1. Were you able to relate to the setting of a modern suburban high school?
2. Principal Wendy Storme dies on page 3 at the end of the school year. The rest of the novel is a flashback to the beginning of the school year. Why do you think the author used this time frame?
3. The author provides many examples of good teaching, mentoring and counseling as well as administrative managing from original principal before Wendy Storme blew in. In light of your own school experiences, did you find these positives believable? Could you relate to any of them specifically?
4. Some of Wendy Storme’s actions seem extreme. Do you think such outrageous actions could actually happen in a modern school?
5. How does the author immerse the reader into the atmosphere, climate and culture of Harding High? Is this effective?
6. Could the conflict in A Murder of Principle occur in a workplace other than a school?
7. Which characters interested you most? Why? Did they seem realistic?
8. Did you sense any political overtones in the novel?
9. Have you or someone you know ever experienced such a hostile environment in the workplace?
10. What would you characterize as major themes in the novel?
11. The author makes frequent use of Shakespearean quotations. How effective is this?
12. Did you sense any humor in the novel? Where? Why do you think the author would use humor in a murder mystery?
13. If you could ask author Susan Coryell a question or two, what would you say? Why?