BOOKISH FRIDAY: “The Stolen Child”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a book I just finished reading:  The Stolen Child, by Ann Hood.

Book Beginning:

(1935) Enzo Piccolo, master craftsman of presepe, hurried along the streets of Naples with a box of glass tubes.  It was April, and in April Enzo and his brother, Massimo, were working day and night to complete the figures for the Nativities.

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Friday 56:

Nick started to get out of the bed. “I’ve got to go home,” he said, reaching for his shirt, which was neatly folded, along with his pants, on a mustard-yellow vinyl chair.

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Synopsis:An unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child’s fate in this moving, page-turning novel from “a gifted storyteller” (People).

For decades, Nick Burns has been haunted by a decision he made as a young soldier in World War I, when a French artist he’d befriended thrust both her paintings and her baby into his hands—and disappeared. In 1974, with only months left to live, Nick enlists Jenny, a college dropout desperate for adventure, to help him unravel the mystery. The journey leads them from Paris galleries and provincial towns to a surprising place: the Museum of Tears, the life’s work of a lonely Italian craftsman. Determined to find the baby and the artist, hopeless romantic Jenny and curmudgeonly Nick must reckon with regret, betrayal, and the lives they’ve left behind.

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Would you keep reading? I finished this book today, and while there were a number of twists and somewhat confusing aspects, I loved how it wrapped up in the end.

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “GRANITE HARBOR”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is my current read:  Granite Harbor, by Peter Nichols.

Book Beginning:

The three boys rode their skateboards down Chestnut Street until long after dark.  Streetlights glowed faintly in the depthless shadow that draped Granite Harbor below the rim of Mount Meguntic.

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Friday 56:

And behind the boys stood a chestnut-haired girl.  Ashley knew her too.  The policeman’s daughter.

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Synopsis:

In scenic Granite Harbor, life has continued on―quiet and serene―for decades. That is until a local teenager is found brutally murdered in the Settlement, the town’s historic archaeological site. Alex Brangwen, adjusting to life as a single father with a failed career as a novelist, is the town’s sole detective. This is his first murder case and, as both a parent and detective, Alex knows the people of Granite Harbor are looking to him to catch the killer and temper the fear that has descended over the town.

Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. When a second body is found, both parents are terrified that their child may be next. As Alex and Isabel race to find the killer in their midst, the town’s secrets―past and present―begin bubbling to the surface, threatening to unravel the tight-knit community.

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Would you keep reading? I am enjoying it so far.

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UNEXPECTED TREASURES…

As I ponder the week ahead, I recall the moments from the past.  Those unexpected treasures that keep me coming to my various blogs.

This site is a favorite, since, in part, it is based on my first published novel: An Accidental Life.

It all began when I came into a partial inheritance that allowed me to buy an A-frame house in the foothills.  A house that became the centerpiece for this novel.

How did I turn this grand treasure into a novel?  Well, as with most of my books, I have incorporated my life moments into stories.  And characters.

Check out the book and its characters, and then, if you like, continue on with all six of my life treasures.

It has been a while since I went down those pathways, but now that I am in my own little apartment, retired and enjoying life’s other treasures, I want to share those moments.

Enjoy your reading and blogging!

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “The Starter Wife”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a book I just finished: The Starter Wife, by Rowen Chambers.

Book Beginning:

(Prologue):

Lauren

“Mrs. Bishop.”  An older man stands at the doorway of my hospital room.  “I’m Detective Myles, the investigator assigned to your case.  The nurse said you were up for answering a few questions?”

***

 

Friday 56:

“I’m not worried,” I say, and I’m not.

In fact, Audrey has no idea that the scenario she described is exactly what I’m hoping for.

***

Synopsis:

She was the perfect wife. Until he no longer needed her.

When Lauren met Steven, she was instantly drawn to his charm, sophistication, and drive to succeed. But soon after their wedding, the loving, affectionate man she fell in love with became cold and controlling.

Twelve years later, Lauren’s desperate to free herself from her husband. So when she finds herself bedridden after a car accident, she devises a plan to finally get him out of her life.

She hires a live-in nurse. Young, beautiful, and easily manipulated, Hannah couldn’t be more perfect. Just as Lauren predicted, Hannah instantly falls for Steven’s charm and allure, unaware that it’s all an act.

Hannah doesn’t know the real Steven. Nobody does. But they will soon.

It’s the perfect plan. Steven will finally get what he deserves and Lauren will have her freedom.

Except Steven has a plan too. One that’s much darker… and started the day he met her.

***

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Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “CHRISTA COMES OUT OF HER SHELL”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a new book I am reading:  Christa Comes Out of Her Shell, by Abbi Waxman.

Book Beginning:

So I’m going to kick off by making one thing very clear:  None of this was my fault. I was part of it, sure, but only like a flea is part of a cat.

***

Friday 56:

As an ad for potato chips came on, my sisters erupted.  I was glad I was in the kitchen, because both of them leaping and stomping is a lot to dodge.

***

Synopsis:

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Barnet has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

***

Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “DAUGHTER OF MINE”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is Daughter of Mine, by Megan Miranda.

Book Beginning:

(Prologue)

The drought started in the West. We watched on the news as the waters dropped in the reservoirs and lakes, and their secrets and ghosts slowly emerged.

***

Friday 56:

There was low visibility in the deep, silty water.  It had always been best to keep your eyes closed underneath.

