The Ambitious Card (An Eli Marks Mystery) (30 page)

Reader’s Discussion Guide

1. Eli clearly doesn’t trust Grey from the beginning and is able to expose all of his mentalism tricks. Have you ever had a psychic experience that you couldn’t explain?
   

1. Eli has moved back to his childhood home after his divorce. In general, does that seem like a good idea?
   

1. Megan is just getting started as a psychic and is (clearly) having mixed results. Do you think psychics actually improve with time?
   

1. Harry refuses to sell Pete a new trick until he masters the one he recently bought. Is that a reasonable expectation for a shop owner and have you ever been treated like that when trying to buy something?
   

1. As the story went along, Eli suspected different people as being the killer. Did you agree with his assessments and did you ever get ahead of him?
   

1. Eli ultimately succeeds at the birthday party by focusing on the audience members who seem interested and ignoring the birthday boy. What’s the perfect kind of entertainment for a child’s birthday party?
   

1. Eli turns down Nova’s offer to sleep with her because of his feelings for Megan, even though they weren’t involved at the time. Was that a reasonable thing for him to do?
   

1. Harry’s mourning of his late wife is softened every time he finds a dime on the ground. Does it matter that he doesn’t assign a mystical reason for the discoveries?
   

1. Eli embarrasses Homicide Detective Fred Hutton by singing the song “Mediocre Fred” in the interrogation room, knowing that the recording will be passed around later. Given his relationship with Fred, was he justified in doing that?
   

1. Megan is convinced that some supernatural force prevented Eli from doing the kid’s show as written, which helped them survive while in the cave (because otherwise he would have used up all the oxygen/helium mixture in his air tank). Do you think she’s right?
   

1. Both Eli and Megan are at different stages of getting over a divorce. What do you think their chances are of surviving as a couple?
   

About John Gaspard

In real life, John’s not a magician, but he has directed six low-budget features that cost very little and made even less–that’s no small trick. He’s also written multiple books on the subject of low-budget filmmaking. Ironically, they’ve made more than the films.

His blog, “Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts,” has been named “One of the 50 Best Blogs for Moviemakers” and “One of The 100 Best Blogs For Film and Theater Students.” He’s also written for TV and the stage.

John lives in Minnesota and shares his home with his lovely wife, several dogs, a few cats, and a handful of pet allergies.

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