HOT First Lines for Summer
How many times have you read a first line and wanted to keep reading? It's the first line that draws us into a book – or leaves us cold.
Since this was such a fun way to highlight new books from authors in the spring issue, I thought I'd do a second installment. Hope you find a great new read as a result!
“Minola Grey was heading toward the elevator when she heard a shrill wail. She glanced to her left and saw the maid dart into the hallway in sheer panic.” – A HOTEL IN PARIS, http://www.mjustes.com
While not a traditional mystery, author Margot Justes' romantic suspense, A HOTEL IN PARIS (Echelon Press, March 2008), has the required dead body, and a touch of love in the air, fitting for its Paris setting. American painter Minola Grey jets to Paris to recapture her muse, only to be disrupted by a murder at the hotel. Her talent helps illuminate the case, puts her in danger and under the careful watch of the Interpol Inspector she loves to hate. But that, too, could change…
Justes, who was born in Poland and who has lived in a number of exotic European locales, initially envisioned the book as a straight mystery, but the characters, of course, had minds of their own.
“Mine was supposed be a mystery, so I needed to jump right in., but as soon as the protagonists met, the chemistry between them sizzled, and my mystery became a romance with a mystery,” says Justes.
"The hunchback of Notre Dame with a Rastafarian haircut." – BUSH POODLES ARE MURDER, http://www.louallin.com
In BUSH POODLES ARE MURDER, (R endezVous Press 2003), northern Ontario realtor Belle Palmer turns reluctant babysitter for a spoiled mini-poodle when her best friend is accused of murdering her rich lover. The little dog turns out to have quite a brave heart during a blizzard which traps them in a bear den at -30C.
Canadian author Lou Allin says she didn't have to look far for inspiration for her mystery. “My new mini-poodle pup Friday, aka Strudel in the book, wanted to star in a mystery novel,” she says.
“At first, everyone thought the retrieving trial judge had been killed by a blind man shooting blanks at a dead pigeon.” – DINING WITH DEVILS, A TASMANIAN THRILLER, http://www.gordonaalborg.com
Author Gordon Aalborg based his novel, DINING WITH DEVILS… A Tasmanian Thriller (Five Star/Cengage April '09) partly on real-life events. While living in Tasmania, Aalborg bred a chocolate Lab that had been trained to retrieve and eventually became a guide dog for a blind friend. The friend enjoyed archery and entered a contest only to be told by the judge that he shouldn't have wasted his time, “you can't possibly win.”
Aalborg takes his revenge in the book. “ John, the blind man, was crushed. I was incensed, as were many of our retrieving trial friends, and more than one facetiously suggested the judge “needed shooting,” he recalled. “Now he has been, at least in my book. And to add insult to injury, I didn't even dignify him by using his name. But there are Tasmanian gundog folk who know who he is, and remember. Both John and the dog are dead now, but the anger lingers still.”
"Mama just wanted to look pretty for high-stakes bingo night at the Seminole casino. But her beautician left the peroxide on too long, and she's been shedding like an Angora sweater ever since.'' – MAMA DOES TIME, http://www.deborahsharp.com/
Former USA Today reporter Deborah Sharp does mystery with a sense of humor, Florida-style.
In MAMA DOES TIME (Midnight Ink, Oct. 2008), daughter Mace must spring her old-fashioned Southern Mama from jail after the old dear finds a body in her vintage convertible's trunk. Besides the local color, who can resist a book that highlights old Florida, has touches of Elaine Viets and Janet Evanovich humor, along with such establishments as the uniquely and mysteriously named “Booze ‘N Breeze, (Is it a saloon-Laundromat?).
Sharp says her first line, “just popped into my mind early on, and I never changed it. It conveys the light tone of the book, and a few character traits: Mama's vain, she loves to gamble, and things don't always turn out the way she plans.
“I also liked the image of the shedding Angora sweater,” she continues. “As a native of warm south Florida, I remember getting one such sweater for Christmas when I was 12. It was a hot year. It was itchy, and it shed just like cat hair.”
"The taxi driver suddenly swore, causing Drake to snap out of his reverie." – RUN INTO TROUBLE, http://alancook.50megs.com
In RUN INTO TROUBLE (AuthorHouse), former undercover agents, Drake and Melody think they're running in a race for a prize of $1 million. Instead, a string of fatalities and threats have them wondering if the cold war has just reignited.
“I wanted to get the reader involved from the first sentence,” says author Alan Cook. “I wanted to start with action because the book is about a footrace along the California coast.”
“The sharp click, click, click of her red spiked heels annoyed her, but not enough to slip them off. She paced the ten-foot-square room, careful to step over the loose floor board each time.” - WHERE ANGELS FEAR, http://www.sunnyfrazier.com
In book three of her Christy Bristol mystery series, author Sunny Frazier again takes an uncomfortable subject and spins an intriguing mystery around it.
In WHERE ANGELS FEAR, (Oak Tree Press, April 2009), protagonist Christy Bristol “sees” the villain's deadly presence in an astrology chart. The vision leads Christy on a chase to track her down and save her next victim.
“I created this first line to give the idea of a dangerous woman,” Frazier says. “I was inspired by the idea most people have of a dominatrix. I wanted the line to relay impatience and strength. While the novel is a straight mystery, I try to explore the attitudes of society toward adult sexual choices and the people who participate in such practices.
“In this book, I turn things around—the people involved in the Knights of Sensani are the GOOD citizens. I never pick easy subjects for my mysteries, but instead push readers to a safe edge while exploring topics that are uncomfortable. I did this in the first Christy Bristol mystery, FOOLS RUSH IN. I put the reader in the middle of a meth amphetamine lab operation and evoked a touch of sympathy for the homicidal leader. Not an easy task!
