TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “LET HER LIE”

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 another new book:  Let Her Lie, by Bryan Reardon.

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Intro:  (Chapter One, June 5, 2017)

When I was a kid, I used to pray for snow.  All winter I would watch the weather.  Every chance, no matter how small, filled me with hope.  That a storm would hit.  And we would get to stay home.

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Teaser: 

Late that night, Jasper moved along the empty beach.  The surf ran up the sand to his left, hissing to a stop a few feet from his path before retreating once again. (p. 61).

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Synopsis: Theo Snyder is at the end of his rope. One minute he was on top of the world, his documentary film The Basement a massive critical and commercial hit, the next crestfallen when his latest film was canceled after an embarrassingly public misstep. As his desperation grows, he makes a bold decision: to pursue the story of the notorious “Halo Killer,” Jasper Ross-Johnson. But delving into the life and mind of a serial killer could prove more deadly than Theo ever could have imagined.

At first, things are looking up. Jasper is willing to talk, the footage of the jailhouse meetings is spectacular, and famed investigator Zora Neale Monroe joins him on the project. Theo is sure he’s getting close to something no one else has discovered: the truth about why Jasper was captured before he could kill his final victim. Someone else was on the beach that day, someone who knows a lot more than they’re telling and just might know how it all happened. The truth could lead to more killing–unless Theo can uncover the real ending to the story of the Halo Killer first.

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Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “FORGIVE ME”

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 another new book:  Forgive Me, by Susan Lewis

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Intro: (Chapter One)

Marcus Huxley-Browne looked up from the warning call he’d just received on his mobile phone.  His handsome face was taut, pale, showing none of its usual boredom or arrogance—or the self-satisfaction that came from having so much.

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Teaser: 

Claudia’s heart had already tripped with excitement.  “Absolutely,” she confirmed.  “It’s a dream of mine, bringing an old Georgian property back to life.” (p.69).

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Synopsis: In prison, Archie Colbrook spends his time writing letters. Letters addressed to a person against whom he committed terrible, nameless harm. Archie knows he doesn’t deserve forgiveness. Yes, he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, and sure, he was only following orders. But does that matter? He still did it.

In a small coastal town of Northern England, Claudia Winters hopes to feel safe for the first time in years after fleeing from her abusive husband with her mother and daughter. Their new life is supposed to be a fresh start. But Claudia knows the past won’t stay hidden for long—and she can’t help but feel that someone is watching her. And that something terrible is about to happen.

Linked by one irrevocable act of violence, Archie and Claudia’s lives intertwine. Claudia can’t overlook what Archie did to her family—but is forgiveness the only way to truly move on?

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “HADLEY & GRACE”

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:  Hadley & Grace, by Suzanne Redfearn.

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Intro:  (Hadley)

Her watch says 12:52, which means eight minutes remain to get the cupcakes.  Plenty of time, yet Hadley feels her pulse ticking.  She looks at the two women in front of her and wills the line to move faster.  She doesn’t like to be late.

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Teaser:  (Hadley)

Hadley stares at the baby, watching him as he breathes.  She is alone in the passenger seat of her own car at the scene of a robbery with a stranger’s baby. (p. 58).

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Synopsis: Needing to escape her abusive marriage, Hadley flees with her two kids, knowing it might be her only chance. A woman who can’t even kill a spider, Hadley soon finds herself pushed to the limits as she fights to protect her family.

Grace, new mother of baby Miles, desperately wants to put her rough past behind her for good, but she finds it impossible when her path crosses with Hadley’s, and her quest for a new start quickly spirals out of control and turns into a terrifying flight for survival.

Stronger together than apart, the two find their fates inextricably entwined, and as the danger closes in, each must decide how much she is willing to risk for the other.

A powerful story of self-discovery, Hadley and Grace is the heart-racing tale of two women facing insurmountable odds, racing to stay one step ahead of the trouble that is chasing them, and discovering new kinds of love and family along the way.

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “EVERY WAKING HOUR”

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:  Every Waking Hour, by Joanna Schaffhausen.

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Intro:  “Wait, you’re just going to leave us here?  Alone?”  Ellery Hathaway had faced down serial killers and lived to tell about it, but she felt a cold trickle of fear as she glanced at the lone child playing nearby on the grass.  “I believe your ex-wife specifically forbade this proposition.  In writing.  With her attorney.”

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Teaser:  Teresa’s phone dinged, signaling the arrival of a text.  Eagerly, she pulled it out from her pants, only to drop it with a soft cry when she saw the screen. (p. 62).

