Discussion Questions for Wicked Eddies
 

Discussion Questions for Wicked Eddies:

1. Wicked Eddies is the second book in the RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series, which began with the first book, Deadly Currents. If you’ve read both books, how do the two of them compare? How has Mandy Tanner grown and changed from the first book? Is the overall emotional tone of the two books similar or different? Which do you prefer and why?

2. Wicked Eddies focuses on the relationship between whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner and her best friend, bartender Cynthia Abbott. If you think about yourself and your best friend, how would your reactions compare to those of Mandy if your best friend became embroiled in the same situation? Was Mandy a good friend or not? How?

3. Wicked Eddies deals with the issue of familial sexual abuse, which can be a darkly emotional topic. How well does the book address and illustrate the issue’s effect on family members? In what ways does the author keep the serious issue from making the whole book a depressing read?

4. The events in Wicked Eddies take place during a fly-fishing tournament, much as those in Deadly Currents took place during the First in Boating along the Arkansas (FIBArk) whitewater festival. How does the tournament setting flavor the characters and events portrayed in Wicked Eddies? If you fly fish, was the fly-fishing culture portrayed accurately in the book? If you don’t fly fish, did you learn something about the sport?

5. In addition to Cynthia Abbott, a number of supporting characters reappear from Deadly Currents in Wicked Eddies, in particular Mandy’s love interest Rob Juarez and Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department Detective Victor Quintana. How do these characters and Mandy’s relationships with them change in Wicked Eddies? Which supporting characters have you grown to like or dislike and why?

6. When were you surprised in Wicked Eddies? By what events? Do you enjoy being surprised by the novels you read? Why?

7. What do you think Mandy’s answer will be to Rob’s question in the last chapter? Given what you know of Mandy’s character, how certain are you of her answer?