybe there aren’t degrees of bad. Maybe it doesn’t matter by how much you cross the line.’ ‘Most people get near. At least once in their life.’ ‘Not you, Walk.’” (Here) Is there a moral line that, once crossed, cannot be retraced?

Cuddy tells Walk that he sees himself in Vincent: “His life and mine. They aren’t all that different, save for a single mistake.” (Here) Later, explaining to Duchess how Star found out that he’d sent Baxter to kill Vincent, Hal says, “All and everything. A single act on a distant night and here we are because of it.” (Here) Is it fair for one mistake to forever change a life? What does this novel say about the possibility of forgiveness for mistakes?

Is Duchess right to tell Robin several times that he doesn’t ever need to apologize to her? Why does she tell him that?

At school, Duchess learns that the triangle is the strongest shape (Here). How is this fact reflected in her life? What’s the strongest trio of characters in this novel?

“It was cold, no matter how he felt, it was a cold and cruel thing to do. When she saw him she remembered the darkest part of her life, and she always would.” (Here) Is Walk selfish to try to come back into Martha’s life?

Duchess tells Walk, “Ours is a small story, Chief Walker. Sad enough, but small. Let’s not pretend different.” (Here) Why do you think Duchess says this? Why does she revert to calling him “Chief Walker”?

Duchess derides Thomas Noble, “You sound like a child. The notion of fair.” (Here) Why do you think he believes in fairness and Duchess does not? Is the world of this novel fair?

About Walk, Duchess thinks: “Star said he was all good, like that was a thing.” (Here) Did Walk do the right thing in killing Darke?

About Robin, Vincent tells Walk: “I couldn’t let him be me.” (Here) What do you think Vincent meant?

Do you think Duchess would have shot Vincent if he hadn’t gone over the cliff’s edge? (Here)

To his doctor near the beginning of the story, Walk says: “I tell you, you ever see me wasting my days on some fishing boat, you just come down and shoot me.” (Here) Yet this seems to be the life he chooses at the end. Later, Walk thinks, “The future was a frightening thing, but then he reasoned it always had been.” (Here) Why has Walk changed his mind? What does a frightening future mean with regard to Walk? Is Walk better off at the beginning or the end of the novel?

Duchess asks Thomas Noble, “You think there’s such a thing as a truly selfless act …?” (Here) Does Duchess find out the answer to this question by the end of the story? Do you think there is such a thing?

Why do you think Duchess leaves Robin with Peter and Lucy? Did she do the right thing in letting him stay with the Laytons rather than reclaiming him? Is this her truly selfless act? (Here)

Is Darke a good person? Why do you think he gives the gun back to Vincent?

Why do you think Duchess clings to the belief that she is an outlaw? Why does she reference outlaws throughout the book?

Do you think each character gets the ending they deserve?

Why do you think the author named this book what he did? Do you think the title fits the book? Why or why not?



Join the conversation on Twitter: #WeBeginAtTheEnd @WhittyAuthor @ZaffreBooks





If you enjoyed We Begin at the End, don’t miss Chris Whitaker’s award-winning debut

WINNER of the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger 2017

SHORTLISTED for CrimeFest Last Laugh Award 2017

Tall Oaks is an idyllic small town, until the disappearance of a young child throws the tight-knit community into crisis.

Jess Monroe, the boy’s distraught mother, is simultaneously leading the search and battling her own grief and self-destructive behaviour. Her neighbours watch on, their sympathy masking a string of dark secrets.

This is a small town where nothing is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. And as the investigation draws towards a climax, prepare for a devastating final twist …

AVAILABILE IN PAPERBACK AND EBOOK NOW





And don’t miss Chris Whitaker’s outstanding thriller



For fans of Lisa Jewell, Holly Seddon and Local Girl Missing, All the Wicked Girls is a gripping crime novel with a huge heart from an exceptional talent.

Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace, Alabama – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine.