What are good book club discussion questions for Agatha Christie: Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel?

Spoiler-free questions to get the conversation going: Before we talk about the mystery at all: if you were snowed into a grand old hotel with no way out, what would you want in your bag?; What was the first moment in the book where you felt genuinely cozy, even though you knew something terrible was coming?; Miss Marple gets underestimated because she looks harmless and ordinary. Has anyone ever underestimated you that way, and did you enjoy it?; The blizzard makes the hotel feel both safe and trapped at the same time. Which feeling did you sit with more while reading, and why do you think that is?; This book is a modern author writing in Christie's world. How did it feel to be back in that kind of story, and what did you miss or not miss from the Christies you grew up with?.

What food and drinks should I serve at a Agatha Christie: Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel book club?

Food: Communal cheese fondue with crusty bread and baby potatoes, Rosti potato cake with sour cream and chives, and Warm Linzer-style jam tart with powdered sugar. Drinks: Vin chaud (mulled red wine with orange, cloves, and honey), Thick Swiss-style hot chocolate with lightly whipped cream, and Endless pot of strong black tea, Miss Marple style.

Cozy night

Agatha Christie: Murder At The Grand Alpine HotelBook club questions, food & host guide

Lucy Foley

#9 New York Times Fiction Bestseller 1 week on the list

A cozy book club night for Agatha Christie: Murder At The Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley. Includes 8 spoiler-free discussion questions, food and drink pairings, a playlist, and a host guide, ready to print and share.

A club that likes mysteries with their tea refilled, and conversation that wanders rather than interrogates

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A snowed-in Swiss Alpine hotel, a blizzard that cuts off every exit, and Miss Marple quietly knitting while she notices what everyone else misses. It is the warmest possible kind of murder, perfect for a night under blankets.

Why it works for clubs

Classic closed-circle setup means everyone can swap theories without anyone needing to have finished early
Miss Marple invites readers to talk about the quiet observers in their own lives
Lucy Foley's modern voice meeting Christie's world gives clubs plenty to feel and compare
The hotel itself is a character, so setting talk comes easily and cozily

Themes & mood

Snowbound Cozy mystery Alpine hush Golden Age charm Blizzard suspense

Browse all themes →

Reading level

Easy

Warm-up questions

1 Before we talk about the mystery at all: if you were snowed into a grand old hotel with no way out, what would you want in your bag?
2 What was the first moment in the book where you felt genuinely cozy, even though you knew something terrible was coming?

Digging in

1 Miss Marple gets underestimated because she looks harmless and ordinary. Has anyone ever underestimated you that way, and did you enjoy it?
2 The blizzard makes the hotel feel both safe and trapped at the same time. Which feeling did you sit with more while reading, and why do you think that is?
3 This book is a modern author writing in Christie's world. How did it feel to be back in that kind of story, and what did you miss or not miss from the Christies you grew up with?
4 Grand hotels run on staff who see everything and say nothing. Which quiet, watchful presence in the book stayed with you after you put it down?

Going deep

1 Christie-style mysteries end by restoring order and sending everyone home. Did this one leave you feeling settled and comforted, or still a little cold, and were you hoping for one over the other?
2 Looking back without naming names: whose secret did you feel most tenderly toward once you understood it, and what does that tell you about who you forgive easily?

On the table

Communal cheese fondue with crusty bread and baby potatoes

The Swiss Alps in one pot, and nothing makes a room relax faster than everyone dipping from the same bowl. Buy a good fondue blend and you are done in fifteen minutes.

Rosti potato cake with sour cream and chives

Crisp, golden, buttery Alpine comfort food. One big skillet cut into wedges feeds the whole club with almost no fuss.

Warm Linzer-style jam tart with powdered sugar

The sort of thing a hotel would wheel out on a trolley at four o'clock. Homey, a little indulgent, and it fills the house with a cinnamon-and-raspberry smell.

To sip

Vin chaud (mulled red wine with orange, cloves, and honey)

The classic ski lodge warmer. Let it sit low on the stove all evening so the smell greets people at the door.

Thick Swiss-style hot chocolate with lightly whipped cream No alcohol

Non-alcoholic and deeply nurturing. Serve it in mismatched mugs with a plate of blankets nearby.

Endless pot of strong black tea, Miss Marple style No alcohol

Non-alcoholic, bottomless, and the official beverage of noticing everything. A tin of shortbread beside it does the rest.