Friday Memes: The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

The view from the narrow window was dreary and inexpressible lonely.

Friday 56:

'How thrilling!' she said. 'It sounds just like a play! I've got just the right costume too, haven't I? I shall break into song at any moment. What is it?'

This week I am spotlighting a classic mystery. The Crime at Black Dudley is the first in the Albert Campion mysteries by Margery Allingham. Here is the description from Amazon:

First published in 1929, now public domain in the US and Canada. A house party is under way at the remote Black Dudley, and among the guests are some very shady characters. As they merrily recreate the ritual of the Black Dudley Dagger, Colonel Coombe dies. Pathologist George Abbershaw suspects foul play, and when a vital item is mislaid, a gang of crooks hold the guests hostage. Will they escape the house – what did happen to the Colonel – and just who is the mysterious Mr Campion?

Friday Memes: Midnight Serenade by Dusty Rose

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

I stood beside my luggage outside my stateroom on the Kamaria, one of Solace Cruise Line's most elegant cruise ships, wondering if I was dreaming.

Friday 56:

Later that evening, I decided to be brave and eat at one of the fancier restaurants on board - Polaris.

This week I am spotlighting Midnight Serenade by Dusty Rose. This one has been on my Kindle since January 11, 2025. I don't read much paranormal romance anymore, but this one caught my eye. Here's the description from Amazon:

She never thought she’d trust anyone enough to fall in love—until she meets a protective vampire who can’t imagine eternity without his mate.

I’m thirty-eight and should be in my prime. Instead, I’m dodging men who fixate on me like heat-seeking missiles and avoiding the outside world like the plague.

There’s something wrong with me. People don’t just notice me—they become obsessed. The kind of obsessed that has me hiding out at police stations until it’s safe to go home. Their blank stares, their eerie devotion… it’s like something in my DNA overrides their rational thoughts. And I’m tired of it.

I want a normal life—Saturday barbecues, toddlers causing chaos, a spouse who adores me. That’s not too much to ask, right?

Desperate for answers, I scour the internet and stumble upon Solace Cruise Line’s flagship, the Kamaria. Rumors swirl about its enigmatic owner, Sebastian Solace, and his so-called "pet," Kazi. Turns out, Kazi is a lion. And Sebastian? He’s a suave, dangerously handsome vampire.

Oh, and the ship? It’s packed with paranormals.

Now, I just have to figure out what I am, avoid the humans and creatures falling under my spell, and—most importantly—not fall for Sebastian.

Yeah… that last one isn’t happening.

Maybe life at sea isn’t such a bad idea after all.

Friday Memes: Ember Eternal by Chloe Neill

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

We were servants by fate, sisters by choice, and thieves by skill and practice. And we were looking for coins to steal.

Friday 56:

"It's beautiful. Who owns this land?"

"According to the Emperor Eternal, he does. He demands half of everything the stronghold makes."

This week I am spotlighting Ember Eternal by Chloe Neill. It is the first in a new romantacy series. Here is the description from Amazon:

A new romantasy, following a thief whose dramatic encounter with an assassin and a crown bodyguard (who has dangerous secrets to keep) launches her into a world of swirling palace intrigue, from New York Times bestselling author Chloe Neill.

Fox is a thief with morals—she steals from those who can afford it and takes only a little at that. But she has no choice. Fox and her closest companion are indentured servants to an unscrupulous wealthy woman in the stronghold. Unable to pay off their debts with the work they’re given, they steal in the hopes of one day being free—truly free.

While searching for an easy mark, Fox identifies a would-be assassin with her rare magical ability, and then helps a royal bodyguard fend off his vicious attack on the prince. Soon that good deed embroils her in a vast and shimmering world of imperial politics, long-lost magic, and improbable romance. But Fox longs for freedom, and must decide if love is its own kind of cage.

Friday Memes: Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

Is it possible to forget that you've committed a murder? Well, I'm here to tell you that it is.

