TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “HELLO STRANGER”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC that will be released on July 11, 2023:  Hello Stranger, by Katherine Center.

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Intro:

The first person I called after I found out I’d placed in the North American Portrait Society’s huge career-making yearly contest was my dad.

Which is weird.  Because I never called my dad.

Not voluntarily, anyway.

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Teaser:

“She sounds like a psychopath.”

I nodded.  “She basically stole my life.  By the end of high school, she was living in my room, wearing my clothes, hanging with my friends, and sleeping with the boyfriend who dumped me after the scandal.”

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Synopsis:

Sadie Montogmery has had good breaks and bad breaks in her life, but as a struggling artist, all she needs is one lucky break. Things seem to be going her way when she lands one of the coveted finalist spots in a portrait competition. It happens to coincide with a surgery she needs to have. Minor, they say. Less than a week in the hospital they say. Nothing about you will change, they say. Upon recovery, it begins to dawn on Sadie that she can see everything around her, but she can no longer see faces.

Temporary, they say. Lots of people deal with this, they say. As she struggles to cope—and hang onto her artistic dreams—she finds solace in her fourteen-year-old dog, Peanut. Thankfully, she can still see animal faces. When Peanut gets sick, she rushes him to the emergency vet nearby. That’s when she meets veterinarian Dr. Addison. And she’s pleasantly surprised when he asks her on a date. But she doesn’t want anyone to know about her face blindness. Least of all Joe, her obnoxious neighbor who always wears a bowling jacket and seems to know everyone in the building. He’s always there at the most embarrassing but convenient times, and soon, they develop a sort of friendship. But could it be something more?

As Sadie tries to save her career, confront her haunting past, and handle falling in love with two different guys she realizes that happiness can be found in the places—and people— you least expect.

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE DISINVITED GUEST”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is one of my new books:  The Disinvited Guest, by Carol Goodman.

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Intro:

“We’re here.”

Reed’s voice wakes me from the fitful sleep I’d fallen into somewhere north of Portland, the slap of wipers and sluice of tires accomplishing what bourbon and sleeping pills had failed to do for the past two weeks.

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Teaser:

She had looked startled.  And then she said, I think you treat yourself like trash.

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Synopsis:

Lucy Harper still has traumatic memories and lingering health problems from the 2020 pandemic. So, when a new virus surfaces years later, she and her husband, Reed, seek refuge on his family’s private island off the coast of Maine. Ostensibly safely sequestered with their five closest friends and family, Lucy should feel at ease. So why does she feel the weight of the island’s dark history pushing down on the group?

As Lucy uncovers Reed’s family secrets and the island’s history as a quarantine hospital for typhus patients, she becomes obsessed with the past and feels her own grip on reality slipping. Tempers flare, strange signs appear in the woods, and accidents turn deadly. Is the island haunted by the dead? Or is someone amongst the living taking their revenge? 

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What do you think?  Keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “SISTER DEAR”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a hardcover book that has been languishing on my shelves:  Sister Dear, by Hannah Mary McKinnon.

Intro:

The police didn’t believe me.

A jury wouldn’t have, either, if I’d gone on trial, and most definitely not the judge.  My attorney had more than a few reservations about my story.

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Teaser:

A succession of loud knocks woke me up with a start. Save for the faint streetlight glow sneaking in through the windows, darkness had engulfed the living room.

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Synopsis: When Eleanor Hardwicke’s beloved father dies, her world is further shattered by a gut-wrenching secret: the man she’s grieving isn’t really her dad. Eleanor was the product of an affair and her biological father is still out there, living blissfully with the family he chose. With her personal life spiraling, a desperate Eleanor seeks him out, leading her to uncover another branch on her family tree—an infuriatingly enviable half sister.

Perfectly perfect Victoria has everything Eleanor could ever dream of. Loving childhood, luxury home, devoted husband. All of it stolen from Eleanor, who plans to take it back. After all, good sisters are supposed to share. And quiet little Eleanor has been waiting far too long for her turn to play.

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Now I definitely want to start reading this one.  What do you think?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens.

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Intro:

(Prologue)

1969

Marsh is not swamp.  Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky.  Slow-moving creeks wander, carrying the orb of the sun with them to the sea, and long-legged birds lift with unexpected grace—as though not built to fly—against the roar of a thousand snow geese.

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Teaser:

They sat on opposite sides of the sheriff’s desk, scanning.  Joe, now and then, swatted at a single housefly. (p. 60).

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Synopsis:  For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.

Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

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Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “ARE YOU AWAKE?”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is one of my new books:  Are You Awake, by Claire McGowan.

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Intro:

Samantha

The room was small and dirty. Bare floorboards gritty with dust.  Walls that were maybe cream once, now spotted over with black mould and grease.  In places, splashes of something she knew was blood.

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Teaser:

Mariam was beside him, and he could hear the light tread of her sandals, the swish of her headscarf, some silky material.  She had laughed at something he’d said.  Then there was a second he would always remember, when his body knew it had happened before he did. (p. 57)

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Synopsis:

With two young children, Mary hasn’t slept in what feels like years. For his part, Tim never feels safe enough to sleep. And so one hot, exhausting night, the two strangers meet while seeking solace in a nearby park. There, they witness something horrific: a violent attack in the window of a neighbouring house.

Bonded by what they’ve seen, Tim and Mary are desperate to find answers. And when they see news reports of a missing woman who was last seen walking alone not far from them, the pair are convinced it’s her they saw being attacked—no matter what the police say.

But with her marriage under strain and the police on their tail, Mary begins to doubt her own mind…and Tim’s. And as the pair are drawn into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, the culprit appears to be even closer to home than they thought. Have they got it all wrong, or is something even more sinister going on?