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Synopsis: After surviving a serial killer’s abduction as a young teenager, Ellery Hathaway is finally attempting a normal life. She has a new job as a rookie Boston detective and a fledgling relationship with Reed Markham, the FBI agent who rescued her years ago. But when a twelve-year-old girl disappears on Ellery’s watch, the troubling case opens deep wounds that never fully healed.

Chloe Lockhart walked away from a busy street fair and vanished into the crowd. Maybe she was fleeing the suffocating surveillance her parents put on her from the time she was born, or maybe the evil from her parents’ past finally caught up to her. For Chloe, as Ellery learns, is not the first child Teresa Lockhart has lost.

Ellery knows what it’s like to have the past stalk you, to hold your breath around every corner. Sending one kidnapped girl to find another could be Chloe’s only hope or an unmitigated disaster that dooms them both. Ellery must untangle the labyrinth of secrets inside the Lockhart household—secrets that have already murdered one child. Each second that ticks by reminds her of her own lost hours, how close she came to death, and how near it still remains.

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What do you think?  This book is the fourth book in the series, and I have the third one.  I think I need to grab the first two before beginning the journey.  What do you think?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “AT THE EDGE OF THE HAIGHT”

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 to my shelves:  At the Edge of the Haight, by Katherine Seligman.

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Intro:  Root skimmed the sidewalk with his nose, sniffing at food wrappers, a black boot, and a pair of red tights someone had tossed in a perfect Z.  I put my hand on his neck and nudged him past.

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Teaser:  I wanted to kick Ash as he pushed me toward the man, who looked serious and so unhappy I couldn’t turn away.  What was I supposed to do? (p. 59).

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Synopsis:  Maddy Donaldo, homeless at twenty, has made a family of sorts in the dangerous spaces of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She knows whom to trust, where to eat, when to move locations, and how to take care of her dog. It’s the only home she has. When she unwittingly witnesses the murder of a young homeless boy and is seen by the perpetrator, her relatively stable life is upended. Suddenly, everyone from the police to the dead boys’ parents want to talk to Maddy about what she saw. As adults pressure her to give up her secrets and reunite with her own family before she meets a similar fate, Maddy must decide whether she wants to stay lost or be found. Against the backdrop of a radically changing San Francisco, a city which embraces a booming tech economy while struggling to maintain its culture of tolerance, At the Edge of the Haight follows the lives of those who depend on makeshift homes and communities.

As judge Hillary Jordan says, “This book pulled me deep into a world I knew little about, bringing the struggles of its young, homeless inhabitants—the kind of people we avoid eye contact with on the street—to vivid, poignant life. The novel demands that you take a close look. If you knew, could you still ignore, fear, or condemn them? And knowing, how can you ever forget?”

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “BLOOD ORANGE”

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 acquisition:  Blood Orange, by Harriet Tyce.

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Intro:  The October sky lies gray above me and my wheelie bag’s heavy but I wait for the bus and count my blessings.  The trial is finished, kicked out at halftime after a legal argument on the basis of insufficient evidence.  It’s always pleasing to get one up on the prosecution and my client’s over the moon.

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Teaser:  Madeleine’s words echo through my mind while the stark letters of the text message dance in front of my eyes.  Patrick gestures impatiently for me to start talking again once she settles herself at the table but my words come out in incoherent jumps.  Eventually he takes over.  (p.70).

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Synopsis:  A young lawyer’s outwardly perfect life spirals out of control as she takes on her first murder case in this “dark, original and utterly compelling” domestic noir for readers of Paula Hawkins, A.J. Finn, or Shari Lapena. (Lisa Jewell, New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone)

Alison has it all. A doting husband, adorable daughter, and a career on the rise–she’s just been given her first murder case to defend. But all is never as it seems…

Just one more night. Then I’ll end it.
Alison drinks too much. She’s neglecting her family. And she’s having an affair with a colleague whose taste for pushing boundaries may be more than she can handle.

I did it. I killed him. I should be locked up.
Alison’s client doesn’t deny that she stabbed her husband – she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story is deeply amiss. Saving this woman may be the first step to Alison saving herself.

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing.
But someone knows Alison’s secrets. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who won’t stop until she’s lost everything….

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Would you keep reading?  I am eager to find out more.

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “PRETTY LITTLE WIFE”

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 another new book:  Pretty Little Wife, by Darby Kane.

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Intro:  A Monster.

She missed the signs before.  Maybe ignored them without fully realizing it.   Now she couldn’t unsee them.

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Teaser:  She possessed the perfect mix of pretty with a whiff of mystery.  Ginny could imagine men at the yacht club falling over themselves to flirt with her, and her not reacting at all.  (p. 63).

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Synopsis:  Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems.

A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….

With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone.

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What do you think?  I am intrigued.

