TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE LYING ROOM”

On October 7, 2019 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Tuesday Excerpts11 Comments

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 The Lying Room, by Nicci French.

***

Intro: (The Assignation)

When Neve pulled up the blinds, the kitchen sprang into life like a theatre set, empty and waiting for the familiar show to begin. She looked around: it was all a bit threadbare, the skirting boards scuffed and that crack running down the wall. She and Fletcher had been meaning to do something about it for years.

***

Teaser: She was about to leave—she had raised her hand to open the front door—when she stopped. There was something odd about the flat. What was it? She thought and thought. She walked back to the living room. Suddenly she realized. It wasn’t what was there. It was what wasn’t there. (p.57).

***

Synopsis: It should have been just a mid-life fling. A guilty indiscretion that Neve Connolly could have weathered. An escape from twenty years of routine marriage to her overworked husband, and from her increasingly distant children. But when Neve pays a morning-after visit to her lover, Saul, and finds him brutally murdered, their pied-à-terre still heady with her perfume, all the lies she has so painstakingly stitched together threaten to unravel.

After scrubbing clean every trace of her existence from Saul’s life—and death—Neve believes she can return to normal, shaken but intact. But she can’t get out of her head the one tormenting question: what was she forgetting?

An investigation into the slaying could provide the answer. It’s brought Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Hitching, and Neve’s worst fears, to her door. But with every new lie, every new misdirection to save herself, Neve descends further into the darkness of her betrayal—and into more danger than she ever imagined. Because Hitching isn’t the only one watching Neve. So is a determined killer who’s about to make the next terrifying move in a deadly affair….

***

I am eager to immerse myself in this book. What do you think?

***

TUESDAY EXCERPTS: “THE DUTCH HOUSE”

On September 30, 2019 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Tuesday Excerpts12 Comments

Today’s featured book is The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett.

***

Intro: The first time our father brought Andrea to the Dutch House, Sandy, our housekeeper, came to my sister’s room and told us to come downstairs. “Your father has a friend he wants you to meet,” she said.

“Is it a work friend?” Maeve asked. She was older and so had a more complex understanding of friendship.

***

Teaser: As we stood there shoulder to shoulder, the dishes done and the most frustrating mystery of my life resolved, I remembered that this was the woman who had hit me once when I was a child. She had slept with my father and wanted to marry him. I thought of what a better life it would have been had Fluffy gotten her way. (65%).

***

Synopsis: At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

***

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “I’VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU”

On December 3, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts24 Comments

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 new e-book: I’ve Got My Eyes on You, by Mary HIggins Clark, a thrilling investigation asking what we truly know about the those we trust, and the secrets lying in even the most idyllic of neighborhoods.

Intro: Jamie was in his room on the second floor of his mother’s small Cape Cod house in Saddle River, New Jersey, when his life changed.

For a while he had been looking out the window to watch Kerry Dowling’s backyard. She was having a party and Jamie was mad because she hadn’t invited him. When they were in high school together, she was always nice to him even though he was in special classes. But Mom had told him that it was probably just a party only for Kerry’s classmates who would be leaving for college next week. Jamie had graduated from high school two years ago and now had a good job stocking shelves in the local Acme supermarket.

***

Teaser: “We try to avoid fixating on one obvious suspect. We’re determined to pursue any relevant leads.”

***

Synopsis: When a terrible crime shocks a New Jersey community, all signs point to one suspect. But if he’s innocent as he claims, it means the murderer is still out there…

After throwing a party when her parents were away, 18-year-old Kerry Dowling is discovered lifeless at the bottom of the family pool. The police immediately question Kerry’s boyfriend, who—despite proclaiming his love for her—was seen arguing with Kerry that night. As neighbors and classmates grieve the loss of their friend, Kerry’s 28-year-old sister Aline, a guidance counselor, searches for answers. She’ll do anything to help the Detective Mike Wilson learn what really happened the night Kerry was killed.

Was someone watching Kerry the night of the murder? For Aline, the truth could be deadly.

