Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.
My opening comes from The Insanity of Murder by Felicity Young the fourth in the Dody McCleland series.
Blurb
To Doctor Dody McCleland, the gruesome job of dealing with the results of an explosion at the Necropolis Railway Station is testing enough. But when her suffragette sister Florence is implicated in the crime, matters worsen and Dody finds her loyalty cruelly divided. Can she choose between love for her sister and her secret love for Chief Inspector Matthew Pike, the investigating officer on the case?
Dody and Pike’s investigations lead them to a women’s rest home where patients are not encouraged to read or think and where clandestine treatments and operations are conducted in an unethical and inhumane manner. Together Dody and Pike must uncover such foul play before their secret liaisons become public knowledge – and before Florence becomes the rest home’s next victim. NetGalley
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First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro
Chapter One
The Necropolis Railway, railway of the dead. Surely, Florence McCleland thought there was no better place to plant a bomb.
Daphne glanced at the words above the well-lit station arch and snorted ‘Why they need a sign up there, Lord knows. One can smell it for here.’
Was her co-conspirator teasing? Florence inhaled. All she could smell was the usual aroma of the London streets:lingering motorcar exhausts, horse dung, soot, and the pungency of blocked drains from a nearby public convenience. Now an image of malodorous corpses filled her mind, stacked in layers, waiting patiently for their final journey to the country cemetery.
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This opening paragraph had me finding out more about the Necropolis Railway which ran from Waterloo to Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey. Opened in 1854 the railway was used to move as many burials as possible away from the severely overcrowded London cemeteries.
Do you want to know more? Or perhaps you’ve already read this book?
Please leave your thoughts and links in the comments box below
That first paragraph seemed like a good way to start an English mystery. I’d keep going.
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It definitely shouts England doesn’t it? Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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I really like the first sentence, but it kind of goes downhill for me after that. Hmm. Not sure for me. Hope you enjoy(ed) it!
My opener is posted over here, if you’re interested: http://www.bookpunks.com/so-it-begins-the-daylight-gate-by-jeanette-winterson/
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I am enjoying it although the stuff about the railway threw me a little at the beginning.
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I’m not clear what period this is set in. The cover and the reference to horse dung suggest early 19th century??
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It is set in the early 20th century with a strong emphasis on women’s lives at the time which is perfect for me.
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I’m not quite sure. I’d have to read a bit more before I decided to go on.
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Thanks for visiting 🙂
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Oh, I think you’re going to like this one, Cleo. I know I’m biased, but I do like this series, and the setting. And of course I like the Dody McCleland character very much, too.
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I am really enjoying this one Margot – It is always good when a book teaches you something new combined with a great story!
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Ii can’t say I enjoyed the picture this intro painted LOL
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It’s not the most cheerful of starts is it?
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You had me at suffragette. Thanks for sharing this new-to-me series that I have to start reading.
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Oh good! This author really captures the contemporary feeling about the suffragette movement, they figure highly in both of the books I’ve read in this series.
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Hmmm, don’t think it’s for me, but thanks for sharing.
sherry @ fundinmental
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Thanks for visiting 🙂
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Uh, oh – looks like another new mystery series for me to add to my ever growing list.
Mine this week is a series mystery also. Set in New Orleans in the 1830s, a few years earlier than yours. Graveyard Dust, Barbara Hambly’s third Benjamin January mystery: http://wp.me/pZnGI-ps
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It is a very good series – thanks for visiting and sharing your link 🙂
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I am curious about the suffragette sister. Is she guilty, or not? What a dilemma for her sister! I do want to know more. Thanks for sharing, Cleo, and for visiting my blog.
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I like this series because the characters aren’t presented as purely ‘good or bad’ especially the suffragettes who are depicted to reflect the contemporary feelings.
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The scents in the opening really bring the scene to life. Ick! I’d keep reading to find out what the co-conspirators are up to.
Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog today.
Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG
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Thanks for stopping by – that opening does paint a picture, doesn’t it?
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I had to take a sniff and make sure……The descriptions are very vivid. I thought of Charles Dickens for some reason. I like it. Would read of read more of this one.
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Oh I’m glad the opening grabbed your attention – I am enjoying it very much.
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Pretty sure I’d be googling Necropolis Railway, too! Hope you enjoy this one 🙂
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🙂 Thanks for stopping by – I am really enjoying this one.
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I most definitely would. Using words like necropolis and malodorous is delightful word play.
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I found the first two of the series in paperback on our library’s database! Requested them.
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Oh excellent news – I really enjoyed the first one and this is even better!
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I haven’t heard of this book or the series, but I’m definitely interested. And suffragettes, too? I’d keep reading!
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This series really focusses on the suffragette movement with Florence being a member but also reflects the contemporary views of the times – I find it fascinating.
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I love this time period! And a mystery to boot! I like the intro you shared and would definitely want ot know more.
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Oh I am pleased – I’m really enjoying this historical mystery.
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