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 Freda’s Voice.
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.
Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists! What a great way to spend a Friday!
Today’s feature is from a book I found deep on my Kindle, and which I hope to start reading soon: Watch Me Disappear, by Janelle Brown.
***
Book Beginning: (Prologue)
It’s a good day, or maybe even a great one, although it will be impossible to know for sure later. By that point they’ll already have burnished their memories of this afternoon, polished them to a jewel-like gleam. One of the last days they spent together as a family before Billie died: Of course Jonathan and Olive are going to feel sentimental about it. Of course they will see only what they want to see.
***
Friday 56: Natalie sits back in her chair, tugging absently at the end of her ponytail. “Maybe someone abducted her when she was hiking,” she offers. Then registering the distress on Olive’s face: “Or maybe she just has amnesia?”
***
Synopsis: Who you want people to be makes you blind to who they really are.
It’s been a year since Billie Flanagan—a Berkeley mom with an enviable life—went on a solo hike in Desolation Wilderness and vanished from the trail. Her body was never found, just a shattered cellphone and a solitary hiking boot. Her husband and teenage daughter have been coping with Billie’s death the best they can: Jonathan drinks as he works on a loving memoir about his marriage; Olive grows remote, from both her father and her friends at the all-girls school she attends.
But then Olive starts having strange visions of her mother, still alive. Jonathan worries about Olive’s emotional stability, until he starts unearthing secrets from Billie’s past that bring into question everything he thought he understood about his wife. Who was the woman he knew as Billie Flanagan?
Together, Olive and Jonathan embark on a quest for the truth—about Billie, but also about themselves, learning, in the process, about all the ways that love can distort what we choose to see. Janelle Brown’s insights into the dynamics of intimate relationships will make you question the stories you tell yourself about the people you love, while her nervy storytelling will keep you guessing until the very last page.
***
What do you think? Would you keep reading?
***
Hi Lorraine,
I am definitely liking the sound of this one, the title on its own already had me intrigued and wanting to know more, before I even got to your extracts and the premise.
I keep coming across books where everyone has their own little secrets and hidden lives, and quite honestly I’m wondering what I am doing (done) so wrong, that my life should be so ordinary and almost mundane! 🙂
Then when I sit and think about things for a while, I decide that I quite like nothing out of the normal happening, It’ll do me just fine thanks!
Thanks for sharing and enjoy the read when you get to it 🙂
Yvonne
xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Yvonne, and we wouldn’t want all that drama in our own lives, would we? We do like to read about it, though, lol.
LikeLike
That sounds really good. Thanks for introducing me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Lauren.
LikeLike
I’m intrigued! Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just started reading this, Ashley, and hope to enjoy it.
LikeLike
Yep – another one to add to the ever growing TBR!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sheila, I plan to finish it today.
LikeLike
This does sound good. I hope you enjoy it. Happy reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Kathy, I hope so, too.
LikeLike
Oh I like the sound of this one. Another book for my wishlist 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Yvonne, and I hope to enjoy it.
LikeLike
Oh, that sounds excellent!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I started reading it today. So far, so good, Gilion. Enjoy your books.
LikeLike
I’m quite intrigued by that 56!! Happy weekend, stay safe!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like it, too, Freda, and I’m reading the book today, so I just passed that section. I am curious about what will happen.
LikeLike
Congratulations on you Kindle find. It looks like a good one.
I enjoy books that have something to say in addition to the mystery, in this case examining how our expectations can alter our perceptions of reality.
Hope you have a good weekend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Roberta, I am pleased that I am finally pulling out older books on my Kindle. I read two such books this week, plus this one. Enjoy your books.
LikeLike
I think I’d be a little reluctant to go anywhere near a place called “Desolation Wilderness.” But I like the sound of this one. Thanks for sharing. Hope you enjoy all your reading this week.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I would steer clear, too, Joy!
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing! Sounds really sad. Not sure if I could read it at a time like this. Exciting for sure, but I always have a hard time with kidnapping stories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me, too, Matt; however, it is unclear, as I read the book, on what actually happened. I’m almost finished with it and still don’t know! I hope to find out that she just took off to get away for a while. LOL.
LikeLike
I would definitely keep reading! I love the sound of it!
I had to read the beginning a couple of times before understanding fully, sounds so mysterious 😀
Thank you for stopping by my blog, have a great Sunday!
Sara @ Sara In Bookland
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Sara, I just finished reading the book, and loved it!
LikeLike
Oooh, that prologue grabs my attention immediately! This sounds like a really good read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was! Thanks for stopping by, Sammie.
LikeLiked by 1 person