***

I’m enjoying this one so far. What do you think?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “THE LIAR’S WIFE”

On November 26, 2018November 26, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts18 Comments

Today’s feature is a new download: The Liar’s Wife, by Samantha Hayes, a jaw-dropping novel about the dangerous secrets behind a perfect marriage.

Intro: (Prologue)

I glance at the office clock then check the time on my monitor for what feels like the hundredth time. I swear the hands are moving backwards. The conversation brewing around me is making me anxious, worrying how I’ll deflect yet another invitation without seeming rude, stand-offish, ungrateful.

I just want to go home.

***

Teaser: There was no doubting it, Diana McBride was in a mess.

Made even more poignant after Ella had worked her magic on the film. (61%).

***

Synopsis: When Ella wakes up in hospital following a hit and run incident, she is scared and confused. Close to tears, her eyes fall on a get-well-soon card on the window sill and the nurse reassures her that her loving husband will be back soon.

But Ella has never been married…

Absolutely love twisty and unputdownable psychological thrillers like Girl on the Train, The Wife Between Us and Gone Girl? Then you will be totally hooked by this jaw-dropping novel about the dangerous secrets behind a perfect marriage.

***

What do you think? Do the excerpts grab you?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “SHELL GAME”

On October 29, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts20 Comments

Today’s feature is a recent acquisition: Shell Game, by Sara Paretsky, is a compelling and timely adventure centers on some of the most divisive and pressing issues of our time…

Intro: (Babe in the Woods)

The deputy turned without warning into an uncut thicket. Felix and I stumbled after him, following his bobbing flashlight as best we could, the suckers from the bushes and trees snapping back to whip our faces. When I called to him to slow down, he merely picked up his pace.

***

Teaser: It was my turn to pause while I went back over my conversations with McGivney. Simone had told the state’s attorney she had an investigator digging into Fausson’s associates; McGivney had made the leap, but it was a reasonable guess. (56%).

***

Synopsis: When V. I Warshawski gets word that her closest friend and mentor Lotty Herschel’s nephew has become a suspect in a murder, the legendary detective will do everything she can to save him. The cops found Felix Herschel’s name and phone number on the unknown victim’s remains, but Felix insists he doesn’t know why.

As Vic digs deeper, she discovers that the dead man was obsessed with Middle Eastern archeology—the first clue in a bewildering case that leads to a stolen artifact and a shadowy network of international criminals. But the trouble multiplies when Vic’s long lost niece, Reno, goes missing. A beautiful young woman with a heartbreaking past and a promising future, Reno is harboring a secret that may cost her her life. V.I. can hear the clock ticking on her niece’s safety and is frantic in her efforts to find her.

Vic won’t leave any stone unturned until these very personal cases are cleared—a complex investigation that will entangle the Russian mob, ISIS backers, rogue ICE agents, a nefarious corporation preying on the poor, and a shady network of stock scams and stolen antiquities stretching from Chicago to the East Indies and the Middle East.

In Shell Game, no one can be trusted and nothing is what it seems, except for the indomitable detective and her thirst for justice.

***

Do the excerpts grab you? Do you want to keep reading?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “A SPARK OF LIGHT”

On October 8, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts32 Comments

Today’s feature is a recent download: A Spark of Light, by Jodi Picoult, a powerful and provocative new novel about ordinary lives that intersect during a heart-stopping crisis.

Intro: Five p.m.

The Center squatted on the corner of Juniper and Montfort behind a wrought-iron gate, like an old bulldog used to guarding its territory. At one point, there had been many like it in Mississippi—nondescript, unassuming buildings where services were provided and needs were met. Then came the restrictions that were designed to make these places go away: The halls had to be wide enough to accommodate two passing gurneys; any clinic where that wasn’t the case had to shut down or spend thousands on reconstruction. The doctors had to have admitting privileges at local hospitals—even though most were from out of state and couldn’t secure them—or the clinics where they practiced risked closing, too. One by one the clinics shuttered their windows and boarded up their doors.

