Tuesday, November 6, 2018

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

                                                      
 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.   

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Killing Lessons by Saul Black  The excerpt shared is from the hardcover version I borrowed from the library.

The Killing Lessons (Valerie Hart, #1) 

1

The instant Rowena Cooper stepped out of her warm, cookie-scented kitchen and saw the two men standing in her back hallway, snow melting from the rims of their boots, she knew exactly what this was: her own fault.  Years of not locking doors and windows, of leaving the keys in the ignition, of not thinking anything like this was ever going to happen, years of feeling safe--it had all been a lie she'd been dumb enough to tell herself.  Worse, a lie she'd been dumb enough to believe.  Your whole life could turn out to be nothing but you waiting to meet your own giant stupidity.  Because here she was, a mile from the nearest neighbor and three miles from town (Ellinson, Colorado; pop. 697), with a thirteen-year-old son upstairs and a ten-year-old daughter on the front porch and two men standing in her back hallway, one of them holding a shotgun, the other a long blade that even in the sheer drop of this moment made her think machete, though this was the first time she'd ever seen one outside the movies.  The open door behind them showed heavy snow still hurrying down in the late afternoon, pretty against the dark curve of the forest.  Christmas was five days away.


What do you think?  Would you continue reading?
I'm struck by the mental dialog of the narrator related to the unfolding scene.  She is extremely frightened, and you can feel the adrenaline pumping in her veins. 



This First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.
 

11 comments:

  1. Yes I like the internal dialogue too - that mental check-list of blame and possible solutions puts the reader in the situation.

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  2. Fantastic opening; it really made my skin crawl. I'm curious.

    Here's mine:https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2018/11/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday.html

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  3. This is definitely a great (and slightly different) beginning. Thanks for the Goodreads link, I added it :)

    Here is my Tuesday post, happy Tuesday!

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  4. OMG, what a vivid scene...and it reminds us of how everything can turn dark in defining moments such as these.

    Here's mine: “HEAVEN ADJACENT”

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  5. That is a great opening. I would definitely keep reading. See what book MK French is featuring today at Girl Who REads

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  6. Whoa - that one got to me! Hard to stop with just one paragraph.

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  7. Gulp!!! And now I'm glad I *always* lock my doors! This sounds great.

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  8. Wow, that would be terrifying! I'd keep reading.

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  9. I find this first paragraph incredibly scary - truly. Of course, I am a cop's daughter and I never leave my doors unlocked or my keys in the car, etc. However, even that will not always save people. Wow.

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  10. Oh yeah, the first sentence had me hooked.

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  11. That beginning just gives me shivers! I'm one who always locks and double checks everything!

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