"STARTER KIT" FOR
MYSTERY DISCUSSION GROUPS
(for the Ben Candidi Mystery-Thriller Series, by Dirk Wyle)



For Pharmacology Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle

  • A walk through the rogues gallery (of 13 professors)


  • Which provided the most direct path to the killer: forensic science or analysis of personality and motive?


  • Did the prosecution present a sufficient case?


  • Was justice served?


  • Discussion of the crime


  • Ben Candidi's personality and character


  • Within the broad spectrum encompassed by the terms "detective fiction," "mystery" and "thriller," how would this story be classified?



For Biotechnology Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle

  • What was the first hint of skullduggery?


  • Consider and discuss the clues for murder to come.


  • Consider and discuss the clues on how to find a corpse


  • Why all was not well at BIOTECH Florida?


  • Patents and contracts. Do they bore you to tears or drive you to murder?


  • What were the bad guy's favorite things?


  • Discuss the subconscious as an investigative tool?


  • What was in Ben's bag of tricks?


  • When did the clues reach sufficiency?



For Medical School Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle

  • What were the first clues that Prof. Peterson was murdered


  • Discuss the clues to the identity of the murderer.


  • Discuss the clues for the motivation of the murderer.


  • What were the clues for the method of murder?


  • Did anyone other than Ben suspect foul play? If so, what kept them from acting?


  • What were the greatest barriers to discovery of the crime?


  • At what point in the story do the clues become sufficient?






For Amazon Gold, by Dirk Wyle

  • How many mysteries did Ben have to confront?


  • For each mystery, when did the clues become sufficient to suggest a solution?


  • How did the "Miami mystery" and the "Amazon mystery" converge?


  • When and where were the clues sufficient to predict immediate danger?


  • Did any of the characters in the story act illogically?


  • Who were the villains?





For Bahamas West End Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle

  • Discuss Ben and Rebecca's improvised crime scene investigation.


  • When did we first meet the murderer and did his/her behavior offer any clue?


  • Consider Sgt. Townsend's legal-bureaucratic footdragging.


  • Was SAWECUSS a reasonable hypothesis?


  • Did Ben and Rebecca interpret things correctly after the fish fry?


  • With so many suspects, what is a pair of reluctant non-professional sleuths to do? Did Ben and Rebecca act reasonably or were there alternative tactics and strategems that they should have adopted?


  • Did the author play fair with you? Did he give enough clues for the reader to figure it out himself/herself?


  • If yes, then when did the clues become sufficient to point to the murderer(s)?


  • Discuss the chase and showdown scenes


  • Besides Ben and Rebecca, who else came out a hero at the end of the story?


  • Was there a moral at the end of the story?







For Yucatán Is Murder, by Dirk Wyle

  • Consider and discuss Ben's crime scene investigation on the first day


  • Should Ben and Rebecca have returned to the crime scene on the second day? Knowing what you learn in the end, would this have helped or hindered the investigation?


  • Could or should Ben have pressed Lieutenant Morales harder? How would that have affected the outcome of the story?


  • When and how were each of the criminals in the story first encountered? For each, when did it become clear that he/she was involved in the criminal enterprise or murder?


  • Consider and discuss the inability or unwillingness of the parents to give Ben and Rebecca useful information.


  • Why and when was the Scotsman murdered?


  • Consider and discuss Ben's various interrogation techniques.


  • Consider and discuss the sequence of clues that Ben and Rebecca uncovered.


  • Did the author play fair with you? Did he give enough clues for the reader to figure it out himself/herself?


  • If yes, then when did the clues become sufficient to point to the murderer(s)?


  • B'alam Chuc use Mayan glyphs to keep notes? What was his intended use of the longer documents?


  • Consider and discuss the criminal mastermind's concealment techniques. Where in the story was the reader presented background that would enable him/her to anticipate these techniques?


  • Did the mastermind's ultimate trick take you by surprise? Is there anything in the news headlines that would prepare the reader for this?


  • What was was motivating B'alm Chuc? Would his tactics have worked if he had not been killed?




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