2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #2 discussion

Kristi starts seeing Brian Thomas, the Teacher’s Assistant for one of her professors and he’s quite a bit older, has a troubled past. Was there ever a time you suspected him or was he too obvious? Was Kristi truly interested in Brian or was it a rebellious move to annoy Rick? What did Brian see in Kristi?

For Brian, I think Kristi was another easy conquest. He seemed to be the type to have done this before. I did suspect him, but no more so than any other suspect presented by the author. I do believe that Kristi was interested in him. She seemed to be looking for someone more mature in her life, possibly because of the emotional trauma she had recently experienced.

Brian was kind of creepy in his attention to a much younger student. That said, he was an obvious red herring, and I actually thought his presence at the bar probably saved Kristi from the killer.

I didn't suspect Brian at all. He felt a little creepy at first, but I was sure that was a red herring.

As far as Kristi's attraction to Brian, I thought it was more that she needed someone more mature than her high school sweetheart. She is angry with her dad and her uncle. Trying to deal with all the revelations was difficult. Brian wasn't connected to her past at all. He felt like a new start.

Sharon wrote: "I thought it was more that she needed someone more mature than her high school sweetheart..."

To be honest, I did not like Kristi much. Ok, she wanted a more mature boyfriend, but she should have broken up with Jay first. She really came across as self-absorbed and shallow here.

I agree Lauren. I didn't like her either. Finding out your father is your uncle can change a person. Hopefully, she will improve in the next book.

Sharon wrote: "Finding out your father is your uncle can change a person. ."

Very true! I am hoping she will mature and I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

That age difference bothered me immediately. A 31-year old dating a teenager??? That’s what put him on my suspect list initially. As I said earlier, he became too obvious and once we began getting his point of view, I removed him completely.

I think part of Kristi’s interest was to rebel against her Dad but she was also flattered that this older guy noticed her. Her instincts were screaming at her that this guy was too pushy and arrogant but she kept talking herself out of it.

Lauren, I wasn’t a Kristi fan either but to Sharon’s point, finding out your real father is a priest messes with your head. She acted out a lot in this story and I had to remind myself of that.

Lynn, I also agree that to Brian, she represented an easy conquest, though she wasn’t as easy as he had thought.

Brian was my top suspect for quite a while.

Kristi is like a lot of girls her age, trying out their sexuality and growing to be the woman they are meant to be. I guess immature and quite selfish. She also had a lot to deal with her family situation so I'll cut her some slack. I think we'll find her maturing throughout the series.

@Jonetta and Lisa - I hope you are right that she matures. She is the heroine in one of the later books so I'm crossing my fingers.

Brian was a flaming red herring from the very beginning. He fit everything we learned about the real killer, right down to his name. Kristi is trying so hard to be independent and mature and she just isn't there yet, so Brian's attention was a real ego boost for her.

Yes, definitely a red herring. An obvious one thinking back and probably should have been discounted by us that read a lot of thrillers/romantic suspense.