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Evening Zoom Book Club

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Calendar of Events 

Always once a month.

The Evening Book Club is a friendly, laid-back space for readers to come together to enjoy a good story and share thoughts, laughter, and conversation.

We meet on the last Friday of each month via Zoom, making it easy to join from the comfort of home.

At the end of each meeting, members help choose the book for the following month—so everyone has a voice in what we read next.

July Selection:
Bring Me Back
Author B A Paris.
DB Number: 91230

Finn and Layla: young and in love, their whole lives ahead of them. Driving back from a holiday in France one night, Finn pulls in to a service station, leaving Layla alone in the car. When he returns, minutes later, Layla has vanished, never to be seen again. That’s the story Finn tells the police. It’s the truth, but not the whole truth.

Discussion Highlights:
Discussion questions are included below. Participants are welcome to review them in advance, write down responses, or simply use them to guide conversation during the meeting.

All are welcome. Bring your curiosity, your favorite beverage, and your love of books—we look forward to reading with you!

For more information, please call Blagica at 201-996-9100 ext. 115.

Discussion questions

1. The Sibling Dynamic: Finn moves on from Layla’s disappearance by eventually marrying her sister, Ellen. How did you feel about this relationship initially? Did it feel like a natural bond forged through shared grief, or did it feel inherently unsettling from the start?
2. Finn as a Narrator: In Part One, we see everything through Finn’s perspective. How reliable did you find him? Did his intense paranoia over the shifting Russian nesting dolls make you sympathize with him, or did it make you suspect he knew more than he was letting on?
3. The Disappearance Story: Finn’s account of how Layla vanished from a French gas station has minor inconsistencies. At what point during his storytelling did you first start questioning his version of events?
4. The Symbolism of the Dolls: The Russian nesting dolls (Matryoshka dolls) play a massive role in taunting Finn. Beyond being a physical clue, what do you think they represent metaphorically regarding the characters’ identities and secrets?
5. The Catalyst: Part Two shifts to Layla’s perspective, revealing her reasons for returning only after Finn and Ellen get engaged. Why do you think this specific milestone triggered the psychological warfare? Do you think her actions were driven by love, obsession, or revenge?
6. The “Ideal” Match: Looking back at how Finn describes both sisters, which one do you think he was actually better suited for? Why do you think he seemed permanently anchored to the memory of Layla even while building a life with Ellen?
7. The Big Reveal: Before the final pages laid everything bare, what was your personal working theory about what happened to Layla? Did the actual resolution take you completely by surprise, or had you picked up on clues along the way?
8. The Feasibility Factor: A major talking point for this book is the sheer complexity of the deception. Did you find the final twist clever and Hitchcockian, or did it require too much suspension of disbelief regarding how well the characters knew (or didn’t know) each other?
9. Hindsight and Ellen: Once the final twist is revealed, how does it change your perception of Ellen’s behavior earlier in the book? Were there subtle red flags in her actions that make sense only in retrospect?
10. The Manipulation of Memory: The book heavily explores how easily our memories can be manipulated by trauma, guilt, and time. How much of Finn’s torment was driven by actual external threats versus his own fractured memory of the past?
11. The Isolation and Setting: The characters often seem cut off from a wider social circle, focusing entirely on their inner drama. How did the claustrophobic atmosphere and the relative isolation of their lives heighten the story’s tension?
12. The Significance of the Title: Looking back at the entire narrative arc, what do you think the title Bring Me Back ultimately means? Who is truly asking to be brought back, and from what?
13. The Final Line: The novel closes with the thought: “If I had truly loved Layla, surely I would have known her anywhere.” Do you agree with this statement? Can real love see through any physical or psychological disguise, or is it easily fooled by the stories we tell ourselves?