Book Beginnings: The Monster in the Box

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Visit the post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.


The first two sentences in the book I am currently reading are:

He had never told anyone. The strange relationship, if it could be called that, had gone on for years, decades, and he had never breathed a word about it.

The book is The Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell.

This is the 22nd book in the Inspector Wexford series and it is the next to the last in the series (so far). So I am nearly done with this series. And then I am going to start all over again, since I have all the books. (Actually, I have already read the first book in the series, From Doon with Death, for the second time, and am ready to read the second one.)

In this book, Wexford is nearing the end of his career as a policeman, and he is remembering back to a case at the beginning of his career and a man who has haunted him all these years. I am not far into the book but I can already tell that the story will be a compelling one. I hope so.

Book Beginnings: The Secret Adversary

Today, I have a submission for Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader. check the link to learn how to participate in the meme.

I enjoy participating because it forces me to stop and think about the book, why I like it (or not). And then I check out other posts and get some ideas for other types of books I may want to read. I tend to stay in the mystery genre, and it is good to consider other options.

I participated in this meme earlier in the year, then had some difficulties keeping up with a regularly scheduled event. But I am glad to get back to this meme and check out other posts submitted.

The  first lines of my book are...

It was 2 p.m. on the afternoon of May 7, 1915. The Lusitania had been struck by two torpedoes in succession and was sinking rapidly, while the boats were being launched with all possible speed. The women and children were being lined up awaiting their turn. Some still clung desperately to husbands and fathers; others clutched their children closely to their breasts. One girl stood alone, slightly apart from the rest. She was quite young, not more than eighteen. She did not seem afraid, and her grave, steadfast eyes looked straight ahead.

The book is The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, published in 1922.

Right away, the author tells us our time period and sets up an event that will guide the story for the remainder of the book. This is actually the beginning of a prologue. The book quickly moves to a year or so after World War I has ended.

This is a vintage mystery and one I probably read years ago. I am, however, planning on rereading a number of Agatha Christie books. This year I have been reading some books for the World War I Reading Challenge at War Through the Generations. Although this one does not focus on World War I, it does mention the problems that both men and women had finding jobs and readjusting to life following the Great War. And this time, as I read it, I have a little more understanding of that time.

I am enjoying reading this book. It is a lot less serious than the first few lines indicate, yet it is covering a serious subject. So far, my take is that it is an entertaining cozy mystery.

Book Beginnings

Every Friday Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

The guidelines of the meme are: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

I invite you to stop by the post at Rose City Reader. The Book Beginnings meme provides an opportunity to hear about books we might not otherwise be aware of.

The  first lines of my book are...

A grim prospect greeted Troy and Bonham. Eight small boys ranged across the pavement, all looking expectantly toward Bonham. No one spoke, the expectant looks seemed fixed somewhere between joy and tears.

I had mixed reactions to these first few sentences. They do pull you in and make you curious. What is going on, what will happen next? But this is just the prologue and we are left hanging, wondering. I don't really like prologues.

The book is Flesh Wounds by John Lawton. First published as Blue Rondo in the UK.

At this point I am about a third of the way into the book and I am enjoying it immensely. It is the 5th of seven books in a mystery series featuring Inspector Troy of the Scotland Yard, set in the years before, during and following World War II. This one is set in the late 1950's. I am hooked on this series.

Book Beginnings: The Coming of the Third Reich

Today, I have a submission for Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader.

The guidelines of the meme are: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Don't forget to include the title and author of the book.

The first sentences in my book are

Is it wrong to begin with Bismarck? On several levels, he was a key figure in the coming of the Third Reich.

An interesting beginning. The reason that I am reading this book is because I know so little about the history of Germany and I am very interested in  Germany during World War II and how Hitler came to power. Thus, I don't know the answer to the question asked at the beginning of the book, but it works fine for me.

The book I am reading is The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans.

This is a very long book, and I am a slow reader, especially non-fiction that is dense with information and ideas. It is going to take me a while to get through this one.

Check out the other posts for book beginnings at Rose City Reader.

Book Beginnings: An Empty Death

Today, I have a submission for  Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader.

I enjoy participating because it forces me to stop and think about the book, why I like it (or not). And then I check out other posts and get some ideas for other types of books I may want to read. I tend to stay in the mystery genre, and it is good to consider other options.

The guidelines of the meme are: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Don't forget to include the title and author of the book.

Visit the post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.

The first lines of my book:

June 1944, Fitzrovia: The night was bright – a bombers’ moon – but the planes were far away. The other side of London, the man thought. He glanced round the rubble-strewn site.

Right away I am drawn into the story. Mainly because I am hooked on historical mysteries with this setting: World War II and London. This is one of my favorite time periods and places to explore in my reading. I will always give this type of novel a shot.

The book I am reading is An Empty Death by Laura Wilson.

I have read the previous book in this series, The Innocent Spy (published as Stratton's War in the U.K.),  and I found it a very good read.

Book Beginnings: A Train Ride

Most Fridays, I participate in Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader. This week my entry is for a vintage mystery.

