Michele Campbell

International Bestselling Author

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Special Offer for Book Clubs

Want to surprise your friends at your next book club meeting?  Be the hostess with the mostess and invite the author into your home for a video chat!  For a limited time, Michele will personally appear by telephone or Skype or Zoom to discuss THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, A STRANGER ON THE BEACH, SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE and/or IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND at your book club or reading group meeting!  Contact Michele by clicking here and she’ll be delighted to arrange it with you.

Book Club Discussion Questions (Please note:  the questions may contain spoilers!)

A few suggested questions to jump-start your discussion of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH:

  1. The Wife Who Knew Too Much opens with Nina’s diary entry warning that Connor is planning to kill her to be with another woman, followed by the news report of her death. Did you ever question whether Nina was telling the truth in her diary? If you believed her, how did that affect your reaction to the other characters as the book unfolded? Were you able to keep an open mind about the cause of Nina’s death, and who the guilty part(ies) might be?
  2. Tabitha first met Connor when she worked as a pool girl at his grandmother’s country club. Years later, they found each other again when he walked into the restaurant where she was working as a waitress. How did the wealth and class differences between them influence their relationship? How did it constrain her behavior throughout the book?
  3. Tabitha grew up in difficult circumstances, not just financially, but emotionally. What scars does she carry from her dysfunctional childhood? How does her past influence her actions in the present?
  4. Nina’s chapters reveal harrowing details about her relationship with her first husband, the real-estate tycoon Edward Levitt. What effect did that marriage have on Nina? Did you sympathize with her, or judge her for staying with him? What role did Nina’s marriage to Edward play in her later behavior toward Connor? What role did it play in the circumstances that led to her death?
  5. What effect does the Levitt fortune have on various characters in the book? Discuss this with respect to Nina, Connor, Tabitha and Juliet.
  6. What did you think of Connor as a character? Did he have a moral compass, or was he motivated solely by vanity and greed? What was the source of his appeal to Tabitha? To Nina? Did you like him? Did your view of him change over the course of the novel?
  7. The theme of trust within marriage is present throughout The Wife Who Knew Too Much. How does trust (or the lack of it) affect Nina and Connor’s marriage? How does it affect Tabitha and Connor’s marriage? What role does lack of trust play in advancing the plot?
  8. The book follows Tabitha as she navigates two very different worlds – working as a waitress in New Hampshire, and enjoying vast wealth as Connor’s wife in the Hamptons. How well or poorly does Tabitha deal with the change in her circumstances? In which setting does she really belong? How did the two contrasting settings affect your feelings about Tabitha as a character?
  9. Were you happy with where Tabitha ended up, and the choices she made at the end of the novel? Why or why not?
  10. Did you see the ending coming? If yes, when did you start to figure it out? If no, what did you think was going to happen?

A few suggested questions to jump-start your discussion of A STRANGER ON THE BEACH:

  1. How do you see Caroline’s nervousness about Hannah fitting in to her character? Does it make her more sympathetic? Less?
  2. When you learned more about Aidan’s backstory partway through the novel, did it change your opinion of him? If so, in what way?
  3. Early in the novel, Caroline talks about the difference between thoughts and actions. What’s your opinion on this topic? Do you think that bad thoughts inevitably lead to bad actions, or are people entitled to think whatever they want? Explain why you think that way.
  4. On page 7, Caroline says “The thing about being rich is, there’s always someone richer.” Can you see this statement as a kind of foreshadowing of her actions later? Why do you think that wealth is so important to someone like Caroline?
  5. How did the dual narrator format affect your reading experience? Do you think it worked well within the novel?
  6. Halfway through the novel a huge storm hits the coast and damages Caroline’s beach house. How did this contribute to the atmosphere and mood of the second half of the novel? Can you point to specific passages where the writing created this atmosphere?
  7. Whose perspective did you believe (or believe more) while you were reading? When did your allegiances shift, and why?
  8. On page 165, Caroline says “The reckoning was coming for all of us. I could feel it.” What kind of reckonings does this book leave us with? Do you think that justice was served by the end of the novel?
  9. Given the dual narration and unreliable narrator in the novel, who do you think is actually the protagonist – Aidan or Caroline? Can you make an argument for both?
  10. Did you see the ending coming? If yes, when did you start to figure it out? If no, what did you think was going to happen?

