You Shouldn't Have Come Here

How does the novel foreshadow Grace/Avery’s reveal as a serial killer? Is this foreshadowing successful? Is it disrupted or supported by the novel’s use of alternating first-person narrators?

What purpose does Calvin and Joe’s parents’ murder-suicide serve in the narrative? Why do Calvin’s family members and friends keep the deaths a secret?

Choose a scene that takes place outside of Calvin’s house. What purpose does it serve in the narrative? What makes this scene’s location significant?

Compare and contrast two characters other than Grace and Calvin. Are these characters honest? What do their interactions with Grace reveal about them, especially regarding her stay at Calvin’s ranch?

What drives Grace and Charlotte’s respective pursuits of Calvin? How are their pursuits supported by animal imagery?

Calvin claims Joe killed his girlfriend Lisa, but this is later proven false. How does this crime and other killings tie into his claim of loneliness in Chapter 38? Does it tie into The Universality of Longing at all, even if twisted?

How does the novel play with genre(s) to subvert expectations? Does Grace and Calvin’s romance read as artificial or genuine because of these subversions?

How might the novel read if Calvin weren’t a killer? Would The Universality of Secrets no longer be relevant to his narration?