2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2 discussion

When Nikki and Sergeant Miller interview Amy and John Banks, Amy is pretty hostile, especially towards John. What did you make of this at the time? Was it a facet of her grief, some marital tension or something else? Did you feel she was holding something back? Was it fair or unreasonable for her to place blame on Kaylee?

I wasn't surprised by how Amy acted toward her husband shortly after finding out about the death of her daughter. I figured they were probably having trouble in their marriage to begin with, and this wasn't going to help the situation.

As far as placing the blame on Kaylee, that didn't surprise me either. Many parents believe their kid is an angel. It must be the other kid that is making them get in trouble or act out. We know Amy didn't like Kaylee to begin with. It wasn't a stretch that she would blame Kaylee for everything that happened.

I agree with Robin. Can't add much more to that.

I agree. It is documented that many couples divorce after a traumatic event like this because all the problems in the marriage aren't worth fighting to resolve any longer.

Agree. I took it as marital stress.

Robin's comment covers it.

Ditto. I also thought that Amy resented Nikki as John's "first love" -- of course, later on so much is revealed about their high school/ his college conquests that my mind was changed.

I thought there must be a lot of mess going on in that marriage. Normally it takes a minute for couples to start to fray upon learning of the death of a child. This was really fast.