A few suggested questions to jump-start your discussion of SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE:

  1. Rose and Bel Enright are not only sisters, but twins. How are they alike?  How are they different?  What baggage do they carry with them from childhood that affects their relationship once they arrive at Odell Academy?
  2. The two sisters have very different reactions to being sent off to boarding school. How do the pressures of Odell Academy affect each twin, and their relationship? Are they better or worse off for being sent away to boarding school together?
  3. Sarah and Heath Donovan have been appointed dorm heads of Moreland Hall with the specific mission to crack down on disciplinary violations.  What strengths do they bring to this task?  What weaknesses?  What challenges do they face as they try to carry out their assignment?  Do you think their efforts were doomed from the start, or would another couple without their problems have succeeded where they failed?
  4. What do you make of the relationship between Sarah Donovan and Rose Enright?  How do Rose’s feelings towards Sarah influence choices she makes regarding her sister’s relationship with Heath?  Does Sarah do everything she could/should do to help Rose?
  5. The most controversial aspect of this book is the relationship between Heath and Bel.  Did you find their relationship believable?  What made Bel vulnerable to Heath’s attentions? How did the people around her at Odell contribute to her vulnerabilities?  Given how many people suspected something was going on, how was it possible that nobody intervened? As between Heath, Bel and other people in Bel’s life, who bears blame for what happens to her?
  6. How do you react to the character of Sarah Donovan?  Do you find her relatable, naïve, strong, honorable, a good mother?  What experiences in her own background and in the history of her relationship with her husband influence the choices she makes as she deals with events in Moreland Hall?  How much blame does she deserve for the ultimate outcome?
  7. Discuss Heath’s strengths and flaws. Why does Sarah love him?  Why does Bel?  Do you see any redeeming qualities?  What in his background can explain his weaknesses.  What is it about Heath that ultimately leads to his downfall?  Ambition?  Lust?  Insecurity?  How do you think you would have reacted to him if you met him in real life?  If you had him as your high school English teacher?
  8. What role did Darcy Madden and the Moreland girls play in the events that led to the murder?  Were they important to the plot, or just an amusing diversion?  Do you think Darcy is truly evil, or is she just a teenager who’s into pranks and shenanigans?
  9. Martha Enright steps up to take in her orphaned granddaughters but then sends them off to boarding school, where one dies.  What did you think of her conduct throughout the book?  If you were her age, and in her circumstances, do you think you would have done things differently, or not?  Does she redeem herself in the end?
  10. Did you form an opinion early on about which twin dies, and whether the other twin was responsible?  Were there other suspects for the murder that you believed might be the actual killer?
  11. Did you find the ending satisfying?  How do you imagine Sarah and Rose will go on with their lives?  

A few suggested questions to jump-start your discussion of IT’S ALWAYS THE HUSBAND:

  1. What is it about the college setting that allows three girls as different as Kate, Jenny and Aubrey to bond?  What attracts them to one another?  What repels them?  If nothing terrible had happened at the end of freshman year, do you think their friendship would have had a future, or would they have gone their separate ways?
  2. Kate, Jenny and Aubrey come from very different backgrounds.  How is each character shaped by her upbringing and family circumstances?  Can the characters’ flaws be explained by their difficult childhoods or their complicated relationships with their parents – or is this just an excuse for bad behavior?
  3. Kate is at the center of two love triangles that shape the book.  She gets involved with Lucas despite knowing he was Jenny’s high school boyfriend, and she has an affair with Ethan, who is Aubrey’s husband.  What forces compel Kate to behave so badly?  Is she simply pursuing these men in order to take them away from her best friends, or do you believe her feelings for them?  How does the sense of betrayal Jenny and Aubrey feel when Kate steals their men influence their actions toward her?
  4. The story cuts back and forth in time between freshman year at Carlisle and the roommates’ reunion twenty years later.  Over those two decades, how do the three main characters change?  Do they grow up at all?  Does marriage, motherhood or career make them wiser, or kinder?  At the end of the book, which of the three do you believe is the happiest, or best adjusted?
  5. When Kate meets Owen Rizzo in the bar during the thunderstorm, she tells him her name is Maggie Price.  Why?  What role does Maggie Price’s suicide play in Kate’s inner life over the years?  Do you believe she feels guilt for it?  Does she feel genuine guilt for what happened to Lucas at the bridge?  Is Kate capable of true remorse?
  6. Why does Griff love Kate so much?  What did you think of his actions toward her throughout the course of their marriage, and at the very end?  Throughout the second half of the book, did you believe he killed her?  Does he seem remorseful, or not?  What do you think his future holds?
  7. The three roommates wind up in three very different marriages to three very different men.  Were the problems in these marriages a reflection of the women’s innate character flaws?  Were they inevitable?  If you had to pick one of the three men to be married to – Griff, Ethan or Tim – which would you pick?
  8. Which of the three roommates did you like best?  Which would you most like to have as a friend?  Which is most like you — are you a Kate, an Aubrey or a Jenny, or some combination of the three?

