Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Imagine opening a book that starts with a tragedy and spirals into a web of obsession, deception, and calculated violence—and yet you can’t look away for a second. That is the experience Illegal Skills delivers. This is not a thriller filled with cheap twists; it’s a psychological unraveling that exposes the darkest corners of ambition and the terrifying consequences of unchecked determination.
Ethel Pepperton is written with chilling precision. She is a woman you think you understand… until you don’t. Her entrance into the Janicki Family Circus adds layers of danger, spectacle, and unpredictability. At every turn, the question becomes: How far will she go?
Meanwhile, Nurse Dorothy provides the emotional counterweight, the calm in the chaos—until her life is upended. Watching these two women’s paths diverge and converge creates tension that builds to a breaking point.
If your book club loves stories with psychological depth, morally ambiguous characters, and disturbing realism, this novel will have everyone analyzing motives, predicting outcomes, and arguing passionately about how monsters are made—not born.