The Last Housewife, Ashley Winstead

From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost.

While in college in upstate New York, Shay Evans and her best friends met a captivating man who seduced them with a web of lies about the way the world works, bringing them under his thrall. By senior year, Shay and her friend Laurel were the only ones who managed to escape. Now, eight years later, Shay’s built a new life in a tony Texas suburb. But when she hears the horrifying news of Laurel’s death–delivered, of all ways, by her favorite true-crime podcast crusader–she begins to suspect that the past she thought she buried is still very much alive, and the predators more dangerous than ever.

Recruiting the help of the podcast host, Shay goes back to the place she vowed never to return to in search of answers. As she follows the threads of her friend’s life, she’s pulled into a dark, seductive world, where wealth and privilege shield brutal philosophies that feel all too familiar. When Shay’s obsession with uncovering the truth becomes so consuming she can no longer separate her desire for justice from darker desires newly reawakened, she must confront the depths of her own complicity and conditioning. But in a world built for men to rule it–both inside the cult and outside of it–is justice even possible, and if so, how far will Shay go to get it?

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think of true-crime podcasts? What effect do they have on the investigation and development of real-life cases?

2. Shay is not always sure how to navigate her own beauty. How would you describe her relationship to her appearance? How does society punish women who don’t conform to beauty standard but also those who do?

3. Shay references the constant anxiety of being a woman in pub- lic. Are you familiar with the feeling? Can you think of anything that would make that fear go away without requiring women to change their behavior?

4. How does Don co-opt the idea of feminism to first introduce his ideas about the roles of men and women to Shay, Clem, and Laurel? Why do you think that tactic is so effective?

5. How do Jamie and Shay differ in their definitions of consent? How would you personally define consent?

6. What is Jamie’s primary motivation throughout the book? How would you characterize his relationship with Shay?

7. Nicole argues that loving pain is the only autonomy she can get. Where is she coming from? Would you argue with her?

8. Jamie and Shay almost lose hope when they realize the governor is within the Pater Society’s realm of influence. How does their emergency podcast broadcast circumvent this problem? Who can we trust when our highest authorities are corrupt?

9. Shay persists in viewing Laurel as a victim. Do you agree? What do Shay’s expectations for Laurel prevent Shay from seeing?

10. Why does Shay decide to take Don’s punishment into her own hands? Can you imagine what choice you would make in her position? What will happen to Shay now?