The guidelines of the meme are: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Don't forget to include the title and author of the book.


Visit the post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.

The first two sentences of my latest read is:

It was five o’clock on a winter’s morning in Syria.  Alongside the platform at Aleppo stood the train grandly designated in railway guides as the Taurus Express.

This beginning evokes thoughts and images of exotic locations and travels in faraway lands. The book delivers, although the most of the action (or detection) takes place inside the train. I am about a third of the way through and enjoying the trip very much.

The book is Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

I have not read anything by Agatha Christie for a long time. I read a lots of her books when I was younger. I have seen the movie based on this book, so I know the plot, but I am finding that this book is so enjoyable to read that it doesn't matter.

Book Beginnings: A Fall from Grace

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Visit the post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.


The first paragraph of my latest read is:

Charlie Peace came out of the door of Blackett and Podmore, the estate agents, holding a sheaf of property descriptions. He slipped into his car, parked on the edge of the little square in the center of the village, and began to riffle through them.

The book is A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard. It is the eighth book in a series about Yorkshire constable Charlie Peace.

Robert Barnard is in my pantheon of favorite authors. Of his forty (or so) mystery novels, I have read at least half of them and have another ten in my TBR piles. I have read all of the previous novels in the Charlie Peace series. This opening did not pull me in. It does set the atmosphere in a way: an ordinary man doing ordinary things. But in Robert Barnard's mysteries, nothing is ordinary.

I love this cover. I collect book covers featuring skulls and skeletons and a lot of Barnard's recent books have a skeleton on the cover. A bonus for me.

Book Beginnings: The Guards

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Visit the post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.



The first few sentences in the book I am currently reading are:

It's almost impossible to be thrown out of the Garda Siochana. You have to really put your mind to it. Unless you become a public disgrace, they'll tolerate most anything.

The book is The Guards by Ken Bruen.

I am a little over half way through the book. For years I did not read it (while it waited patiently in a box) because my impression was that it was too gritty, too violent, too depressing. Well, it is some of those things but it is also poetic and mesmerizing. I don't want to put it down.

Book Beginnings: A Year of Reading

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Visit this week's post at Rose City Reader and view the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.


The first sentences in the book I am currently reading are:

It began like this. I went to the shelves on the landing to look for a book I knew was there. It was not. But plenty of others were and among them I noticed at least a dozen I realised I had never read.

The book is Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill.

The subtitle of the book is "A Year of Reading from Home" and the goal the author set was to read only books from her own shelves at home for a year. In other words, buy no new books. She talks about the books she finds in her house, and thoughts about books she has read.

I have been reading this book for a couple of months and will probably take another month to finish it. I sample it a chapter at a time, in between other books.

This year (or most of it) I have committed to buying only books by authors I have already read. I have cut back drastically on my book buying and made much more progress on my TBR shelves, boxes and stacks.

My problem had been buying too many shiny books and then not reading them...

So I have a huge pile of books by authors I have not read or series where I read the first one and never continued. My commitment to less expansion of the TBR pile and joining reading challenges and writing reviews has helped me meet my goal of reading more new authors and reread some vintage authors I read when I was very young.

The amazing thing is, like a lot of new habits I adopt, I have had no problems sticking to my book buying "chill". No regrets. I thought it would be hard.

Book Beginnings: A Coffin for Dimitrios

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Visit the post at Rose City Reader and viewing the other links and get a glimpse of books you may not be familiar with.



The first two sentences in the book I am currently reading are:

A Frenchman named Chamfort, who should have known better, once said that chance was a nickname for Providence.

It is one of those convenient, question-begging aphorisms coined to discredit the unpleasant truth that chance plays an important, if not predominant, part in human affairs.

The book is A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler.

I am only a few pages into the book, but I already know I will like it. I don't think this is the first time I read this book or this author, but if I did read it, I was very young. So it will be a new experience.

The book cover pictured is not the one I have. I am reading the book in a Quality Paperback Book Club edition that combines it with two other books by Ambler, Journey into Fear and The Light of Day. But I would love to have that copy. I collect vintage paperbacks.

The excerpt above reminds me of a quote from an Astaire and Rogers film (The Gay Divorcee): 

Chance is the fool's name for fate.

I enjoy both vintage mysteries and vintage movies.

Book Beginnings: In the Woods

Today I am participating in Book Beginnings on Fridays over at Rose City Reader, for the first time.

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme with this theme: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

The best part is visiting the post at Rose City Reader and viewing the other links and getting glimpses at books you may not be familiar with.

This is the first sentence in the book I am currently reading:

Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s. This is none of Ireland’s subtle seasons mixed for a connoisseur’s palate, watercolor nuances within a pinch-sized range of cloud and soft rain; this is summer full-throated and extravagant in a hot pure silkscreen blue.

The book is In the Woods by Tana French.

So far, I am loving this book. I am at page 59. The Prologue and the first chapter pulled me in immediately. The first two sentences are beautiful and intriguing, although the tone of the novel changes quickly.