FRIDAY SPARKS: BOOK BEGINNINGS & THE FRIDAY 56 — INNOCENT LITTLE CRIMES — JUNE 14

Welcome to some bookish fun today as we share Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and as we showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists!

If you have been wanting to participate, but haven’t yet tried, now is the time!

What better way to spend a Friday?

Today’s feature is Innocent Little Crimes, a review book by C. S. Lakin.

Beginning:  Lila Carmichael’s massive face, frozen in Living Technicolor, bore down on them from the eight-foot-wide plasma TV mounted on the wall.

“Ugh—I’ve got a voice that grates cheese.”

Lila tossed sandwich crusts into her mouth as she half-heartedly trotted on the treadmill.  “I’m not that funny, you know.  People think a fat broad with a big mouth is an easy target.”

***

56:  Della downed her drink and fumbled for a cigarette.  Lila reached over the table and grabbed the bottle of water.  “This lady needs a refill.”

***

Blurb:  Six naïve guests plus revenge served cold equals a recipe for disaster…

Lila Carmichael may be a rich and famous comedienne, but she’s hidden her greatest talent from her adoring fans–her ability to simmer, spice and serve a carefully constructed tour de force at a cozy reunion on her private island in the Pacific Northwest.

Six unsuspecting guests have forgotten the innocent little crimes they committed against poor, gullible Lila fifteen years ago in college. All are teetering on the brink of ruin, hoping the famous Lila will come to their rescue. But their desperation plays them right into her hand.

One by one, Lila’s guests are figuratively killed off in a vicious parlor game called Wolves. And revenge turns bittersweet when the weekend is over…and one guest is dead for real.

***

I’ll be reading this one next week.  What are you sharing today?