First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

Happy Book Birthday to a recent read, To Tell You the Truth by Gilly Macmillan, which is being released today!  I was fortunate to receive an advance reader copy of this domestic thriller from the publisher.

Beginning:  Prologue

There are the facts, and then there is the truth.

Chapter 1

I typed "The End," clicked the save button, and clicked it again just to make sure.  I felt huge relief that I'd finished my novel, and on top of that a heady mixture of elation and exhaustion.  But there were also terrible nerves, much worse than usual, because typing those words meant the consequences of a secret decision that I'd made months ago would have to be faced now.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?

The opening lines to both the prologue and first chapter are compelling teasers . . .

Here are my thoughts about Gilly Macmillan's latest novel . . .

From all outward appearances, Lucy Harper is a successful crime fiction author happily married to her husband Dan and adored by the legion of fans devoted to her Eliza Grey series. Nothing could be further from the truth . . . 

Lucy is damaged and fragile--haunted by the traumatic disappearance of her younger brother when they were children and the police's questions afterwards--and now subject to her husband's cruelty and gaslighting. When Dan goes missing shortly after the couple moves into a house bordering the woods where her brother Teddy was last seen alive, Lucy's grip on reality begins to unravel. Once again she is the prime suspect in a high-profile investigation. The police want to know if Lucy played a hand in Dan's disappearance, while questions about Teddy's disappearance reemerge. 

What does Lucy know about these cases? What is the truth--how much of it is she willing to reveal--and to what consequences? In To Tell You the Truth, Gilly Macmillan has written yet another masterful tale of domestic suspense with mysterious and sinister undertones that draw readers into a powerful web of secrets and betrayals delivered by an unreliable narrator.

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.