Thursday, August 16, 2018

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

16
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 an upcoming read,  A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee.  The excerpts shared are from the hardcover version I borrowed from the library.


Beginning:  Wednesday, 9 April 1919

At least he was well dressed.  Black tie, tux, the works.  If you're going to get yourself killed, you may as well look your best.

********************
Page 56:  "I turned over, buried my hands under the pillow and contemplated, not for the first time, just what I was dong here."
********************

My thoughts:  I'm intrigued by the opening lines and the time period.  I want to know more about the narrator and the setting.  It's also appealing to me because it's the first book in a historical crime series.

********************
From Goodreads:  Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. But with barely a moment to acclimatise to his new life or to deal with the ghosts which still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj.

A senior British official has been murdered, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India: or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues–arrogant Inspector Digby, who can barely conceal his contempt for the natives and British-educated, but Indian-born Sargeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID–embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.

The start of an atmospheric and enticing new historical crime series.
********************

This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings on Fridays 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.

9 comments:

  1. Sounds like another great mystery series. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh, I do like a new good crime series - I'll be back to check out your review. Love the excerpts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Both snippets are intriguing and alluring!! Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This sounds fascinating. I'll have to add it to my wishlist. This week I have As Death Draws Near by Anna Lee Huber - a historical mystery. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is a really good first line.

    I'm not overly fond of historical mysteries, but this one sounds like it has a distinct edge to it. I'm making a note of it...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've heard such good things about this series. Think there is a #2 now. I bought this one in paperback on my Oregon vacation. It's unread as yet. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is a great cover and the opening lines are intriguing. See what we're featuring at Girl Who Reads

    ReplyDelete
  8. A new book to add to my wish list! I am intrigued by the opening lines as well. And from the synopsis, this sounds like it will be good. I hope you are enjoying it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh I like the sound of this one! The setting and time period is definitely unique and I need this one!

    ReplyDelete