The Smoking Mirror cover

The Smoking Mirror

by Helen McCloy

From Goodreads: Set during the early days of World War II. Celia McNeill is detained for visa problems when traveling to a new job in Paris. Desperate for cash, she makes a deal with card master Sergei Radetzkoy, whom she meets while being held in Dieppe. He says he's just lucky at cards, but the crooks who follow him from the casino aren't interested in his winnings. They demand to know his 'system'. The fashionable folk who rescue him don't conceal their interest in his extraordinary success at the casino either. This leads to kidnapping, betrayal, and murder under the looming threat of the Nazi invasion.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?