Note: These discussion questions contain some spoilers! We suggest you finish the book before you read through them.
 
1. Near the beginning of the novel, Peony Lane tells Annie Adams she has a fortune for her, but the fortune itself is not revealed to Annie --- or to us --- in this novel. Do you think it would have changed the events of this story if Annie had known her fate? Why do you think Annie is ready to read her fortune by the end of the book, when she was not ready to hear it from Peony at the beginning?
 
2. The novel is masterfully woven across two timelines: 1967 with Frances and the present day with Annie. In fact, Annie comes to “feel like my life here at Gravesdown Hall is just a pantomime of the one Aunt Frances led.” Why does she feel like history is repeating itself? Do you think that’s the case, or is Annie changing these patterns through her actions?
 
3. Archie warns Frances that “people who know too much about the skeletons in the Gravesdown closets? They tend to disappear.” Why do you think Frances was undeterred by this warning, yet the warning from Peony Lane upended her whole life? 
 
4. Annie initially mistakes Peony Lane’s cause of death to be from the dagger in her back, much like she first assumes Frances’ cause of death was poison on the roses she had been arranging. Why do you think the method of murder for both of these women was so difficult to determine? Do you think Annie jumps to conclusions too quickly here, or is she simply following the clues in front of her?
 
5. The power imbalance between the Gravesdowns and the other citizens of Castle Knoll is tied to the car crash that killed Ford Gravesdown’s father, brother and sister-in-law. How do class inequities weave its way through the 1967 storyline? How does it have repercussions into the present?
 
6. Trust and betrayal are recurring themes in HOW TO SEAL YOUR OWN FATE. How do these themes manifest in both Frances’ and Annie’s lives? How do they determine who to trust? Why are they sometimes led astray?
 
7. Annie Adams faces many challenges as she tries to uncover the truth about Peony Lane’s death. How does her character develop throughout the novel? What are her strengths as a sleuth, and where are her blind spots?
 
8. The novel ends with new revelations about the residents of Castle Knoll. How do the reveals of these long-held secrets impact your perception of the town? Do you think this knowledge changes the way Castle Knoll residents see their town, or themselves?