Thursday, December 23, 2021

Happy Holidays 2021/2022

 


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While I take a short blogging break 
to celebrate the holidays . . .
  

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here's hoping the remaining days of 2021 bring you some joy, cheer, 
hope, and happiness . . .



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and that better things will come to us all in 2022, 
including good health, enjoyable books, and brighter days. 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

 

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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 current read, Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. The excerpts shared are from an eBook version borrowed from the library.




Beginning:  Prologue

There are many expensive houses here in Brecken Hill, an enclave on the edge of Aylesford, in the Hudson Valley. Situated on the east side of the Hudson River, about a hundred miles north of New York City, it's like the Hamptons, but slightly less pretentious. There's old money here, and new.

********************  

Page 56:  He's furious at his sisters; he's convinced himself that they have betrayed him, simply by thinking the worst of him. She hadn't liked it either, and she can understand his feelings of hurt and betrayal.

********************  

My thoughts:  Money, power, family secrets and dysfunction, murder: this novel has it all. With its page-turning plot, Not a Happy Family is a compelling read.

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From GoodReads:  In this family, everyone is keeping secrets--especially the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there. And they don't come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you'd know.

Wouldn't you?




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn

  

Today I'm participating in the How to Book a Murder Great Escapes Blog Tour. In this post you'll find information about the book and author along with my review. And be sure to enter the giveaway contest via the link further below for a chance to win a digital copy of the book and a $20 gift card.


About the book . . .

How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (December 7, 2021)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1643858599
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643858593
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08QVJFZZK
 

 

Synopsis . . . Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.

To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate, Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.

In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.

Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.

 

My review . . . When Emma Starr returns to her hometown of Silvercrest, Colorado after earning a PhD, she has no idea how busy and interesting her life is about to become. Helping her sister Lucy manage the family's bookstore and restore its profitability--and revising her own novel for publication--are enough to fill more hours than there are in a day. But spontaneously volunteering at the last minute to coordinate a Poe-themed mystery dinner party for the Baxters is not only a schedule-breaking decision, it's also a deadly one. There's a lot riding on the success of the dinner party both personally and business-wise given the fact that Tabitha is Emma's former high school nemesis and Tip is Emma's Aunt Nora's boss at Silvercrest College. 

Shockingly, Tip is murdered during the dinner, and Emma and Aunt Nora are considered prime suspects. Emma's overflowing to-do list now includes defending herself and her aunt  from murder charges and finding a killer--all while organizing a Halloween book launch for Aunt Nora's eccentric faculty colleague Calliope Nightfall, who insists on another Poe-themed event. 

Who killed Tip Baxter? As Emma discovers, there are many persons of interest among the Silvercrest faculty and his country club friends. And when the killer strikes again, it's a race against the clock to prove Emma and Nora's innocence and bring a murderer to justice.

How to Book a Murder introduces readers to Emma Starr, a relatable protagonist, and a well-defined cast of calculating faculty members, scheming self-promoters, artistic types, and everyday people. The novel's plot provides lots of action and red herrings, which are conveyed in timely, satisfying fashion. The  cozy bookshop setting and book-related activities contribute additional charm to this new series. Readers will find themselves rallying behind Emma as she returns to her childhood home, where she must reconcile with the mean girls of her high school years, while helping her family and planning her own future. This first book in the Starlit Bookshop mystery series is a delightful read. It nicely plants the seeds for future developments between characters and reader interest in upcoming installments. The next book can't come soon enough.

 
About the author . . . Cynthia Kuhn is an English professor and author of the Starlit Bookshop Mysteries and the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries. Her work has also appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD, and other publications. Honors include an Agatha Award, a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, and Lefty Award nominations. 
 
 
 
Originally from upstate New York, she lives in Colorado with her family.
 
 
Author links . . .

Website: cynthiakuhn.net

Twitter: @cynthiakuhn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cynthiakuhnwriter

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-kuhn

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/39587.Cynthia_Kuhn

Blog: chicksonthecase.com

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2MPiEMh

 

Purchase links . . .
 
            AmazonB&NKoboGoogle PlayIndieBoundBookshop 
 
 
Giveaway . . . Enter for a chance to win a digital copy of How to Book a Murder and a $20 Bookshop gift card by clicking this link. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tour Participants . . .

December 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

December 7 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

December 7 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 8 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 10 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

December 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

December 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 11 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 12 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 14 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 14 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

December 15 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT

December 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

December 16 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST

December 16 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW  

December 17 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 17 – Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST

December 18 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – REVIEW

December 19 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  




Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of How to Book a Murder from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
 
 
 
 
 
This Blog Tour post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.
 



