1. Talented authors take readers on journeys that they might never take in their real lives. If you could visit a scene from THE FORGER'S FORGERY, would you head to Amsterdam for dinner at the restaurant d’Vijff Vlieghen, pack your outdoor clothes for a hunting trip in East Texas, or gear up for some weekend shopping and spa treatments in Dallas? Or would you pick some other place from the book that caught your attention?

2. This novel is based on an historical event, the forgeries of Han van Meegeren in the 1930s and ’40s. Discuss why you think the author chose to base his mystery on a real-life character, rather than creating a fictional tale and if it made the story more interesting.

3. Who was your favorite character? Discuss the reasons you liked this character and what questions you might ask them if you had the chance to meet.

4. When Henry first learns van Meegeren’s story, he’s surprised that the forger wasn’t reviled for being a con man. Rather, Bernadette describes van Meegeren’s rise to notoriety as the swindler of Nazi Hermann Göring. When van Meegeren chose to admit to forgery rather than admit to selling a Dutch treasure to a Nazi, did this surprise you? Discuss why.

5. Many of the characters underwent transformations. Discuss which character you think changed the most or the least in the novel and why. Discuss whether it’s important if a character does change in the course of a story.

6. The evil deeds of Guy Wheeless would be hard to forgive. Discuss whether the judge’s actions surprised you and why you think he acted as he did.

7. Many readers will likely do an internet search for the van Meegeren forgery, Perfect Strangers, described in this book. If you did that, discuss what you discovered.

8. What emotions did you have at the reveal at the Wichita Art Museum?

9. If you imagine this book as a movie, which actors would you cast: for Henry? Bernadette? Marylou? Starsky? Wheeless? Detective Esmeralda Ortiz? Others?

10. If you could have a drink or cup of tea with the author, Clay Small, what questions would you like to ask him?