The Hanging Tree (46 page)

Tell us about your plans for Gus and Starvation Lake. Will the series continue? Any thoughts on how many books there might be?

At least one more, according to the folks at Touchstone. I can envision more beyond that, because I enjoy the characters so much. I’m dying to know what will happen to Soupy and Bea and Darlene and the River Rats. The only way to find out is to sit down and write it.

E
NHANCE
Y
OUR
B
OOK
C
LUB

1. Gruley shared in a Pulitzer Prize for the
Wall Street Journal
’s coverage of the September 11 attacks. You can read some of his articles online at his website,
www.bryangruley.com
. Pick a piece to read together and note the differences in his style as a journalist and as a fiction writer.

2. Hockey, and the position of goalie in particular, are important to the storyline of
The Hanging Tree
. Watch some of a hockey game on TV or online (or attend a local hockey game!) and try to imagine it from a goalie’s point of view.

3.
The Hanging Tree
takes place in 1999, before Internet news had become popular. Philo, Gus’s boss at the
Pilot
, expresses a belief that it’s the wave of the future for reporters. Discuss among the group where and how you get your news, and how that has changed in the past ten years.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Acknowledgments

Touchstone Reading Group Guide

For Discussion

A Conversation with Bryan Gruley

Enhance Your Book Club

Back Cover