Friday 56:

There's never a good reason why a doctor is needed urgently.

This week I am spotlighting Bleeding Heart Yard by Ellie Griffiths. This is the third in the Harbinder Kaur series. I've had it on my TBR pile for a while. Here's the description from Amazon:

A murderer strikes at a school reunion—but the students are no strangers to death— in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries

Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It’s in Cassie’s interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard…

Friday Memes: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"Oh dear," Linus Baker said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "This is most unusual."

Friday 56:

Well. They looked as if they were suffering from red-eye effect, the flash happening too quickly for the pupils to react. There was a ring of blue around the red. It was certainly chilling, but Linus had seen it many times before. Just a trick of the light. That's all it was.

This week I am spotlighting The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. This has been on my radar for a while, but I was pushed to buy it when I saw so many booktubers singing its praises. Here is the description from Amazon:

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place―and realizing that family is yours.

Friday Memes: To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provbeginnides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"I didn't sign up for this."

Friday 56:

Nelle, as she preferred to be called, was a favorite of her father and had a reputation among the elder family members as someone to be avoided. Not only because she'd once tossed her own sister out an open hotel window, thirty floors up, but because they all found her rude and disrespectful.

This week I'm spotlighting To Kill a Badger by Shelly Laurenston. This one is a little spicy and has mature themes. It is also humorous fantasy and the sixth in a series. Here's the description from Amazon:

Laugh-out-loud humor, a feminist outlook, and one-of-a-kind shape-shifting romance come together with the continuation of the fan-favorite Honey Badger Chronicles from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shelly Laurenston.

Nelle Zhao is a social media maven who knows what matters. And the only thing that matters right now is survival. Not easy, though, when her honey badger teammates attract trouble the way she attracts attention. She didn’t know when it became her job to protect the ones she cares about from themselves, but even she has to admit…she’s really good at it. Too bad some people don’t appreciate when she’s being helpful. Especially Keane Malone, who doesn’t know how to accept a friendly paw. But Nelle excels at helping! And at ignoring other people’s irrational demands, such as doing it all alone. Keane, poor pretty kitty, doesn’t understand the kind of assistance a shit-starting honey badger like Nelle can truly offer . . .

Keane knows two things—he doesn’t like other people, and he is going to crush the de Medicis, an evil coalition of male lion shifters who are not only snatching innocent humans for fun and profit, but also killed his father. And for once, he may not be able to fight this fight alone, forcing him to let long-legged, jet-setting Nelle join the fight. And getting close to Nelle is suddenly bringing out his roar . . .

Friday Memes: Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

"F**k!" cried Fern, ducking back inside the carriage a whisker before a clawed and scaled hand sailed past. 

Friday 56:

Saved by a bunch of penitents, she thought. Then, Too bad I'm out of the bookselling business. I bet they could really use some filthy romances. The thunder of a distant avalanche swallowed up the sound of her delirious laughter.

This week I am spotlighting Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree. This cozy fantasy is the third book in the series and is from my review stack. 

Here's the description from Amazon:

Return to the cozy fantasy world of the #1 New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes series with a new adventure featuring fan-favorite, foul-mouthed bookseller Fern

Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller’s life for decades, but now, in the face of crippling ennui, transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out her shingle beside a long-absent friend’s coffee shop. What could be a better pairing? Surely a charming renovation montage will cure what ails her!

If only things were so simple…

It turns out that fixing your life isn’t a one-time prospect, nor as easy as a change of scenery and a lick of paint.

A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover.

As together they fend off a rogue’s gallery of ne’er-do-wells trying to claim the bounty the goblin represents, Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.

Friday Memes: Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

I wasn't worried about him. Worrying about Jameson Winchester Hawthorne was about as useful as trying to argue with the wind.

Friday 56:

I moved, swift and sure, reordering the letters, unscrambling them and writing them anew in the dirt below the original.