 


 

 

 

 

Monday, December 13, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring a recent blog tour read, How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn. The excerpt shared is from an advance eBook provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

How to Book a Murder (Starlit Bookshop Mystery #1)

 

First Chapter:  "To be surrounded by books is an exceptional joy," Lucy said.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I couldn't agree more with the opening paragraph of this first book in the new Starlit Bookshop mystery series, set in a small-town bookstore. This series is definitely off to a good start!




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.


Monday, December 6, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring a recent read, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. The excerpt shared is from a eBook version of the novel borrowed from the library.

 

A Piece of the World


First Chapter:  1939

I'm working of a quilt patch in the kitchen on a brilliant July afternoon, small squares of fabric and a pincushion and scissors on the table beside me, when I hear the hum of a car engine. Looking out the window toward the cove, I see a station wagon turn into the field about a hundred yards away. The engine cuts off and the passenger door swings open and Betsy James gets out, laughing and exclaiming. I haven't seen her since last summer. She's wearing a white halter top and denim shorts, a red bandanna tied around her neck. As I watch her coming toward the house, I am struck by how different she looks. Her sweet round face has thinned and lengthened; her chestnut hair is long and thick around her shoulders, her eyes dark and shining. A red slash of lipstick. I think of her at nine years old, when she first came to visit, her small, nimble fingers braiding my hair as she sat behind me on the stoop. And here she is, seventeen and suddenly a woman.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

This historical novel centers on the life of Christina Olson, the muse for Andrew Wyeth's iconic painting, Christina's World. Set in the coastal town of Cushing, Maine, the story portrays the isolation and stark reality of farm life in the 1930's-1950's, as well as the limitations imposed on Christina due to personal health challenges.

Determined to live a normal life despite the debilitating effects of a neurological condition and a controlling family, Christina's world is ultimately confined to the farm and its surrounding locale. Her friendship with Wyeth and others, however, broadens her perspective and experience, offering her pieces of the world she might otherwise have missed.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

 

Monday, November 22, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Oh William!


First Chapter:  I would like to say a few things about my first husband, William.

William has lately been through some very sad events--many of us have--but I would like to mention them, it feels almost a compulsion; he is seventy-one years old now.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I am very intrigued by the opening sentences, and get the feeling that there is quite a story to unfold.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

 

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings on Fridays

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 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

The Lincoln Highway

Beginning:  Emmett

June 12, 1954--The drive from Salina to Morgen was three hours, and for much of it, Emmett hadn't said a word.

********************  

Page 56:  Oh, Omaha, I remember thee well.

It was August of 1944, just six months after my eighth birthday. That summer, my father was part of a traveling revue claiming to raise money for the war effort.

********************  

My thoughts:  I am excited that one of my favorite authors has published a new novel. I absolutely loved both of his previous books, Rules of Civility and A Gentleman in Moscow. He is a wonderful storyteller and writes brilliant dialogue.

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From GoodReads:  The bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility and master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction returns with a stylish and propulsive novel set in 1950s America

In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future.

Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles’s third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

 

Monday, November 15, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Secrets and Lies by Selena Montgomery. The excerpt shared is from a paperback version borrowed from the library.




First Chapter:  Nighttime suited Sebastian Caine. In the shadows, he could prowl the quiet streets, invisible to the unsuspecting eye. Dakkar or Paris, New York or New Delhi, the nighttime yielded its secrets to him with a delicate sigh.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

This is not my usual genre, but after reading Stacey Abrams's novel, While Justice Slept, I am curious about the books she wrote a while back under the pen name Selena Montgomery.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

 

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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 my current read, What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

What Comes After


Beginning:  First, the raw facts.

A week into his senior year, my son failed to come home after football practice. When he hadn't appeared by morning, I called Daniel's mother, Katherine. She walked off her nursing shift, drove six hours from Spokane and boarded a ferry to Port Furlong. By the time she was pulling up my drive, Gary Barton, the sheriff, was pulling out. I had contacted him when calls to friends and relations turned up nothing. Gary, a gruff, efficient man, had, in the span of a few hours, recruited and organized two dozen people to start a search.

********************  

Page 56:  Saplings--ten, twelve feet tall--leaned over the trail, blocked the last of the evening light. Daniel kept stooping to avoid branches, each time grabbing and holding them back for Evangeline. The foliage grew so dense it was hard to see.

********************  

My thoughts:  The plot pulled me in immediately, and I am completely immersed in the characters and the unfolding story.

********************  

From GoodReads:  After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys' families--a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection.

In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses--until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything.

Evangeline's arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn't equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future.

With a propulsive mystery at its core,
What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy, but inspiring a new kind of family.




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com. It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

 

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers. The excerpt shared is from a hardcover version of the book borrowed from the library.






