2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion

For once this time, Sarah tries very hard to stay out of the murder investigation but Frank seeks her help. Your thoughts on how they collaborated on this case. Anything about their behavior stands out?

I thought Sarah was a bit more circumspect about how her good intentions might interfere with Frank's investigation. Also, she was in over her head with the cultural hazards in this case and realized it.

Great points, Charlene. She definitely was more restrained in her behavior. Most of the time she was being drawn in by Minnie or Harry.

I was surprised that she restrained herself from diving into the investigation head first. If people would quit showing up at her door all the time, she probably wouldn't have been involved except for the initial disappearance.

Lol! They did appear on her doorstep pretty regularly in this story.

Funnily enough, this was the first book where Sarah's actions annoyed me. While she seemed to be trying hard to stay out of it, she kept appearing at the station with Minnie Lee in tow and that didn't seem right to me.

Also, Sarah's request that Frank not arrest Harry if it turned out he was the killer made me angry. It appears to justify the idea that killing women who bring "dishonor" onto the family is justified. This is wrong and if he had killed her even in a fit of rage, he should have been brought to justice.

I thought she only made that request so Minnie would be without a child. Sarah didn’t think she could recover from that grief.

Yes, it would have been terrible for Minnie, but that is not a reason to let a killer get away with murder. Sarah was wrong here and making the request was inappropriate.

Oh, she was definitely wrong. I just understood her empathy.

Jonetta wrote: "Oh, she was definitely wrong. I just understood her empathy."

I understood it too and am glad it turned out not to be Harry.

It was nice seeing Sarah trying to restrain her involvement for a change, but that made the story a bit repetitive with her showing up at the station along with wailing relatives whenever Frank brought someone in for questioning.

I agree Lauren, I know she was thinking about Minnie, but it was wrong of her to make such a request.