2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

Did you ever suspect Mrs. Wells? If so, what was the first clue or event that had you look her way? What sealed the deal for you?

I don't recall the exact moment I suspected her, but her cheerful announcements that these girls (or others) -- who had reached a "state of grace," by which she meant conversion to her own brand of faith -- were better off dead because they were in heaven put my hackles up. There seemed to be no grief in her about their deaths.

Something Dennis said [which I can't recall] really pointed in Mrs Wells' direction with laser-like clarity. I couldn't understand why Sarah missed it at that point.

I picked up on that, too, Charlene. She didn’t seem to have empathy for these girls and her judgment about them surfaced immediately. I think Sarah got swept up in the effort to provide them a haven where there wasn’t one anywhere else and her vision was blurred. She kept making excuses for her.

I suspected her from the onset, particularly how she created an environment where the girls competed with each other for the favored spot. She never left my suspect list.

I suspected her early in the book. She just seemed too over-the-top about moving these girls away from the catholic faith to what she considered the true faith. Later when Dennis was talking about Mrs. Wells and her obsession with death, I made up my mind that she was the killer.

From the beginning! As I said previously, it was her reaction to Sarah's comment about Frank's continued investigation that convinced me.