Confessions on the 7:45

What are some traits of the psychological thriller genre that are present in this novel?

With Unger giving so many characters their own points of view in the story, who is the main protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Is there only one answer? What elements from the text support your ideas?

Is it likely that Charlie Finch killed Stella Behr and Maggie Stevenson? Why or why not? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. How does this ambiguity play into the novel’s larger themes?

Charlie and Pearl often choose names from classic novels when they form new personas. Choose several names and explain their significance based on the books they come from, drawing on textual evidence from those books. Do these intertextual links reinforce themes in Confessions on the 7:45? For example, how does referencing The Scarlet Letter through Pearl deepen the text’s examination of patriarchy?

Charlie tells Pearl, “If you [aren’t] running a game on someone, someone [is] running one on you” (24). In what ways do the non-con artist characters in this novel manipulate each other into doing or believing something? Give specific examples from the text.

This novel is very distrustful of men in general, specifically fathers. Which male character(s) set positive examples of manhood/fatherhood? How do these characters complicate the idea of Men as Monsters?

Several times throughout the novel, both Pop and Geneva do not believe that Pearl will ever quit conning, even when she says she wants to. At the end of the book, she plans to meet Ben and start a new, honest life as Emily Pearl Miller. Do you think she will maintain that life or eventually return to conning? Is it possible to begin an honest life with a false identity? Explain your answer.

How does the portrayal of con artists in media compare with the way Lisa Unger represents them in Confessions on the 7:45? Choose several con artists from books or films and compare their characterization with Pearl, Charlie, and Geneva.