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Happy pub day to @carolatlovering! I was so lucky Happy pub day to @carolatlovering! I was so lucky to get an early peek at TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. It’s a twisty tale of love, greed, betrayal and revenge. Addictive and unputdownable! Don’t miss this truly propulsive psychological thriller. #books #bookstagram #thriller #suspense #carolalovering #toogoodtobetrue #authorsofinstagram
Out today in mass market paperback, @sbaileybooks Out today in mass market paperback, @sbaileybooks propulsive, suspenseful WOMAN ON THE EDGE. “She gave you her baby. Then she jumped.” #thriller #suspense #bookstagram #books #womanontheedge
Many thanks to my friend @garydifranco for this gr Many thanks to my friend @garydifranco for this great photo of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH by the fire on a snowy day! We need our beach reads even more in the dead of winter, am I right? #books #bookstagram #cozy #reading #fireplace #snowstorm #beachread #mustread #thewifewhoknewtoomuch
Happy book birthday to @christinamac79! DO NO HARM Happy book birthday to @christinamac79! DO NO HARM is out today! “Even good people get addicted to bad things.” Cannot wait to read this! #books #bookstagram #bookshelf #suspense #thriller #mustread #christinamcdonald #authorsofinstagram
Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️💕💐 📚Wishin Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️💕💐 📚Wishing you flowers and sunshine and time spent with people you love. And the companionship of a good book! #bemyvalentine #valentinesday #flowers #books #happiness #authorsofinstagram
What are you doing for #superbowl snacking? I come What are you doing for #superbowl snacking? I come for the food and the commercials! Thinking about shrimp cocktail and a homemade pizza. #food #homecooking #snacks #football #pizza #appetizers #authorsofinstagram #superbowl2021
Congrats to @kierstenmodglinauthor on her new book Congrats to @kierstenmodglinauthor on her new book, The Arrangement! The synopsis sounds so good! “When Ainsley Greenburg realizes her marriage is at its breaking point, she makes a decision to repair it, no matter the cost. Approaching her husband to propose the arrangement is supposed to be the hard part, but Peter agrees to the salacious plan almost immediately. The rules are simple: They will each date someone new once a week.They will never discuss what happens on the dates. 
Soon, though, the rules are broken, turning terrible mistakes into unspeakable consequences.” Can’t wait to read! #books #bookstagram thriller #suspense #auhorsofinstagram
I just got a sneak peek at @megancollinswriter’s I just got a sneak peek at @megancollinswriter’s next book, THE FAMILY PLOT, coming August 17, and it’s soooo good. An instant classic of gothic suspense and horror, set in a creepy mansion on a remote island where the local serial killer might just be someone you know. Gorgeously written and not to be missed! #books #bookstagram #suspense #scary #mustread #megancollins #authorsofinstagram
The ebook of the delicious and twisty EMMA IN THE The ebook of the delicious and twisty EMMA IN THE NIGHT by my talented friend @wendywalkerauthor is on sale today only for $2.99 from @macmillanusa! #books #bookstagram #sale #thriller #twisty #mustread #authorsofinstagram
Amazing giveaway alert for UK readers of THE WIFE Amazing giveaway alert for UK readers of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH! @hqstories, @goodhousekeepinguk and @elemis  are teaming up to offer £150 of fabulous Elemis luxury skincare products. See details on how to enter at link in bio! #contest #giveaway #beauty #books #bookstagram #beachy #thriller #decadent #glam #thewifewhoknewtoomuch
This gorgeous edition of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUC This gorgeous edition of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is out today in the UK today from fabulous @hqstories! Escape from the dreadful news with a decadent, beachy thriller. #books #bookstagram #suspense #thriller #beachread #sexy #fun #michelecampbell #thewifewhoknewtoomuch #uk
I went back through my New Year’s Eve photos and I went back through my New Year’s Eve photos and found this from a parade in New Orleans several years ago. Glad to see the end of 2020. Wishing you parades and marching bands in 21! #newyearseve #authorsofinstagram
So exciting to go grocery shopping and find this a So exciting to go grocery shopping and find this adorable, affordable mass market edition of SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE on the book rack! Made my day! Thanks @stmartinspress @jennifer.enderlin @macmillanusa #books #thriller #suspense #twins #boardingschool #bookstagram #bookshelf #authorsofinstagram #michelecampbellbooks #shewasthequietone
