A Dead and Stormy Night by Steffanie Holmes is the first book in the Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries series.
At the time of publishing this guide, this story was available on Kindle Unlimited.
Here’s more about the book, along with our free Dirty Dozen downloadable discussion question guide for your spicy book club.
Book description
Book boyfriends may do it better, but they’re more trouble than they’re worth.
After being fired from my dream fashion job, I return home to my village under a cloud of failure and take a job at the quaint Nevermore Bookshop. I’m hoping for an easy few months while I get my life together.
But this is no ordinary bookshop.
A mysterious curse on Nevermore brings infamous fictional villains from classic literature to life in the real world.
My “easy” job involves rescuing customers from a 6foot4, grumpy, tattooed Heathcliff, drinking tea and evading the authorities with sophisticated villain Moriarty, and making art with Edgar Allen Poe’s shy, cheeky, raven shifter, Quoth.
As if that isn’t crazy enough, my ex-best friend shows up dead with a knife in her back, and I’m the chief suspect. I’m going to have to Agatha Christie this shiz if I want to clear my name.
Oh, and those three fictional villains?
They like to share…
A Dead and Stormy Night book club discussion guide
**PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS DISCUSSION QUESTION GUIDE MIGHT INCLUDE SPOILERS**
We’ve provided the Dirty Dozen below; twelve spicy and intriguing questions to spark discussion and help you uncover the spine-tingling depths of the story.
The Dirty Dozen
Foreplay – Warm Up Questions
1. What’s the overall spice level? 1 (Not Spicy) – 10 (Spiciest Thing I’ve Ever Read)?
2. How does the spice level compare to the other books we’ve read together?
3. Nevermore Bookshop’s job ad makes it clear: you’ll lose to the cat every time. If you were applying, what “unreasonable” line would you add to your own help-wanted ad for a dream job, bookish or otherwise?
The Spicy Bits – Gettin’ Down and Dirty with the Plot
4. Morrie casually drops the term “sexual deviancy” while today we’d call it pansexuality. How does the shifting language around sexuality shape the way we think about identity and desire across time?
5. Our heroine is surrounded by men pulled straight from the pages of literature. If you had to pick one fictional man (or monster) to materialize and haunt your everyday life, who would it be and why?
6. That line about torment not lasting forever reframes grief as survivable. Do you think heartbreak strengthens or hollows out a person in the long run?
7. When the Mina realizes she’s been lied to and manipulated, it’s a jarring “ohhh now I get it” moment. What’s your instinctive reaction when the rug gets pulled out from under you: fight, freeze, or burn it all down?
8. Morrie insists the London in his story was just a fiction, a backdrop created by the author. Do you think every city has its own “performance” – a curated image for outsiders – or is that only something writers impose on a place?
9. The voyeuristic tension of “people will see” runs through Morrie’s intimacy with her. Do you think the allure comes from danger, defiance, or just being completely consumed in the moment?
10. Power dynamics simmer beneath every touch and look in this book. Which do you think is more intoxicating in a romance: surrendering power or seizing it?
11. Secrets and lies keep the Nevermore crew bound together – and in peril. Do you think a relationship (romantic or otherwise) can survive on half-truths if the chemistry is off-the-charts, or does honesty always come due?
Aftercare – Final Thoughts
12. Did you see the end coming? Had you guessed the real murderer before it was revealed?
Bonus: What questions do you have for the author? If you could dog-ear a page with a question for the author, what would it be?
Please feel free to use this post as a starting point for your spicy book club discussion questions and use the comments below to share your thoughts and insights about the book. You can also get a free downloadable copy of the discussion guide using the button below.
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