“Thank you, thank you, Lord, thank you.”
Amalia could think of no other words she could add to her husband’s praise.
AUTHOR BIO
Lisa Lickel is a best-selling, award-winning author who lives with her husband in an old house built by a Great Lakes ship captain, collects dragons, and enjoys travel. They have grandchildren and a grand kitty. Her published novels include the Buried Treasure cozy mystery series, the First Children of Farmington series, Meow Mayhem, and the award-winning romance Meander Scar. Other titles include A Summer in Oakville, Healing Grace, and selections in the anthologies Brave New Century and A Wisconsin Harvest, Volume II. A freelance editor, she’s also written and performed radio theater, is a top reviewer at GoodReads, and an avid blogger. Find more at LisaLickel.com.
For Reflection or Discussion
The theme of The Last Detail is relationships. What kinds of relationships are described?
Who were the main characters and the secondary characters? How did they interact?
Merit and Amalia had choices to make which affected not only themselves but others around them. How did these choices change during the stages of their relationship?
Both the Illinois and the overseas settings were fictional, but near real places. How did they play into the theme of the story? What did the story of Starved Rock symbolize?
What other kinds of symbolism were used in the story? What cultural and social customs affected the relationships and the events?
Why do you think Merit’s brother-n-law, Tom, choose to keep the family secret the way he did? What would have been different if he hadn’t?
How were Merit and Amalia influenced by their upbringing?
What secrets did the characters in The Last Detail have?
Pete says in chapter eleven, “So, you think if you don’t have love, God can’t take it away.” What did he mean? What was Merit afraid of? Have you ever felt that way?
What was Amalia’s reaction to the Christmas news about Bunty? Did she have a right to feel the way she did?
Throughout the story there was a series of miscommunications that threaten Amalia and Merit’s relationship. What were some of them and how, or were they, resolved?
What did the characters learn through their courtship and marriage? How do you handle both trials and triumphs in your relationships?
Starved Rock State Park
Utica, Illinois
The Peru-LaSalle area of east central Illinois along the Illinois River has been inhabited in some form for 8,000 years. French explorers claimed the region in the late seventeenth century and built Fort St. Louis atop what became known as Starved Rock. The French and Indian Wars eventually led to the abandonment of the fort after only about twenty years of occupancy. Illiniwek, Potawatomi, and Ottawa people lived in the area during this time. The legend that named Starved Rock came about in the 1760s when Pontiac, the chief of the Ottawa, was killed by the Illiniwek chief, Kinebo, during a tribal council. To avenge the killing, the Potawatomi and their allies the Ottawa drove a small band of Illiniwek up the 125-foot sandstone bluff and refused to let them down. The Illiniwek starved to death.
The beautiful lodge and conference center at the park is indeed available for rentals, including weddings, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1939 and is open year round.
The inspiration for The Last Detail came in part from the Starved Rock murders on March 14, 1960. Three women friends from Riverside, Illinois visited the park for a vacation. They registered, had lunch, and told the caretaker they were going for a hike. Their bludgeoned bodies were found some days later, after a freak snowstorm, and after one of the husbands had been unable to reach his wife. A local man who had been implicated in other attacks was eventually arrested and imprisoned after a sensational trial.
One the friends had recently lost her husband. I wondered what would happen to a murder victim, or anyone for that matter, who had no one, no family, to care about the final details of life. This idea became the framework for The Last Detail.
Visit the following websites for more information, as well as take a virtual tour:
www.starvedrockstatepark.org
www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/PARKS/I&M/EAST/STARVE/Park.htm
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