***

Teaser Tuesdays: As he expected, his grandmama started to cry. I lost my baby and my grandbaby, she said after a long moment. Maybe now some other woman won’t. (p.56).

***

Synopsis: The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communicate with the gunman. As his phone vibrates with incoming text messages he glances at it and, to his horror, finds out that his fifteen-year-old daughter, Wren, is inside the clinic.

But Wren is not alone. She will share the next and tensest few hours of her young life with a cast of unforgettable characters: A nurse who calms her own panic in order to save the life of a wounded woman. A doctor who does his work not in spite of his faith but because of it, and who will find that faith tested as never before. A pro-life protester, disguised as a patient, who now stands in the crosshairs of the same rage she herself has felt. A young woman who has come to terminate her pregnancy. And the disturbed individual himself, vowing to be heard.

Told in a daring and enthralling narrative structure that counts backward through the hours of the standoff, this is a story that traces its way back to what brought each of these very different individuals to the same place on this fateful day.

***

Would you keep reading?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “FIRST FLURRIES”

On October 1, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts24 Comments

Today’s feature is a review book from a favorite author: First Flurries, by Joanne DeMaio, a novel snow-dusted with love and possibility.

Intro: It’s time to leave.

Lindsay passes red barns and white picket fences along the winding country road. When she drives by a man raking the last of autumn’s brown leaves, or a young couple walking a dog, they all stop and wave at her. She gives her horn a friendly tap, accustomed to the attention now. Something about seeing the tiny house towed behind her SUV brings out that happy response in passersby. Might as well call her tiny house a happy house. It makes people smile.

***

Teaser: Together, they rumble into Snowflake Lake’s little parking area in twilight’s shadows. Minutes later, Greg walks in the late-afternoon darkness directly to Gus’ Blue Jay Bungalow. (p. 58).

***

Synopsis: Lindsey Haynes’ father once gave her a snow globe with the note: “Unsure where to go? Give a little shake … and your heart will always know.” On a whim, those words lead her to the quaint New England town of Addison. It’s a place straight out of a storybook with its twinkling town green, decorated Main Street, and secluded lakeside cabin community.

But an encounter with a dejected doctor named Greg Davis turns Lindsey’s days upside down, much like a snow globe in motion. With a little nudge from endearing townsfolk, and a few chance meetings of their own, a magical flurry of emotions suddenly swirls around them.

***

What do you think? Do the excerpts draw you in? Do you want to keep reading? I love revisiting the storybook town of Addison, with friendly characters and settings.

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “I KNOW YOU KNOW”

On September 24, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts28 Comments

Today’s feature is a recent acquisition: I Know You Know, by Gilly Macmillan, is a chilling and twisty mystery about two shocking murder cases twenty years apart, and the threads that bind them.

Intro: The weather is raw. Horizontal rain spatters Fletcher’s glasses and slaps his cheeks.

He saw the pit from the motorway. He had a bird’s-eye view from the overpass and another glimpse from a meaner angle as the car came down the exit ramp. The wipers were going like the clappers. He saw the backs of the gathered construction workers. The pit was a muddy gash in the car park in front of them, and the sticky clay soil inside it a dull dirty orange. Fletcher and Danny parked near the entrance to the superstore, at the end of a line of cars in disorderly formation.

***

Teaser: Fletcher stopped packing the car. He detected a hint of possibility in his wife’s eye as she described how she had a new love and how they planned to build a new life together. Listening to her, he was seized by a feeling of disorientation and loss, as if he was being left behind in life’s gloaming. (p. 56).

***

Synopsis: Twenty years ago, eleven-year-olds Charlie Paige and Scott Ashby were murdered in the city of Bristol, their bodies dumped near a dog racing track. A man was convicted of the brutal crime, but decades later, questions still linger.

For his whole life, filmmaker Cody Swift has been haunted by the deaths of his childhood best friends. The loose ends of the police investigation consume him so much that he decides to return to Bristol in search of answers. Hoping to uncover new evidence, and to encourage those who may be keeping long-buried secrets to speak up, Cody starts a podcast to record his findings. But there are many people who don’t want the case—along with old wounds—reopened so many years after the tragedy, especially Charlie’s mother, Jess, who decides to take matters into her own hands.

