Andrew Klavan: Nightmare City

3. One of the things Tom holds on to in the story is that Burt never lied. Is there anyone in your life that you have that kind of confidence in? How does it affect your relationship to have that kind of trust?

4. “Because as long as you do what’s right, you won’t mind if everyone knows.” Even though Tom knows this is true, is it difficult to do this? What’s the right thing to do when you do mess up?

5. At one point Tom realizes, “whatever the truth turns out to be, it’s better to know than not to know. There’s no other way to live.” Do you believe that? Or do you ascribe more to the belief that ignorance is bliss? When has the truth been incredibly hard for you to hear? Were you ultimately glad you knew?

6. Karen Lee had known for a while that Dr. Cameron was providing illegal drugs to the football team but she was afraid to do anything about it. How difficult is it to stand up for the truth when you know there could be very real consequences such as the loss of a job or danger to yourself? Have you ever been in a situation like that?

7. Burt tells Tom, “Being the guy he made you—that’s the bigger game.” How do you play the bigger game in your life? What were you made to do?

8. Tom was so focused on Marie that he didn’t realize how much Lisa really cared about him. Have you ever missed out—or almost missed out—on something good because it wasn’t what you thought you wanted?

9. At the monastery Tom hears a voice tell him: “That’s your mission. Live. And don’t just live. Live in joy. Even in your sorrow, Tom, live in joy. That’s what I made you for. Remember the Warrior. Play the bigger game.” If you had been in Tom’s place, shot and dying in the monastery, would you have continued to fight? What would you have hung on to that was worth fighting—and living—for?

Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as “the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as True Crime and Don’t Say a Word .

“This book will appeal to anyone who is looking for a fast-paced adventure story in which teens must do some fast thinking to survive.”

“Klavan turns up the heat for YA fiction…”

“A thriller that reads like a teenage version of 24 … an adrenaline-pumping adventure.”

“Action sequences that never let up… wrung for every possible drop of nervous sweat.”

“…the adrenaline-charged action will keep you totally immersed. The original plot is full of twists and turns and unexpected treasures.”

“[Klavan] is a solid storyteller with a keen eye for detail and vivid descriptive power… The Long Way Home is something like ‘The Hardy Boys’ crossed with the ‘My Teacher Is an Alien’ series.”

“I’m buying everything Klavan is selling, from the excellent first-person narrative, to the gut-punching action; to the perfect doses of humor and wit… it’s all working for me.”

“Through it all, Charlie teaches lessons in Christian decency and patriotism, not by talking about those things, or even thinking about them much, but through practicing them… Well done, Andrew Klavan.”

“This is Young Adult fiction… but the unadulterated intelligence of a superb suspense novelist is very much in evidence throughout.”

If We Survive

Crazy Dangerous

The Last Thing I Remember

The Long Way Home

The Truth of the Matter

The Final Hour

© 2013 by Andrew Klavan

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Klavan, Andrew.

Nightmare City / Andrew Klavan.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-59554-797-2 (Trade Paper)

I. Klavan, Andrew. II. Title.

PS3561.L334N54 2013

813'.54—dc23 2013023670

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1