***

Synopsis:  When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

***

Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “SHE’S NOT SORRY”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a new book from Mary Kubica:  “She’s Not Sorry.”

Book Beginning:

(Prologue)

My phone starts to ring as I open the door to walk into the store.It’s buried in the depths of my bag and is difficult to find.

***

Friday 56:

“It’s good to know our limitations, I suppose.”

***

Synopsis:

Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has remorse…

A terrible accident.

Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom and working full time as an ICU nurse, when a patient named Caitlin arrives in her ward with a traumatic brain injury. They say she jumped from a bridge and plunged over twenty feet to the train tracks below.

A shocking revelation.

When a witness comes forward with new details about Caitlin’s fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was Caitlin actually pushed and if so, by whom and why?

No one is safe.

Meghan lets herself get close to Caitlin until she’s deeply entangled in the mystery surrounding her. Only when it’s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims…

***

Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE PRINCESS OF LAS VEGAS”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a new book, The Princess of Las Vegas, by Chris Bohjalian.

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Book Beginning:

The sun was setting as they drove west from the strip, and the two men in the car were squinting behind their sunglasses.  Eventually, there was but a fleeting gold band on the horizon, and Richie Morley, who was behind the wheel of the Jag, observed how the vista never grew old—it was one more reason why he lived here—and then he took off his shades and tossed them into the caddy in the wide vehicle’s door.

***

Friday 56:

And she was about to turn thirteen, one of the hardest ages there is in even the best of circumstances.  You’re a hormonal dumpster fire.

***

Synopsis:

Crissy Dowling has created a world that suits her perfectly. She passes her days by the pool in a private cabana, she splurges on ice cream but never gains an ounce, and each evening she transforms into a Princess, performing her musical cabaret inspired by the life of the late Diana Spencer. Some might find her strange or even delusional, an American speaking with a British accent, hair feathered into a style thirty years old, living and working in a casino that has become a dated trash heap. On top of that, Crissy’s daily diet of Adderall and Valium leaves her more than a little tipsy, her Senator boyfriend has gone back to his wife, and her entire career rests on resembling a dead woman. And yet, fans see her for the gifted chameleon she is, showering her with gifts, letters, and standing ovations night after night. But when Crissy’s sister, Betsy, arrives in town with a new boyfriend and a teenage daughter, and when Richie Morley, the owner of the Buckingham Palace Casino, is savagely murdered, Crissy’s carefully constructed kingdom comes crashing down all around her. A riveting tale of identity, obsession, fintech, and high-tech mobsters, The Princess of Las Vegas is an addictive, wildly original thriller from one of our most extraordinary storytellers.

***

Would you keep reading?

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is a new book for me from a favorite author:  Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter, by Nicci French.

Book Beginning:

(Prologue)

Thirty years ago, in a village in East Anglia where the land is swallowed up by mudflats and marshes and a hard wind blows in from the sea, a woman went missing.

***

Friday 56:

Alec has come in late and said he didn’t want anything to eat. Etty couldn’t decipher his mood:  he was morose, but every so often anger flared up in him then died down again, leaving him more sullen.

***

Synopsis:On the day of Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday party, his wife, Charlotte, vanishes. Most of the small English village of Glensted is at the party for hours before anyone realizes she is missing. While Alec brushes off her disappearance, their four children—especially fifteen-year-old Etty—grow increasingly anxious as the cold winter hours become days and she doesn’t return. Then Etty and her friend Morgan find the body of Morgan’s father—and the Salters’ neighbor— Duncan Ackerley, floating in the river. The police conclude that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair before he killed her and committed suicide.

Thirty years later, Morgan Ackerley returns to Glensted with his older brother to make a podcast based on their shared tragedy with the Salters. Alec, stricken with dementia, is entering an elder care facility while Etty helps put his affairs in order. But when the Ackerleys ask to interview the Salters, the entire town gets caught up in the unresolved cases.

Allegations fly, secrets come to light, and a suspicious fire leads to a murder. With the podcast making national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to Glensted to take over the investigation. She will stop at nothing to uncover the truth as a new and terrifying picture of what really happened to Charlotte Salter and Duncan Ackerley emerges.

***

Would you keep reading?  I always enjoy this author.

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BOOKISH FRIDAY: “BYE, BABY”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with My Head Is Full of Books.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is Bye, Baby, by Carola Lovering.

Book Beginning:

(Prologue)

October 13, 2023

The baby stops fussing, settling into my arms like a sleepy puppy.The soft weight of her. Her lips pucker, then relax, her little chest rising and falling almost to the rhythm of my own. She is back to sleep, her face peaceful as a porcelain doll’s. That wasn’t hard.

***

Friday 56:

Cassie seems to have recovered. She looks from me to Grandma Catherine, a small smile on her lips. “Billie does have the best hair, doesn’t she?”

***

Synopsis: On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It’s her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she’s just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world.

Once fiercely bonded by their secrets, Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood, no longer the inseparable pair they used to be in their small Hudson Valley hometown. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a lifestyle influencer. She is desperate to leave her past behind—including Billie, who is single and childless, and no longer fits into her world. But Billie knows the worst thing Cassie has ever done, and she will do whatever it takes to restore their friendship…

Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style, Bye, Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time, the lingering echoes of childhood trauma, and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships.

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Would you keep reading?

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