Welcome to the second day of our book club read-along for OwlCrate's August book, A Lesson in Vengeance!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 6-9 of A Lesson in Vengeance, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box!
The story goes on...
Chapter 6:
With classes now in full swing Felicity is deep in reading female horror stories. Weeks go by with Ellis essentially ignoring her until one night she brings Felicity a cup of tea and asks her to do a tarot card reading for her, a reading about whether the two of them will become friends. Felicity wonders is Ellis suspects her of murdering Alex and maybe is at the school for her and not the Dalloway Five.
Chapter 7:
A flashback to how Alex and Felicity initially fell in love. Now, in her elective art history class they are being put into pairs for their final research project - comparing two works of art. Initially, Felicity is paired with Bridget, but whether Bridget dislikes her because she could never get a spot in Godwin House or because she thinks Felicity killed Alex, Bridget doesn’t want to work with her. Ellis volunteers instead.
As the semester turns into fall Felicity and Kajal go into town to purchase new winter clothing. Upon their return to Godwin, Clara seems upset that they didn’t invite her. Upstairs her room is a disaster, likely from the wind coming through her open window, which she could have sworn she closed. Alex’s letters to her are strewn about the room and as she collects them Felicity finds that one of the letters is missing.
Chapter 8:
Flashback to the night everything went wrong. Alex is questioning whether Felicity is taking her research into the Dalloway Five a little too seriously. That she’s beginning to believe the witchcraft is real. All five girls were killed or died on the grounds of Godwin House, starting with Flora Greyfriar, and documents can’t agree if she was shot in the woods or if her throat was cut in séance the Dalloway Five conducted as some sort of sacrifice. After Flora died, the rest of the girls also passed in mysterious circumstances, ending with Margery, buried alive.
Felicity and Alex performed a ritual using a Ouija board to summon the spirit of Margery. It doesn’t seem to work until Felicity spills her blood on the Margery Skull (stolen from Boylen House), at which time the planchette moves and the candles blow out. The planchette spells “I am going to kill you.” Felicity sees a figure behind Alex, but as she turns nothing is there. Before she can end the ritual Alex insists it’s ridiculous and Felicity worries that Margery isn’t properly out from their realm. A couple months later, Alex is dead.
Chapter 9:
As another art history class approaches Ellis suggests they skip and head to town instead. Felicity doesn’t know if this is pity because Bridget has started up the rumour mill about just why Felicity had been gone for a semester, but she decides art history is the last place she wants to be.
Questions:
- Okay, first big questions, why does Ellis think Alex died at the school? Why does Felicity remember differently?
- Why do you think there are also differing stories about how Flora was killed? Which one do you think is true?
- Do you think that the ritual Felicity and Alex performed with the Ouija board was real or do you think it was manipulated in some way?
- I'm loving the dark academia vibes! Do you have any other recommendations in the genre?
Pick up your signed exclusive copy of A Lesson in Vengeance in the OwlCrate Shop!
