PARK RIDGE
A Senior Center Murder

PARK RIDGE

Discussion Questions
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The discussion questions reveal the ending to the book. If you have not yet read, PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder, please reconsider before looking at the questions.

What's in a word?

The word "center" is used in the novel in many ways:

• a physical building - "the Park District crowd had overflowed into the Center's lot";
• a community - "Stella Nevins was a stunning woman, in her early sixties, one of the younger members of the Center"; and
• a psychological designation -" People at the Center are pretty well spooked."

1. Which of the above applies to the following quotes?

"You waltz in here saying that there might have been a brawl - in the Center that I run - and someone was killed. You wouldn't be a little defensive?"

"[Teresa] wanted to create leadership that would make the Center more self-governing, requiring less direction from her and more independence for them."

"[Teresa] headed into the heart of the Center to do and say what she could."

"This was her Center. If something was wrong, she didn't want an outsider finding it first."

"As they journeyed through the leftover night, away from the darkness that shrouded the Center, darker thoughts of the loss of friends, the deepest dark of the awful possibility of murder, haunted her."

"I think you need to face the possibility of closing the Center."

"Treating his position in the Center as a privilege, Zabo worked to show his appreciation by first joining the Men's Club and the Opera Club."

"After Ben's death had been ruled a murder, people were frightened to be at the Center as well as drawn to be there, seeking reassurance or braving their fear."

2. Using the psychological meaning of "center," what does Stella's statement imply about Gus when she says, "Gus wants to keep his personal life separate from the Center"? When you have the answer, ask yourself why did Stella agree to keep his secret?

Structure and Format

3. The special sections headed "Murder" with their different typeface and margins, are the murderer's own words, spoken/thought in the present tense and first person in sharp contrast to the rest of the novel. What is the effect of the shift?

4. Sections labeled "Videotape" have a similar format but the effect is different. Why?

5. Each of the five murders presents the victim followed immediately by the murder. How does isolating the victim in this way contribute to your sense of whether or not the murder is justified (at least to the killer)?

Characters

6. Portraits of the victims are rounded out in various ways - using the director's descriptions to the detective (Sheila, Ben), videotape transcripts (Gordon), and the interview with Zabo's wife. Which is most effective and why?

7. The idea of four types of temperaments began with Hippocrates in 400 B.C., but in 190 A.D. Galen created labels which persist to today. Assign labels to each of the killers and any other characters you wish.

• Sanguine: generally optimistic, cheerful, even-tempered, confident, rational, popular, and fun-loving. They can be daydreamy to the point of not accomplishing anything and impulsive, acting on whims in an unpredictable fashion.
• Choleric: a doer and a leader; easily angered or bad tempered.
• Melancholic: a thoughtful ponderer, often very kind and considerate, can be highly creative but also can become overly obsessed on the tragedy and cruelty in the world, thus becoming depressed. Also often a perfectionist, being very particular about what they want and how they want it in some cases.
• Phlegmatic: calm and unemotional, generally self-content and kind, their shy personality can often inhibit enthusiasm in others and make themselves lazy and resistant to change. They are very consistent, relaxed, and observant.
  [Definitions from wikipedia.org]

8. When Margaret stole Ellie's insulin and a syringe to use as a weapon, she justified it to herself, "If the others made the decision to play their new game, she wanted to be ready." What was your reaction to the theft, especially the idea of stealing from a co-conspirator?

9. Ellie responded the next day by asking, "You think this is a joke? Are you threatening me?" Was she justified in feeling threatened?

10. The card players undergo significant changes. As a group they experience shock (or do they?), then they accept Jack's action, agreeing to keep his crime a secret. Why do you think they agreed?

11. With Ellie's murder of Sheila Marshall, fantasy becomes fact. What do you think was the catalyst for Ellie? It's not too late for Jack to confess or for the group to turn on Ellie, why don't they?

12. Jack's confession to a murder he almost got away with and his accusing the Professor come as no surprise, but will Ellie Montgomery "get away with murder"? Will the others accuse her or maintain their silence?

13. When Margaret heard that Jack and the Professor had been arrested, she went home, showered, washed her hair, set it on rollers and dried it. She carefully applied makeup and changed into "a summery floral print dress with sandals, instead of her normal outfit of slacks, blouse, and trainers." Each activity has some significance - what do they mean?

Ideas / Issues

14. Sheila Marshall is quoted in the videotape transcript "When they walk into the Center and see people just sitting around playing cards, they think old people's home." What do you think?

15. A 1990 survey by the National Council on Aging states, "A survey of more than 400 senior centers found that 10% of the participants were over age 85, and nearly 60% of centers surveyed reported an increase in the number of frail participants." This suggests that as the age of membership increases, perhaps more people will be playing pinochle! The conflict between "active" members and "card players" is the issue at the heart of the story. How does the author deal with that issue? Is it effectively portrayed?

16. Teresa presentation for the conference in Springfield uses portions of the videotapes and her own observations and conclusions. What purpose does the paper serve in the novel?

17. Which character resonated with you the most? If you could use only three words to describe PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder, what would they be?

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