Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, originally hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea and now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.
Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC to be released on July 24: Believe Me, by J.P. Delaney. In this twisty psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Before, an actress plays both sides of a murder investigation.
Intro: (Prologue) On the day of departure, guests are requested to vacate their rooms by noon.
By eleven o’clock the sixth floor of the Lexington Hotel has nearly emptied. This is Midtown Manhattan, where even the tourists are on busy schedules of galleries and department stores and sights.
(Chapter One: Five Days Earlier)
My friend hasn’t showed yet.
That’s what you’d think if you saw me here, perched at the bar of this corporate-cool New York hotel, trying to make my Virgin Mary last all evening. Just another young professional waiting for her date.
***
Teaser: He steps forward and clasps Raoul by both shoulders, as if he’s congratulating him on the wittiness of his joke. Then, abruptly, he brings his head down on Raoul’s nose. Raoul crumples like a marionette and falls to the floor. (51%).
***
Synopsis: A struggling actor, a Brit in America without a green card, Claire needs work and money to survive. Then she gets both. But nothing like she expected.
Claire agrees to become a decoy for a firm of divorce lawyers. Hired to entrap straying husbands, she must catch them on tape with their seductive propositions.
The rules? Never hit on the mark directly. Make it clear you’re available, but he has to proposition you, not the other way around. The firm is after evidence, not coercion. The innocent have nothing to hide.
Then the game changes.
When the wife of one of Claire’s targets is violently murdered, the cops are sure the husband is to blame. Desperate to catch him before he kills again, they enlist Claire to lure him into a confession.
Claire can do this. She’s brilliant at assuming a voice and an identity. For a woman who’s mastered the art of manipulation, how difficult could it be to tempt a killer into a trap?
But who is the decoy . . . and who is the prey?
***
Would you keep reading? I know that I’m intrigued.
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This is a new one to me, but I like the sound of it. I hope you enjoy.
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Thanks, Margot, I enjoyed the previous book by the author, so I’m ready! Enjoy your pick.
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How did I miss this one!? Love the teaser, wonder why.
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Thanks, Jenea, that teaser makes me curious about the relationship between those two! Enjoy your books
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I’ve got this one in my queue. I read her previous novel and liked it. Hope you’re enjoying it.
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I enjoyed the previous novel, too, Catherine, and I’m definitely eager to immerse myself in this one…soon. Enjoy your pick.
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Yeah, I would keep reading. Sounds a bit like a nail biter.
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Thanks, Donna, I think it will be. Enjoy your book for the day.
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Laurel, I’d give this one a try – curious as to where it is going. Hope you enjoy it. Here is my link:
https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2018/06/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday_26.html
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Thanks, Diane, I am eager to find out more, too.
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I would keep going. This plot sounds different from what I have read recently and this is a new author to me.
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The previous book by the author was quite different, so I’m eager for more. Enjoy yours, Susan.
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This sounds like fun… love the setting, too. First I’ve heard of it.
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Thanks, JoAnn, I first learned of it in one of those NetGalley e-mails…and since I’d read the first book by this author, I was eager. Enjoy your books!
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I haven’t read this author and while I’m intrigued, it also sounds a bit tense for me. I’d probably read it in one sitting if I started it. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Here’s my link to today’s FCFP and TTT: https://wp.me/p4DMf0-1DO
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Yes, one sitting sounds about right, but I do have to get up and walk around (while reading?). LOL Thanks for visiting, Ms. M.
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I’ve never heard of this author. This book sounds like something right up my alley. I would definitely keep reading.
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I found this author on NetGalley, so now I’ll be grabbing everything I can from her. Thanks for visiting, Monica, and enjoy yours.
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Yep, it’s intriguing.
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Thanks, Alice Audrey…enjoy your reading.
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I’d definitely read on. Wondering why he did that. Good teaser. My Teaser is from a collection of urban fantasy short stories set in the world of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
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Thanks, Laura, I am also curious. Enjoy your reading.
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I haven’t heard of this one, but that’s a great intro and teaser. I’m definitely interested in reading more.
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Thanks, Yvonne, I loved the author’s previous book. Enjoy your reading.
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Good choice Laurel this sounds as though it will have you turning those pages at a rate of knots!
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Thanks, Cleo, I can feel those pages rapidly turning already! I am definitely eager to begin. Enjoy your book!
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This is one I’d love to read.
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Thanks, Mystica, I’m really looking forward to it.
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Yes, I am intrigued. I still have The Girl Before on the stacks.
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Thanks, Nise, I enjoyed The Girl Before, and that’s why I knew I had to have this one.
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I’d definitely keep reading! This sounds so good and I have the previous book by this author on my TBR!
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Oh, you will love The Girl Before, Katherine, and I’m looking forward to Believe Me.
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I’d keep reading!
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Thanks, Vicki, I am excited about it.
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Eek! That is an amazing premise, Laurel. I hope this one has been a blast – I’m guessing you have finished reading this one by now:)
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Thanks for visiting, Sarah, and I haven’t even started it yet! It releases on 7/24, so I plan to start next week.
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I hope you enjoy it, Laurel:)
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