This week I am spotlighting Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This is a collection of short stories and novellas set in the Inheritance Games world. Here's the description from Amazon:

Romance, luxury, and secrets abound in this thrilling new collection that takes readers deeper into the world of the #1 bestselling Inheritance Games series
 
There is nothing frivolous about the way a Hawthorne man loves.
 
An amnesiac playboy and the woman with every reason to hate him. A daredevil, his favorite heiress, and three nights in Prague. An unlikely pairing between a cowboy and a goth. Four brothers with an inescapable bond, strengthened by the family they chose, in a house of wonders that promises to always deliver one more secret. 
 
Discover their stories of love and loss, power, puzzles, and life-and-death secrets in this mind-blowingly romantic collection that proves that when you love the way Hawthornes love, there is no going back.
 
This collection includes:

• That Night in Prague (novella)
• The Same Backward as Forward (novella)
• The Cowboy and the Goth
• Five Times Xander Tackled Someone (and One Time He Didn’t)
• $3CR3T $@NT@
• One Hawthorne Night*
• What Happens in the Treehouse* 
• Pain at the Right Gun

*previously published in limited release

Friday Memes: The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

Joshua really thought it would be easier to catch a rabbit; he was a werewolf, after all. The stupid things, though, could turn on a dime and kept zigging while his body zagged.

Friday 56:

The house had three bathrooms total. Ewan found and used all three without realizing that he was marking his territory.

This week I am spotlighting a reread. I first read The Black Wolves of Boston by Wen Spencer back in 2020. I wanted to refresh my memory before I read the sequel which was recently published. I am choosing the audiobook for this reread. Here's the description from Amazon:

REBUILD A LIFE, SAVE A CITY

Silas Decker had his world destroyed when he was attacked by vampires outside of New Amsterdam. He has rebuilt his life a dozen times in the last three hundred years—each time less and less successfully. Now he lives alone, buried under a hoarding habit, struggling to find some reason to wake up with the setting of the sun.

Eloise is a Virtue, pledged to hunting evil. What she doesn’t know is how to live alone in a city full of strangers who know nothing about monsters.

Seth is the sixteen-year old Prince of Boston, ward of the Wolf King. Now he is left in a city that desperately needs his protection with enemies gathering all around.

Joshua believes he is a normal, college-bound high school senior. His life is shattered when he wakes up in a field, covered with blood, and the prom committee scattered in pieces about him like broken dolls.

These four must now come together to unravel a plot by Wickers, witches who gain power from human sacrifices and have the power to turn any human into their puppet. Four people who lost everything struggle to save Boston by saving each other.

Friday Memes: All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

Seventeen years earlier...

The house at the end of the lane was filled with darkness and night.

Friday 56:

Irene winced. "I shouldn't have implied that. But there's no getting around the fact that Webb is a powerful man."

This week I am spotlighting All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz. I read this one back in 2006 or 2007. I recently got the Kindle and Audiobook for a reread. Here's the description from Amazon:

From New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz comes an electrifying novel of passion, murder, and small-town scandal.
 
Investigative reporter Irene Stenson hasn’t been to her hometown of Dunsely, California, since the gruesome night she found both her parents dead on the kitchen floor. Now, seventeen years later, Irene has received a shocking new lead about their deaths—and is determined to discover the truth of what happened on that long-ago night.
 
Staying at a local lodge, she finds herself confiding in handsome Luke Danner—an ex-marine who’s as used to barking orders as Irene is to ignoring them. But Luke sees the terror beneath her confident exterior—and can’t help but want to protect her. He is also driven by passions of his own, and as they’re drawn together into the heart of danger, they will risk far more than either of them expected.

Friday Memes: Change of Heart by Cristina LePort, MD

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

The bullet carrying Amy Winter's name whooshed through her hair at a speed of fifteen hundred feet per second, burned a jagged hole into her smooth 24-year-old flesh, burst through the thin layer of her temporal muscle, and shattered the temporal bone. 

