Choosing a book for a reading group is harder than it sounds. The best picks give people something to argue about, not just something to enjoy. If your group likes a Civil War spy thriller with real history underneath it, Memphis Moon by Matthew M. Watkins offers plenty to talk about. Here is a short guide to get your discussion started, written without spoilers.

A quick background

The novel follows Virginia “Ginnie” Moon, who grows up in Oxford, Ohio, in a household with ties to both North and South. After her father’s sudden death she is sent to Memphis, where she is drawn into a world of secrecy and divided loyalty. Her path crosses with Caleb Dawkins, a young miller from Virginia. The Moon sisters, Virginia and Lottie, were real people, but the surviving record about them is thin, so much of the story is the author’s careful imagining.

Questions about the characters

• Ginnie grows up with loyalties to both sides. Does that make her choices easier or harder once the war begins?
• Caleb is a fictional character who represents ordinary working people. What does his trade as a miller add to the story?
• How does the relationship between the two sisters shape the decisions each one makes?

Questions about history and setting

• Memphis was a busy river city that came under occupation during the war. How does the setting affect the tension in the story?
• Many Civil War novels focus on soldiers and battles. What changes when the story centers on women and family life instead?
• Which details of daily life in the 1860s surprised you most?

Questions about fact and fiction

• The record on the Moon sisters is limited. How comfortable are you with an author filling in the gaps?
• Where did the story feel closest to real history, and where did it feel most invented?
• Do you prefer historical fiction that stays close to documented facts, or books that take more creative freedom?

Questions about the author’s approach

• Watkins spent six years in the U.S. Navy and thirty years as an executive in the global plastics industry before writing this novel. Did that practical background show in how he describes machinery, work, and logistics?
• Did the book change the way you think about who “makes” history?

A good way to run the session is to pick two or three questions from each group rather than trying to cover everything. Groups that enjoy historical fiction often find the fact-versus-fiction questions the most lively, because everyone has a different line for how much invention is too much.

Many readers say they finished Memphis Moon in a single sitting, and Watkins’ journey from the Navy to the boardroom to debut novelist was featured in USA Today. If your group needs more material, the author’s blog posts cover the research and history behind the story.

Memphis Moon is available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook. To read more about the book, the history behind it, and the author, visit High Mountain Book.