First Chapter:  Kerrigan Falls, Virginia
October 8, 2004

It was the wrong dress; Lara realized that now.

It was the color of old bones. The intricate platinum beading dripped down the dress's fitted bodice in a scrolled pattern. Mid-thigh, the long chiffon skirt emerged, sweeping the floor with a dramatic five-foot train. Tugging at the garment, she looked in the mirror and frowned. Yes, she was definitely disappointed  with this dress.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

A dual timeline--1925 Paris and 2004 Virginia . . . a secret circus during the Belle Epoque period and the disappearance of a woman's fiance in present times. . . what is the connection? After seeing a recent interview with the author, I was compelled to request a copy of this book from the library.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Book Cover


Beginning:  Prologue

The bike lay on the side of the road beneath a gray oak, the handlebars at an odd, jutted angle, as if it had been thrown with angry force.

********************  

Page 56:  "Who is she?" She could hear the pompous school principal in her voice, because for God's sake, the drama. Why was a houseguest such a big deal?

********************  

My thoughts:  Although the opening line isn't very revealing, I am very much looking forward to reading Liane Moriarty's latest novel. The synopsisa mystery coupled with family dramais appealing and calling out to me.

********************  

From GoodReads:  From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest.

The Delaney family love one another dearly—it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

 

Monday, November 1, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper. The excerpt shared is from a trade paperback borrowed from the library.



First Chapter: Emma

If it hadn't been for a disruptive hamster and three nights of insomnia, Emma might not have found herself crouched in her understairs cupboard that night. She might not have heard the fear-pinched voice from overhead.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

That's an ominous beginning that makes me want to continue reading.




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and 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, The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman. The excerpts shared are from a trade paperback borrowed from the library.

The Stranger Behind You

Beginning:  Prologue

I have noticed in my professional capacity that when someone makes a point of saying that they're not lying, that usually means they are.

********************  

Page 56: I pack up the notebooks and folders I've amassed over three years, stuffing them indiscriminately into boxes because I can't read my own handwritten labels. They fill two boxes, which I take, along with a few boxes of books and two suitcases, in an Uber up the West Side Highway on a rainy day in the first week of August.

********************  

My thoughts:  I am drawn to the description and plot synopsis of this novel, particularly the possible links between past and present. It's also an opportunity to try a new-to-me author.

********************  

From GoodReads: In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Michelle Richmond, and Shari Lapena, comes the newest mystery thriller from Edgar Award–winning, bestselling author Carol Goodmana twisty, chilling story set in a former Magdalen Laundry in Manhattan that explores today’s #MeToo complexities.

It’s taken Joan Lurie three years to write her article exposing a famous newspaper tycoon as a sexual predator. On the eve of its publication, she celebrates at a party thrown in her honor and is riding high…only to be brutally attacked as she is returning home late that night. Traumatized and suffering the effects of a concussion, she moves to a highly secure new apartment building in northern Manhattan called the Refuge. Safely sequestered away, she tries to begin writing a book that expands her much-lauded exposé.

At the Refuge, Joan encounters a frail 96-year-old woman who has been living in the building since the 1940s when it was a Magdalen Laundry and Refuge for Fallen Women. When Lillian first arrived, she was hiding out from the infamous Murder, Inc mobsters. As Lillian relates her story about the long-ago incriminating incident she witnessed that forced her into hiding, Joan recalls certain details of her own investigation.

The more Joan learns about Lillian and the fabled story of the Refuge, the more she realizes they may be linked to the book she is writing—and to her attacker that fateful night. As Joan starts to connect the clues and unravel decades worth of history, she must stay one step ahead of those who are desperate to make sure Joan never uncovers the final truth.




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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

 

Monday, October 25, 2021

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.
 

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney, the first book in The Cambridge Bookshop series. The excerpt shared is from an eBook borrowed from the library.



First Chapter:  Thorndike, Vermont

Spring was much later than usual this year. The huge old maples in front of our farmhouse remained bare, their limbs shivering with each blast of cold northern wind. Only a few daffodils had dared to raise yellow, nodding heads, and these brave souls were soundly scolded for their impertinence when snowed upon. And inside the white farmhouse, which had hunkered low against storms and seasons and sorrows for more than two hundred years, all was quite grim.

Until the day the letter came. It was a Saturday afternoon, so I was home. The town library where I was assistant librarian closed at noon on Saturdays. But in a few more weeks, I wouldn't have a job at all. Budget cuts.

  

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

The opening paragraphs hint at a much-needed opportunity. I can't resist the start of a new series that features a librarian as a protagonist. And as a librarian, I can certainly (and unfortunately) relate to budget cuts. 




 



This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.