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Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE COUPLE AT THE TABLE”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a new book from an old favorite author:  The Couple at the Table, by Sophie Hannah.

Intro:

(Prologue)

Dear Whoever Killed Jane Brinkwood,

Dear Jane’s Murderer,

Which do you prefer?

This  is a first for me:  writing to someone while not having a clue who they are.  I’ve no idea how to approach doing something so strange, but I’ll have to figure it out as I go along because I need to write this down.

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Teaser:

“Are you going to stop—immediately, right now—drawing these maps and diagrams and driving yourself ever closer to insanity with endless beside-the-point permutations?”

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Synopsis:

Jane and William are enjoying their honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort…

…until Jane receives a chilling note warning her to “Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours.” At dinner that night, five other couples are present, and none of their tables is any nearer or farther away than any of the others. It’s almost as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless—but why would anyone do that?

Jane has no idea.

But someone in this dining room will be dead before breakfast, and all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could have possibly committed the crime.

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “SHE’S GONE”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is one of my new books:  She’s Gone, by David Bell.

Intro:

Video #1

I push the red record button.

I’ve never made a video like this, never tried to talk so openly to strangers.  Icy sweat trickles down my back.  I don’t know what to say or how to begin.

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Teaser:

Gabriela rolls her eyes again.  “Uh, the guy’s two feet taller than you, and he thinks you’re a psychopath.  Everybody does now.”

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Synopsis:

When a girl disappears, who do you suspect?

When 17-year-old Hunter Gifford wakes in the hospital on the night of homecoming, he’s shocked to learn he and his girlfriend, Chloe Summers, have been in a terrible car accident. Hunter has no memory of the crash, and his shock turns to horror when he is told Chloe’s blood has been found in the car—but she has disappeared.

Back at school, his fellow students taunt him, and his former best friend starts making a true-crime documentary about the case—one that points the finger directly at Hunter. And just when things can’t get any worse, Chloe’s mother stands in front of the entire town at a candlelight vigil and accuses Hunter of murder.

Under mounting pressure from the police, Hunter takes matters into his own hands by questioning anyone who might know the truth and posting videos to prove his innocence. When Hunter learns he and Chloe were seen arguing loudly outside the dance, he faces a sickening possibility. Was he angry enough to kill the person he loved?

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE GIRLFRIEND”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is one of my new books from an author that is also new to me:  The Girlfriend, by K. L. Slater.

Intro:

COLE

SATURDAY, 10:25

Cole Fincham paces around the perimeter of the party marquee, and only when he’s sure he’s out of sight of the house and his wife, Jennifer, does he take out his phone and read the generic text regarding his business bank account.

      You have exceeded the agreed limit on account ending 193.

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Teaser:

When she brings the tea over and a box of fresh tissues, I tell her.  I tell her everything.

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My husband’s dead. She’s at my door. She owns my home…

The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her buttery blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms.

As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts.

She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I know this will be hard to hear. But I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.’

My world implodes. And then she tells me that she owns our home – and that she’s not going anywhere…

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Wow!  What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE NURSERY”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is a new book:  The Nursery, by Sue Watson.

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Intro:

I arrived in a blizzard of snow, climbing off the bus in the middle of the night, not knowing which way to go.

The sea roared onto the pavement, making the walk from the bus stop almost impossible, but I had to keep going.

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Teaser:

I didn’t want to cause a scene and embarrass Sofia in front of Zoe, so asked her about the smell after her friend had gone.(p. 57).

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Synopsis:  Then: Morning light shines into the nursery, casting shadows across the pale pink walls and wooden cot in the middle of the room. She opens the door expecting to hear the soft coo of her daughter Sofia stretching herself awake. But the room is silent. The cot is empty. Her little girl has vanished…

Now: Twelve years have passed, but Emily will never forget the night her life changed forever and she’s happy to have her daughter back beside her. A teenager now, Sofia – who was once a star student – is getting into trouble at school and she’s started asking questions about when she was a baby, but Emily can’t tell her what really happened the night she went missing. Nobody would understand why Emily did what she did, and if anyone ever found out, she could lose her daughter forever.

But when Emily catches Sofia messaging a stranger online, her heart pounds in her chest as she reads the last message received.

Your mother isn’t who you think she is.

Days later, Emily returns home to find the house silent. She checks every room but Sofia has vanished, again. She shudders as she remembers that night in the nursery. Has her past finally caught up with her? And is she already too late to save her precious daughter?

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Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “SISTER DEAR”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by Socrates Book Reviews; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Today’s feature is one of my print books:  Sister Dear, by Hannah Mary McKinnon.

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Intro:

The police didn’t believe me.

A jury wouldn’t have, either, if I’d gone on trial, and most definitely not the judge. My attorney had more than a few reservations about my story.

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Teaser:

I spent most of Sunday in a contradictory combination of trying to rest my head, pretending to ignore what I’d discovered, overanalyzing everything I’d seen, spending more time researching the Gallingers and trying not to reach for the cookies as my stress levels rose. (p. 81).

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Synopsis:

When Eleanor Hardwicke’s beloved father dies, her world is further shattered by a gut-wrenching secret: the man she’s grieving isn’t really her dad. Eleanor was the product of an affair and her biological father is still out there, living blissfully with the family he chose. With her personal life spiraling, a desperate Eleanor seeks him out, leading her to uncover another branch on her family tree—an infuriatingly enviable half sister.

Perfectly perfect Victoria has everything Eleanor could ever dream of. Loving childhood, luxury home, devoted husband. All of it stolen from Eleanor, who plans to take it back. After all, good sisters are supposed to share. And quiet little Eleanor has been waiting far too long for her turn to play.

***

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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