I’m delighted to announce that today’s giveawa I’m delighted to announce that today’s giveaway at @christinamac79’s 12 Days of Bookmas is a gorgeous hardcover of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH! Visit her on Instagram or Facebook for details. Happy holidays! #holidays #giveaway #contest #festive #fun #books #bookstagram #bookmad #bookmas #michelecampbell #thewifewhoknewtoomuch
Announcing the lucky winners of this week’s doub Announcing the lucky winners of this week’s double foreign edition giveaway! The gorgeous UK edition of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH goes to @booksbevsnfun! Please DM MicheleCampbellBooks Instagram by Sunday at 5 pm with an address to claim your prize.
To learn the winner of the stunning German edition of A STRANGER ON THE BEACH, visit MicheleCampbellBooks on Facebook! #contest #giveaway #winner #books #bookstagram #holiday
Looking for #stockingstuffers? SHE WAS THE QUIET O Looking for #stockingstuffers? SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE is out today in an adorable, affordable mass market edition. Twin sisters and murder at a remote boarding school. Read an excerpt/get your copy at link in bio. #holiday #gifts #books #bookstagram #suspense #thriller #twins #boardingschool #meangirls #fun #scary #michelecampbellbooks #twinsisters #shewasthequietone
TODAY’s GIVEAWAY! I honestly think this is the m TODAY’s GIVEAWAY! I honestly think this is the most beautiful cover of any edition of any of my books ever, and perfect for the holidays. A STRANGER ON THE BEACH in German! The title translates as “the stranger— you’ll fall for him,” and you will definitely fall for this sparkly, gorgeous underwater scene. To enter for a chance to win: 1) like this post; 2) tag two friends who love to read in the comments below and 3) follow Michele Campbell Books on Facebook and Instagram. The book is in German! US only. Winner announced 12/4. #contest #giveaway #books #bookstagram #suspense #thriller #translation #german #foreignedition #astrangeronthebeach #michelecampbellbooks
GIVEAWAY ALERT! To kick off the holiday season, I’ll be giving away two gorgeous foreign editions this weekend. First up is this absolutely stunning UK paperback of THE WIFE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, which is not even out yet. Enter for a chance to win by: 1) liking this post; 2) tagging two friend who love to read in the comments below and 3) following @michelecampbellbooks on Facebook and Instagram. You can enter once here and once on Facebook. (Sadly this must be US only because of differing contest rules. I wish I could open to UK fans, but this will be coming your way in January!) #contest #giveaway #holidays #books #bookstagram #suspense #thriller #michelecampbellbooks #thewifewhoknewtoomuch
Coming up this weekend, a Black Friday giveaway of Coming up this weekend, a Black Friday giveaway of these gorgeous foreign editions! Stay tuned for details. #festiveseason #books #bookstagram #thanksgiving #christmas #holiday #happy #contest #giveaway #michelecampbell #astrangeronthebeach #thewifewhoknewtoomuch
Favorite Thanksgiving side of all time is the swee Favorite Thanksgiving side of all time is the sweet potato and carrot purée from #silverpalatecookbook. #happythanksgivng
Happy Thanksgiving to my bookstagram fam. I’m su Happy Thanksgiving to my bookstagram fam. I’m super grateful for the book community this year. You all are a strong, resilient, kind and spirited group who made my pandemic better! 🦃📚 #bookstagram #booklover #thanksgiving #gratitude
Amazing sale on the trade paperback edition of my Amazing sale on the trade paperback edition of my biggest bestseller It’s Always the Husband! Perfect for gifting and now only $7.50 on @amazon for a limited time. Link in bio! #sale #book #gift #holidays #thriller #suspense #michelecampbell #itsalwaysthehusband
Madam Vice President!!!!! Madam Vice President!!!!!
Just a beautiful photo of a tree to help us breath Just a beautiful photo of a tree to help us breathe. #nature #earth #love #peace #togetherness #america
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The Wife That Knew Too Much, by Michele Campbell

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  A Stranger on the Beach, by Michele Campbell

Now in paperback!
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  She Was the Quiet One, by Michele Campbell

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  its always the husband, by Michele Campbell

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