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “SHELTER IN PLACE”

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 recent acquisition:  Shelter in Place, by David Leavitt.

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Intro:  “Would you be willing to ask Siri how to assassinate Trump?”  Eva Lindquist asked.

It was four o’clock on a November afternoon, the first Saturday after the 2016 presidential election, and Eva was sitting on the covered porch of her weekend house in Connecticut with her husband, Bruce; their houseguests, Min Marable, Jake Lovett, and a couple named Aaron and Rachel Weisenstein, both book editors; Grady Keohane, a bachelor choreographer who had a place down the road; and Grady’s houseguest, his cousin Sandra Bleek, who had recently left her husband and was staying with him while she got herself sorted out.

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Teaser:  For Min, the disparity between Matt’s looks—he was six foot three and bore a distinct resemblance to the young Glenn Ford—and his fastidious manner, which expressed itself most obviously in his cooking, was troublesome. (p. 62).

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Synopsis:  It is the Saturday after the 2016 presidential election, and in a plush weekend house in Connecticut, an intimate group of friends, New Yorkers all, has gathered to recover from what they consider the greatest political catastrophe of their lives. They have just sat down to tea when their hostess, Eva Lindquist, proposes a dare. Who among them would be willing to ask Siri how to assassinate Donald Trump? Liberal and like-minded-editors, writers, a decorator, a theater producer, and one financial guy, Eva’s husband, Bruce-the friends have come to the countryside in the hope of restoring the bubble in which they have grown used to living. Yet with the exception of one brash and obnoxious book editor, none is willing to accept Eva’s challenge.

Shelter in Place is a novel about house and home, furniture and rooms, safety and freedom and the invidious ways in which political upheaval can undermine even the most seemingly impregnable foundations. Eva is the novel’s polestar, a woman who moves through her days accompanied by a roving, carefully curated salon. She’s a generous hostess and more than a bit of a control freak, whose obsession with decorating allows Leavitt to treat us to a slyly comic look at the habitués and fetishes of the so-called shelter industry. Yet when, in her avidity to secure shelter for herself, she persuades Bruce to buy a grand if dilapidated apartment in Venice, she unwittingly sets off the chain of events that will propel him, for the first time, to venture outside the bubble and embark on a wholly unexpected love affair.

A comic portrait of the months immediately following the 2016 election, Shelter in Place is also a meditation on the unreliable appetites-for love, for power, for freedom-by which both our public and private lives are shaped.

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What do you think?  Does the blurb grab you?  Do you like the snippets?

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE ARRANGEMENT”

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 recent acquisition from an author I enjoy:  The Arrangement, by Robyn Harding.

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Intro:  (Prologue)

“Daddy?”

Nat’s voice on the phone was small and tremulous.  She hadn’t called her father daddy since she was a little girl.  Hadn’t called him at all since she’d graduated from high school, since she’d moved to New York, since she’d started her new life.

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Teaser:  (The Drink)

Natalie’s gloved hand gripped the railing as she descended the front steps to her Uber.  To calm her nerves, she’d had a coffee mug full of vodka and Sprite while she’d straightened her hair. (p. 60).

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Synopsis:  Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favors are optional.

Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.

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Would you keep reading?  I am already hooked.

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TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “BEHIND THE RED DOOR”

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:  Behind the Red Door, by Megan Collins

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Intro:  Now that it’s summer, it’s not my job to protect the children.  I have finished the follow-ups on the girl who submitted a suicide note for her English essay.  I have closed the file on the boy who came to school with rope burns on his neck.

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Teaser:  My heart thumped when I read that.  My stomach roiled.  I had to set the book aside, curl into myself, wrap my arms around my knees. (p.59).

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Synopsis:  When Fern Douglas sees the news about Astrid Sullivan, a thirty-four-year-old missing woman from Maine, she is positive that she knows her. Fern’s husband is sure it’s because of Astrid’s famous kidnapping—and equally famous return—twenty years ago, but Fern has no memory of that, even though it happened an hour outside her New Hampshire hometown. And when Astrid appears in Fern’s recurring nightmare, one in which a girl reaches out to her, pleading, Fern fears that it’s not a dream at all, but a memory.

Back at her childhood home to help her father pack for a move, Fern purchases a copy of Astrid’s recently published memoir—which may have provoked her original kidnapper to abduct her again—and as she reads through its chapters and visits the people and places within it, she discovers more evidence that she has an unsettling connection to the missing woman. With the help of her psychologist father, Fern digs deeper, hoping to find evidence that her connection to Astrid can help the police locate her. But when Fern discovers more about her own past than she ever bargained for, the disturbing truth will change both of their lives forever.

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What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

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