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 this week comes from Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant which will be published by Mulholland on 5 July 2016.
Blurb
It starts with a lie. The kind we’ve all told – to a former acquaintance we can’t quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.
And the next thing you know, you’re having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday – swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of…
Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you’re trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you – by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it’s the lies that cause the real damage…
… well, by then, it could just be too late. Amazon
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro
August 2015
It struck me in the night that it might have started earlier. I sat up in horror and in the darkness, used my fingernail to scratch the word ‘BOOKSHOP’ on the inside of my forearm. It has gone now: the skin is inflamed due to an infected insect bite, which I must further scratched at in my sleep. Still, the act of writing did the trick, as it tends to. This morning I can remember well enough.
Hudson & Co: the secondhand bookshop in Charing Cross Road. I have been assuming it began there – that none of it would have happened if my eye hadn’t been caught be that silly little shop assistant’s red hair. But am I wrong? Were the forces already in motion, in the weeks and months before that? Does the trail of poison lead back, long before the bloody girls disappearance, to university? Or before then, even – to school, to that moment in 1973 when I struggled, puce-faced, into this unforgiving world?
This extract comes from a proof copy.
I’m not usually a fan of a prologue which is what this excerpt appears to amount, to but I think this one does set the story up very well, and better still it isn’t a prologue, there is more from the present later on in this book.
I love a lot of questions to get me thinking before I plunge into the story and this opening really captured my attention.
So what do you think? Would you keep reading?
Please leave your thoughts and links in the envelope below!
the blurb made this sound one i would be interested in. The first sentence felt clunky but i kept reading that paragraph anyway. I would probably give it a go
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Thanks for taking a peek 🙂
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I like Sabine Durrant and the excerpt had me at the bookstore. Sounds intriguing. Definitely keep reading.
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I know what is it with us bookworms and bookstores? Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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This does sound intriguing, Cleo! And that bookshop bit was especially appealing. I’ll be keen to know what you thought of it when you’ve finished it.
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I do enjoy books that try to pinpoint a moment that changed someone’s life, and a bookshop is the best place for that to happen I think,
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I’m definitely curious, but I’d have to read a bit more to be sure.
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I did enjoy that the narrator was a man, quite unusual for this genre.
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Loved that intro, I’d definitely read more. Enjoy
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Thank you 🙂
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The blurb makes me want to read the book, but I’m not so sure after the intro. Would give it a few more pages, maybe a chapter, before deciding.
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It took me a few pages to get into the rhythm which I put down to the fact the narrator was a man, and most in this genre are female.
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The title, cover, and intro all have me itching for more. Like you, I love when there are a series of questions to draw me in.
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Yes some people like the more mysterious opening but the questions this raised had me itching to read on.
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I am not familiar with this book, but from the excerpt you shared and the blurb, it sounds like it will be a fun read. I’m already feeling the pull! Perfect for the summer! I hope you enjoy it.
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It is one of those that is a perfect summer read especially as the narrator goes to Greece on holiday!
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I think I will wait a bit and see what you think after finishing it. It didn’t grab me right away! Hope you enjoy it.
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🙂 I loved it but can see why this didn’t necessarily grab you straight away – the first paragraph excerpt throws up some interesting variations on how quickly authors capture our attention.
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Wow, I’ve read a book by Sabine Durant before and enjoyed it, but that blurb and opening grabbed me and I would’ve said yes even if I didn’t know the author. I would definitely keep going!
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I agree Rita and if you enjoyed her other books I think you will love this one! I did.
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I love these little envelopes in which to put our comments! (I now have three blogs with this theme! lol).
The book looks very fascinating, and I’m always interested in how lies begin, how they continue, and how impossible it can be to extricate oneself. And how sometimes the lies lead to serious danger. Definitely one to continue.
Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
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Me too Laurel – I did notice the latest update to this theme.
This is a great read, especially as for a change for this genre the protagonist is male!
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I like the way the author set up the story in this first paragraph. i’d like to read more.
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Too busy for a first paragraph for me…
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I’d keep reading, sounds good!
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I liked the blurb and the beginning of this one. I would definitely keep reading!
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Excellent news – It certainly has had me hooked
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The blurb sounded fine, but I didn’t like the prologue at all. Too much hinting! I never remember prologues so all of that is wasted on me. The writing looks quite good though, so I’ll wait and hear what you think of the book as a whole…
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Yes it is a case of is it a prologue if it doesn’t say so? At least in the case we begin to get the information that ties up to the hints quite quickly so I didn’t completely forget what was said… but I know exactly what you mean, I often have to go back at the end to see what it said haha.
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I think I would need a little more to decide if I woulld keep reading or not. Girl Who Reads
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I would keep reading.
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Hi Cleo,
The fact that your teaser lines had me in a book shop, would be enough to have me read on, however the added ‘blurb’ would have sealed the deal for me!
I take part in a similar meme called ‘Book Beginnings On Friday’ and I am never sure whether to take my opening lines from any prologue, or to dive right into the first chapter.
I have tried both ways and come to the conclusion that quite often the prologue gives away just a few too many spoilers from later on in the story, so now I head straight for chapter one.
Enjoy the book 🙂
Yvonne
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I’d keep on reading.
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Yes, keep reading. The first sentence was enough to hook me!
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Very intriguing! The synopsis really drew me in, and knowing that, I understood the prologue. Oftentimes the first couple chapters of the prologue is obscure enough you don’t know what’s going on. I would keep reading!
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