Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club’s final discussion of Her Final Words by Brianna Labuskes! We hope you enjoyed the book. Note, this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to the first discussion.
Kevin’s Thoughts
I loved this book and rated it 5 stars! I don’t read many mysteries but, when I do, I usually feel like they’re either too predictable or unrealistic. Her Final Words didn’t give me either of those feelings! I didn’t expect Rachel to be the serial killer, Josiah to kill himself, Darcy’s involvement, or Molly shooting Rachel. To be honest, the only thing I even kind of got right was thinking Eliza may have killed Noah to shed light on the other murders but I wasn’t even confident on this idea and voted for Hicks in the last vote. The only “flaw” in the story for me is how Lucy seems to vilify Eliza at the end and view her as a monster like Rachel but was so quick to let Molly off the hook for killing Rachel.
Favorite Quote
“The governing body for a group that hates government.”
– Brianna Labuskes, Her Final Words
Brooke’s Thoughts
This was a fast, easy read, that kept me guessing. I could never quite determine a theory, which I think is the best way to do a mystery. She wrote all of the characters very well and a great job of switching between characters’ perspectives. I still don’t know how I feel about Eliza killing Noah to get the FBI to investigate. It seems extreme to me but she was running out of time and desperate. Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars!
Favorite Quote
There was a lot someone could miss because they couldn’t bear the truth.
– Brianna Labuskes, Her Final Words
Vote
Discussion #1 Results
Technically, Eliza was the correct answer. However, I don’t think anyone expected Rachel to be the serial killer back when we were at the halfway point?
Rate Her Final Words
Sorry, this vote is now closed. The average rating was 4/5 stars.
Her Final Words Final Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- How much of the ending did you predict?
- “Do the ends ever justify the means?” – Question Lucy asks Dr. Ali
- Do you think Eliza was right to kill Noah in the hopes of stopping Rachel? What if Lucy had just closed the case without looking for a motive and finding the other bodies?
- Should Molly killing Rachel be viewed differently from any other murder?
- Why do you think Darcy would help Rachel? Just to get back at Eliza for killing Noah?
- Were you surprised Josiah killed himself?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
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We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us again next month! Vote in our April Book Selection now!
I really wasn’t impressed with her writing. It started out very slow wasn’t sure where it was going. It seems there was a lot of different points of view and time shifts. Inside the borders of the area is a church family that doesn’t believe in doctors or government inter entail so. Once I read about the bad well water I surmised it was cancer and people and kids were getting sick and the family wanted to keep the number of sickness a secret to keep government out of their business. I figured Rachel was the one doing the killing but was really surprised when it turned out that Eliza was really the one to kill the young boy to bring attention to the church family. Toward the end it became more interesting
Hmm. It’s interesting that you figured Rachel out but were shocked by Eliza… I was the complete opposite. I agree the end was the most interesting but didn’t see the start as too slow. I get what you mean about not being sure where it was going but I think that’s what I liked so much about the mystery and kept me guessing.
I had no idea where it was going either but that’s what I liked about it. I was really surprised about Eliza too! I’m not usually a fan of chapters being from a different perspective but this one I liked. Thanks for reading with us!
This book had many twist that kept you guessing what would happen next. A few times I was on the edge of my seat anticipating what was going to happen to the characters. I did predict Eliza killed Noah but didn’t guess cancer. I was thinking there had to be a better way then kill him but it did get results.
My favorite quote was “Can’t be a good cop if you’re a shit human.”
Yeah, I’m glad they mentioned the old battery factory leaking into the water supply or I would have called bs on that many kids having cancer in a small town.
I was wondering too if Eliza could have killed herself and had Molly set up her body instead of killing Noah but it’s like Lucy said don’t play the “What if” Game.
That’s a really good quote!
Interesting thought on Eliza killing herself with Molly as an accomplice to spare Noah. I think that could have ended up worse though with Molly having to give the confession to start the investigation. Since Molly wasn’t dying, she could have ended up with life in prison for murder if Lucy didn’t figure it out. I agree the “what if” game is hard to play and Eliza did end up with the result she’d hoped for.