Chasing Smoke Book Club Questions
by Piper Rayne
These questions assume everyone has finished the book and contain spoilers, including the ending.
Chasing Smoke gives book clubs plenty to unpack: grief that does not follow a tidy timeline, long-held secrets, family loyalty, and the messy work of letting someone new in. The characters make choices you can defend and question in the same breath, which is exactly what keeps conversation moving.
Use these questions as a starting point, not a script. Pick the topics that fit your group, let quieter members jump in, and skip anything that feels too personal. There are no right answers here, just good reasons to talk.
Grief, Masks, and Small Steps
- 1.Collins avoids Ansel because he reminds her of the night Caleb died, yet she calls him about the smoke alarm and later lets him replace all her detectors. How does that first request for help change the dynamic between them?
- 2.When Ansel installs the smoke alarms, he sees Caleb’s preserved belongings and unfinished book in the primary bedroom and grieves. What does that scene reveal about how differently Collins and Ansel have been living with Caleb’s death?
- 3.At Baylor’s birthday party, Collins says the constant performance of being okay is exhausting and that her mask is in danger of slipping. How does that performance shape her conversations with Elliott, Emelia, Dottie, and Nina?
- 4.Nina creates Collins’s “Reclaiming Her Life Checklist”: stop wearing her wedding rings, redecorate one room, host a get-together, and write Caleb a letter. Which item felt most necessary for Collins, and did Nina’s warning that Collins was not ready seem fair?
- 5.Ansel offers to join Collins in an activity so she has no excuse to avoid socializing, which leads to painting class and hot yoga. Did Ansel’s accountability help Collins, or did it blur the line between friendship and something more before either of them was ready?
Secrets, Guilt, and Betrayal
- 6.Collins finds a Galveston hotel receipt and then Caleb’s hidden cell phone with messages from Madelyn and ultrasound pictures. How does the affair and the baby-on-the-way revelation reframe Collins’s grief and her memories of her marriage?
- 7.After learning about Caleb’s affair, Collins kisses Ansel and asks him to make her feel good, but Ansel stops her. What does his refusal reveal about Ansel’s character and loyalty, and did you agree with his choice in that moment?
- 8.Fowler admits that Caleb told him about the affair and the baby and swore him to secrecy. How did that revelation affect Ansel and Fowler’s friendship, and was Fowler’s explanation about protecting Collins convincing?
- 9.Ansel carries guilt from the night Caleb died in the fire, when Caleb wanted to keep pushing forward before the floor gave way. How does that guilt drive Ansel’s secrecy and his fear of disappointing people he loves?
Love, Loyalty, and Public Scrutiny
- 10.Collins and Ansel agree to explore their feelings secretly, then later go public at Roy’s birthday and face the firehouse confrontation about whether anything happened before Caleb died. How do the family’s cheers and Carrie Russo’s forced smile and phone-watching show the risks of a small-town relationship?
- 11.Ansel applied and interviewed for the Portland job months earlier, hid it from Collins, and only tells her after receiving the offer. Was Collins justified in accusing him of lying by omission because of Caleb’s lies, or did Ansel’s desire to protect her from stress make any sense?
- 12.At the end, Ansel apologizes with Hollis’s walnut table, promises transparency, declares his love, and says he will not take the Portland job. Did you agree with his decision to turn down the job, or did the ending resolve the Portland conflict too neatly?
Closure and Community
- 13.Collins writes a farewell letter to Caleb, burns it, and removes her wedding and engagement rings. What did the burning of the letter symbolize for you, and did her later appearance in lingerie with her bare left hand make that transition feel believable?
- 14.In the epilogue, Jimmy, Clyde, and Sam gossip at the Bait & Tackle about Ansel moving into Collins’s house and about Sutton moving into Ansel’s old room at Fowler’s place. What does the Thermos Crew’s commentary add to the story, and what does it suggest about what may come next for Sutton?