Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring my next read, Glory in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts).  Last year I decided to give this long-running series a try, even though it may take the rest of my reading life to catch up.  (Book #46 was released last month.) 

 

Beginning:  chapter one

The dead were her business.  She lived with them, worked with them, studied them.  She dreamed of them.  And because that didn't seem to be enough, in some deep, secret chamber of her heart, she mourned for them.

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Page 56: "She could see his jaw tense and noticed the control it took for him to relax it again, but his eyes never flickered.  She imagined he could stare a hole through steel."

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My thoughts:   When I read Naked in Death, the first in this series, I was struck by how well the story (which was published in 1995) has stood the test of time.  After all, this is a series set in the still-distant future.  Yet the In Death series doesn't feel dated, which I attribute to the talented Ms. Roberts and her incredible imagination.

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From Goodreads:   The dead were her business. She lived with them, worked with them, studied them. She dreamed of them. Murder no longer shocked, but it continued to repel.

The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second murdered in her own apartment building. Both have had their throats slashed.

New York City homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both women were beautiful and successful; their glamorous lives and loves the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with powerful men provide Eve with a long list of suspects - including her own lover, Roarke.

As a woman, Eve is compelled to trust the man who shares her bed. But as a cop, it's her job to follow every lead, to explore every secret passion, no matter how dark. Or how dangerous.

 
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This Friday Focus post was originally written and published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.