When a long-dead body is found in the same location the boys were left decades before, the disturbing discovery launches another murder investigation. Now Detective John Fletcher, the investigator on the original case, must reopen his dusty files and decide if the two murders are linked. With his career at risk, the clock is ticking and lives are in jeopardy…

***

Do the excerpts grab you? Would you keep reading?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “A YEAR OF EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTS”

On September 17, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts25 Comments

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC that will be released on October 16: A Year of Extraordinary Moments, by Bette Lee Crosby, a heartwarming novel about letting go of the past to make way for a brighter future.

Intro: (Alice DeLuca)

I’m an old woman now and not long for this world, but I’m not afraid of dying. What I am afraid of is leaving behind a grandson who will follow in his mama’s footsteps. I’d like to believe that in the years she’s been gone my Dorothy has straightened herself out, but inside my heart, I fear this may be little more than wishful thinking.

There is an old adage that says a child’s ways can be formed by either nature or nurture. In Dorothy’s case, it was a bit of both….

***

Teaser: The Appointment

Alice heard the rooster crow but remained in bed. The pain in her back was excruciating, and her legs felt as if they were weighted with something too heavy to move. Between the slats in the blinds, she could see the first rays of dawn creeping into the sky. (56%).

***

Synopsis: Tracy Briggs has finally gotten her act together. She’s focusing on her own life and helping her hearing-impaired son learn to talk. With her sister married and exploring a new career, Tracy has begun to run the family’s magazine business and feels her life is pretty much perfect. That is, until her son’s deadbeat dad shows up in Magnolia Grove asking for a second chance.

Now that her son is getting the help he needs and a promising new romance with his teacher is in bloom, Tracy wants to keep her life just as it is. But her ex isn’t taking no for an answer. And when a spirited elderly woman enters Tracy’s life in an unexpected way, she’ll have to work harder than ever to keep her new life on track.

Torn between the past she knows and the uncertain future, Tracy must decide what is best for both her and her son, learning along the way that ordinary choices can bring extraordinary possibilities.

***

Do the excerpts draw you in? Would you keep reading?

***

RAINY DAY EXCERPTS: “THE LIES WE TOLD”

On September 10, 2018 By Laurel-Rain SnowIn Rainy Day Excerpts32 Comments

Today’s feature is a NetGalley ARC for a book to be released on October 9: The Lies We Told, by Camilla Way, the highly acclaimed author of Watching Edie, who returns with a new novel of dark psychological suspense that explores how those closest to us have the most to hide…

Intro: (Cambridgeshire, 1986)

At first I mistook the severed head for something else.

It wasn’t until I was very close that I realized it was Lucy’s. To begin with, I thought the splash of yellow against the white of my pillow was a discarded sock, a balled-up handkerchief, perhaps. It was only when I drew nearer and saw the delicate crest of feathers, the tiny, silent beak, that I fully understood. And suddenly I understood so much more: everything in the moment became absolutely clear.

***

Teaser: (Cambridgeshire, 1997)

I’d kept the newspaper cuttings. I don’t know why. Doug had no idea, of course—he’d have been livid if he’d ever found them. We were supposed to forget all about it, pretend we’d played no part in the whole horrible tragedy. (62%).

***

Synopsis: A daughter
Beth has always known there was something strange about her daughter, Hannah. The lack of emotion, the disturbing behavior, the apparent delight in hurting others…Sometimes Beth is scared of her and what she could be capable of.

A son
Luke comes from the perfect family, with the perfect parents. But one day, he disappears without a trace, and his girlfriend, Clara, is desperate to discover what has happened to him.

A life built on lies
As Clara digs into the past, she realizes that no family is truly perfect, and uncovers a link between Luke’s long-lost sister and a strange girl named Hannah. Now Luke’s life is in danger because of the lies once told and the secrets once kept. Can Clara find him before it’s too late?

***