This reading group guide for The Shadow of Your Smile includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Mary Higgins Clark. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Synopsis

Elderly Olivia Morrow knows she doesn’t have much time left, and faces a momentous choice. Should she reveal a family secret—that her cousin, Sister Catherine, a nun about to be beatified by the Catholic Church, had once been violated and had given up her baby for adoption—or should she take the secret to her grave? Catherine’s attacker, a world-renowned doctor and scientist, made a vast fortune for his medical inventions. Catherine’s granddaughter, Dr. Monica Farrell, is his rightful heir, but Olivia would have to betray Catherine’s wishes to reveal Monica’s parentage. There are, however, people aware of Olivia’s impending choice—those now squandering the money. To silence Olivia and prevent Monica from learning the secret, one of them will stop at nothing—even murder.

Discussion Questions

1. Olivia Morrow has strong memories of Catherine, her cousin, even as a young girl. Why was she so drawn to Catherine? What about her d see more