Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.
Today’s feature is from an e-book recently downloaded, but which I’ve been eagerly awaiting: The Child, by Fiona Barton, “a perfect blend of beach read and book club selection. It’s a fascinating and fitting follow-up to [Barton’s] best-selling debut novel, The Widow. . . .[A] page-turning whodunit….A novel that is both fast-paced and thought-provoking, it keeps the reader guessing right to the end.”—USA Today”
Intro: (Emma – Tuesday, March 20, 2012)
My computer is winking at me knowingly when I sit down at my desk. I touch the keyboard, and a photo of Paul appears on my screen. It’s the one I took of him in Rome on our honeymoon, eyes full of love across a table in the Campo dei Fiori. I try to smile back at him but as I lean in, I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the screen and stop. I hate seeing myself without warning. Don’t recognize myself sometimes. You think you know what you look like and there is this stranger looking at you. It can frighten me.
But today I study the stranger’s face. The brown hair half pulled up on top of the head in a frantic work bun, naked skin, shadows and lines creeping towards the eyes like cracks in pavement.
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Teaser: (Emma – March 26, 2012)
My yoga teacher is doing a guided relaxation, her voice purring over the tinkling of finger cymbals, lulling us into a coma. I love this bit of the class normally, but today I’m lying on my mat trying not to think about the ghosts of Howard Street. About the baby. About Professor Will (p. 63).
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Synopsis: As an old house is demolished in a gentrifying section of London, a workman discovers a tiny skeleton, buried for years. For journalist Kate Waters, it’s a story that deserves attention. She cobbles together a piece for her newspaper, but at a loss for answers, she can only pose a question: Who is the Building Site Baby?
As Kate investigates, she unearths connections to a crime that rocked the city decades earlier: A newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and was never found. Her heartbroken parents were left devastated by the loss.
But there is more to the story, and Kate is drawn—house by house—into the pasts of the people who once lived in this neighborhood that has given up its greatest mystery. And she soon finds herself the keeper of unexpected secrets that erupt in the lives of three women—and torn between what she can and cannot tell…
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What do you think? Have you read this one? Would you keep reading?
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Hi Lorraine,
This one is a definite for my list as it has been recommended to me by so many of my blogging friends. Yours are the first extracts I have read however and that only confirms my decision, especially those teaser lines … Just who is this Professor Will ?
Thanks for sharing and ‘Happy Reading’ 🙂
Yvonne
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Thanks for visiting, Yvonne, and I have been ogling this book for ages…and reading good reactions from readers. I am excited about it! Enjoy your reading.
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This one sounds really intriguing and I love the writing – slick and effective. I hope you’re enjoying it. Many thanks for dropping by:)
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Thanks, Sarah, I think it will be. I’m starting it later this week.
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Love the writing. I’ve been bumping into this book everywhere. I’m sure I’ll be giving it a try.
My TT from The House On Devil’s Bar
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Thanks, Laura, I loved the author’s previous book, The Widow, so I’m eager to dive in.
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First I’ve heard of this but I’m not sure I could read it. I’m palpitating already just from the excerpt. I hope you enjoy it, though.
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I’m sure it’s not for everybody, Ms. M; I hope to enjoy it! Thanks for stopping by.
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I have this on my list of books to buy – it sounds good!
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Thanks, Emma, I’ve been waiting for it for a long time! I’m eager to start reading it.
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Great teaser! I’ve heard mixed things about The Child but I still have it on my wishlist… I hope you are enjoying it so far. Happy reading! Here’s my teaser of Little Monsters by Kara Thomas.
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Thanks for stopping by, Yvo, and I hope to love this book.
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I’m currently listening to this one as an audiobook and loving it!! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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Thanks, Stephanie, I have good feelings about it. Enjoy your week!
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Thanks, Laurel! You too!
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This looks like a really good book – but probably one that’s pretty intense too! Thanks for visiting my Teaser this week!
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Thanks for visiting, Kym, and yes, it is definitely intense!
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What a fabulous story! The intro caught my attention, but what a synopsis. Now I want to know the secrets…and these three women.
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Thanks for visiting, Charlie, I loved the book!
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! Thanks for visiting my Teaser this week!
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You’re welcome, Todd, and thanks for the return visit.
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! Thanks for visiting my Teaser this week!
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Thanks, Arsenios…glad you could return the visit! And thanks for following.
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! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
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Thanks, Timothy, I did love it!
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