READERS GUIDE

The Perfect Son
Lauren North
Discussion Questions

1. Tess and Shelley are two very different women, and yet a strong friendship develops quickly between the pair. Why do you think Tess was so drawn to Shelley, and Shelley to Tess?

2. Tess’s devastation over the loss of her husband seeps into every aspect of her life. Discuss the role of grief in the novel and how Shelley and Tess’s different experiences of grief are displayed.

3. Throughout the novel, Tess speaks to her dead husband, Mark. She asks him questions and hears his answers in her head. Why do you think the author chose to write the novel in this way? What kind of marriage do you think Tess and Mark had?

4. Discuss the role of isolation in the novel. What do you think Tess’s experience of grief would’ve been like if they had never moved house?

5. Tess and her brother-in-law, Ian, have a fraught relationship. Why do you think Ian didn’t trust Tess when Mark first introduced them? Why do you think Ian chose to lie to Tess?

6. When Shelley learns the truth she is reluctant to confront Tess. Why do you think that is? Shelley admits to being jealous of Tess. Did you understand why?

7. At what point did you discover or figure out the truth? How did you feel about Tess, as well as the other characters, when you found out? Had you guessed at any point, or were you shocked?