The Intercept by Dick Wolf

"Please join me every Friday to 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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name."

"Bassam Shah had driven through a day and two nights from Denver, stopping only for gas, eating fried pies, drinking Red Bull, and urinating into a plastic milk jug between gas station fill-ups."

First sentence. First paragraph. An evocative and rather disgusting opening for this thriller also launches a new author and the Jeremy Fisk series about New York City's joint task force on terrorism. I haven't read a thriller in a while and am tip-toeing through this one, ready to slam the book shut on any sickening violence. So far, so good.



Rules:*Grab a book, any book.*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
 *Find any sentence,  that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple



"Geeseman gestured to two men who looked like they had been sent by a movie studio casting department to play computer hackers. Rosofsky was the plump one, Pearl the emaciated pale one, each wearing jeans, T-shirts, and shy smiles. No eye contact."

What is your current read? 



Framed in Lace

Framed in Lace by Monica Ferris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A sleuthing needle-arts shop owner is the lead character in this entertaining Needlecraft Mystery series. The author skillfully threads needle craft through the story in a natural way that fits with the action and plot, a feat that is not always accomplished in some cozy series. Monica Ferris' writes with savvy use of misdirection that engages and challenges the reader. FRAMED IN LACE is an entertaining, deliciously crafted story of strength, ingenuity and needle work, of course!

View all my reviews



Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

Hello there! I hope you are there!! I have been ill and away from my blog for a month or so. I think I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. I want to get back in the swing of things! I've been away too long!

So, to begin here is my "Sunday Post" a review of my week's reads and books to begin soon. Although I just might include a few reads from while I've been away. :)

 

May Book Review

 

Naughty in Nice (Book #5, Her Royal Spyness series) by Rhys Bowen

I love Rhys Bowen. I love her leading lady in this series, Lady Georgiana Rannoch 35th in line for the British throne. Set in the 1930's, this humorous book finds our illustrious heroine in France on a mission for the Queen. She bumps into Coco Channel, the Duke of Windsor, and Wallis Simpson in a story that begs the antiquated descriptor such as "a mad-cap romp". Suspend reality and get ready to read this award winning author with smiles, giggles, and laughs. It's a good story.

 

 

Under The Wide Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

Finely crafted historical fiction about Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife, Fanny. Riveting read!

 

 

My First Ladies by Nancy Clarke

A White House florist recounts her interactions with Presidents and their wives from Carter to Obama. The book is the author's walk down memory lane after her retirement. This is a gentle read without surprises.

 

 

Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

Can I just say that this is my bell-ringer book of the month? Ding-ding-ding!!! A very wealthy, dying man convinces an old acquaintance to determine if he has an heir to his fortune. The task is to talk to women who may have conceived a child by him during his salad days in the "swingin' 60's". Whaaaat? I know! And, the author is Julian Fellowes! Magnificent story, well told.

 

Currently Reading

 

Keeping Mum (A Garden Society Mystery #3) by Alyse Carlson

I'm just a few pages into this one, so we'll see how the story develops as Camilla provides the flowers for a fundraiser for a Senate candidate sponsored by the Roanoke Garden Society.

Burning Questions : Will the candidate survive the fund raiser? If not him, who will the victim be?

I must read on!!

 

 

Coming Right Up

 

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

Caine's Pestilence by John Bascom

 

 

And in Other News

 

I came across a reference to NewBooks magazine and looked it up online. It's a British book magazine for readers and book clubs. I decided it had good articles and reviews and added it to my news feed. You can too! Right here.

 

Quips & Quotes

 

“This phenomenon, where the losers of a revolution try to demonstrate their support for, and approval of, the changes that have destroyed them, always fascinates me.”
― Julian Fellowes, Past Imperfect

 

“it was the juice of a lemon in his father’s wounds.”
― Nancy Horan, Under the Wide and Starry Sky

 

Thanks for coming by. I can't wait to read your comments and visit your blogs!!

Through the Grinder

Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent cozy mystery. Strong story and characterization. Although I'm not a coffee drinker, the Coffee House Mystery series by Cleo Coyle has grabbed my interest. Written by a husband and wife, THROUGH THE GRINDER is a page turner. If you enjoy cozies, you'll probably want to read this series. I do.

View all my reviews

Wednesday WIPs

 



http://www.gsheller.com/caption

 Here are a couple WIPs that are receiving my attention which means the afghan is set aside for the moment so I can work on some gifts.





The first is a mystery KAL dish/face cloth that I plan to use in a swap. If you squint your eyes and tilt your head at exactly the correct angle...there..can you see it? There are two small garter stitch hearts in the center, one positioned above the other. This is the first time I've used "I Love This Cotton" by Lily from Hobby Lobby. This cloth is soft enough for a face cloth and feels like a brushed cotton. I wonder if the fibers would withstand scrubbing dirty dishes.                        

The other is called Christian's Hat a quick and charming knit hat that I will add to my donation to Knitted Needs in Denver. The yarn is Ella Rae yarn is 100% wool which is perfect for this frigid weather. I want to get it along with a scarf and the pink/red hat into the hands of someone who needs it ASAP!

 

 This Slip Stitch Stash Hat was indeed knitted with stash, Plymouth Encore and Bucilla Melody.

 

My current read is Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini, an interesting historical fiction that opens just before the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

 

So...what are you knitting and reading?

 

Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen

This is the first chapter from Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen. I must admit that it alone would not enamor me of this book. However, I hope the wit is enough to catch your interest beyond  the metaphor of the final sentence. :)

It is my opinion that there is no place on earth more uncomfortable than London during a heat wave. I should probably qualify this by confessing that I have that I have never gone up the Congo River into the heart of darkness with Conrad, nor have I crossed the Sahara by camel. But at least people venturing to those parts are prepared to be uncomfortable. London is so seldom even vaguely warm that we are always caught completely unprepared. The tube turns into a good imitation of the Black Hole of Calcutta, and smell of unwashed armpits, strap-hanging inches from one's face, is overwhelming.

What are you reading?

Garment of Shadows

http://www.rosecityreader.com/2013/04/book-beginnings-journal-of-my-broken.html

 "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. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name."
These are the opening lines from the Preface of Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King:

The big man had the brains of a tortoise, but even he was beginning to look alarmed.

Sherlock Holmes drew a calming breath. Then another.

It had seemed such a simple arrangement: If Mary Russell chose to submit to the whimsy of Fflytte Films as it finished its current moving picture,that was fine and good, but there was no cause for her husband to be tied down by her eccentricities-not with an entirely new country at his feet.

 : : : : :

The Friday 56 is a bookish meme sponsored by Freda's Voice. It is easy to participate. Just grab a book and turn to page 56. Find a sentence that grabs you and post it.
Here's a sentence from page 56 of Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King:

The man's face gave a little twist of chagrin, that he had been distracted into a premature revelation of the tale's denouement, but Holmes did not give him the chance to regain the floor.

 : : : : :

This book is one in the series about Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell.

Murder on the Cote d'Azur

  

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

*Post it on your blog.
*Add the URL of your post it at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/

From Murder on the Cote d'Azur by Susan Kiernan-Lewis:

Over the garden wall, she could see the Mediterranean Sea, just a patch of it but enough to fill her with delight. The air was fragrant with the scent of lemons and roses.

Does this description engage your senses? 

Killer Commute by Marlys Millhiser

 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book began as a promising, gentle mystery but suffers because of poor writing and editing. The writing style is distracting and occasionally confusing, however the characters and setting are charming with clever quirkiness. This story could be quite entertaining if handled by more capable hands. I cannot recommend this book and do not plan to read other works by this author.

View all my reviews