Discussion questions for Sunny Side Up:
- A major overarching theme in the book is the idea of escaping from your past and your pain. Li tries. Charlegne tries. Rosemary tries. Do you feel any of them are successful? What sort of methods do they employ to escape from their grief?
2. Similarities were drawn between Sunny Side Up and the books of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction by authors such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. In what ways are they similar? In what ways to they differ?
3. The history of Li and his father has hurt him severely over the years. What ways can you suggest to help him cope with his grief?
4. Sunstroke as a murder weapon is highly unconventional. Are you in favor of more conventional causes of death in murder mysteries, or do you like more unusual crimes?
5. The book changes perspective between characters to allow other characters a chance to share their thoughts, prejudices, fears, dreams, etc. with the reader. What characters from the book would you love to get to know better? Whose story did you feel was the most complete? Which perspective was the one you favored most?
6. I like to give my victims what I call “breathing room.” That is, I like to let them have a chance to be alive in the story for a bit to give the reader impressions of their character before they die. This can serve as amazing sleuthing opportunities for mystery fans. Did you like having a chance to meet Charlegne before her death? What did you think of her when you first met her in the book? Did your opinion of her change as you learned more of her story? Did you enjoy the chance to get to know the victim before they died?
7. Were you able to solve the mystery at the end? Who got the closest?
Happy reading and happy sleuthing!
–Daniel Stallings
Daniel Stallings 