Friday 56:

A single mom moved away to a small town in Ohio, hid her abdominal bump, hid her baby, and found a new life partner with a respectable name to fill the vacuum left by the menacing bully. 

This week I am spotlighting Change of Heart by Cristina LePort, MD. This is a medical thriller and sounded interesting. It is a recent addition to my Review stack. 

Here's the description from Amazon:

In the bustling heart of New York City, a young medical student’s life is tragically cut short, though her heart continues to beat, holding the promise of life for another. Detective Kirk Miner is called to the scene and quickly uncovers a chilling conspiracy involving organ donations and high-stakes crime. As the investigation unfolds, Miner realizes the case is far more complex and dangerous than it initially seemed.

Enter FBI Agent Jack Mulville, who steps in to supervise Special Agent Charlotte Bloom as they join forces with Miner. Together, they unravel a web of corruption, revealing that Amy Winter's death is connected to a ruthless organ trafficking ring.

Amy Winter, a promising pre-med student, is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Her death triggers an investigation that pulls Miner, Mulville, and Bloom into a labyrinth of deceit and desperation. As they dig deeper, they discover that Amy's heart is not just a donor's gift but a coveted prize in a deadly game controlled by criminals willing to kill to keep their secrets hidden.

The quest for justice takes Miner, Mulville, and Bloom through the shadowy underbelly of organ trafficking, revealing the lengths to which people will go to secure life-saving transplants. Amidst the danger, they face moral dilemmas and personal risks, pushing them to their limits as they strive to protect innocent lives and dismantle a powerful criminal network.

"Change of Heart" is a gripping medical thriller that intertwines the intricacies of modern medicine with the relentless pursuit of justice. Cristina LePort, M.D., masterfully combines her medical expertise with edge-of-your-seat storytelling, delivering a novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

Dr. LePort is an accomplished physician with a passion for weaving medical knowledge into thrilling narratives. Her extensive background in medicine lends authenticity and depth to her stories, making the Miner & Mulville series a unique blend of fact and fiction.

Friday Memes: Dead Inside by Kate Bold

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

The shrill scream brought John Gallant out of his trance--a blood-curdling scram that could only mean death. 

Friday 56:

"We need to ask you a few questions, Mr. Wall. Would you mind stepping out of the freezer with Deputy Gallant?"

While browsing my Kindle for ideas for what to read next, I came across Dead Inside by Kate Bold which I had added on April 23, 2024, and decided to read it. The main character is an FBI Agent exiled to North Dakota and near her hated hometown. Here's the description from Amazon:

When she was just a child, Kelsey’s entire family was murdered, leaving her, the sole survivor, to grow up in the foster system. A rising star in the FBI, Kelsey set her ambitions on being assigned to a field office in the big city, away from the ghosts of her past. But when she’s reassigned to a small town in North Dakota, she can’t help but remember all the tragedy she fought so hard to leave behind.

Can she stop this killer in time?

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the KELSEY HAWK series is a riveting mystery, packed with non-stop action, suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Fans of Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll, and Robert Dugoni are sure to fall in love.

Friday Memes: The Untitled Books by C. J. Archer

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

The Friday 56 was hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

There can be no doubt that the most enchanting way to spend a wet day is indoors with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. 

Friday 56:

"Everyone is a suspect until they can be ruled out," Gabe said.

Huon rolled his eyes. "You are a walking cliche, Glass."

This week I am spotlighting The Untitled Books by C. J. Archer. This is the third book in The Glass Library series. Here's the description from Amazon:

A curated collection of magic…and murder.

When a set of bound manuscripts written on magician-made paper is brought to the Glass Library, Sylvia and the professor send the owner away. After all, the library collects books about magic, not containing it.

But the murder of the bookbinder who bound them sees the books returned to the library, along with Gabe in his role as consultant for Scotland Yard. When his investigation uncovers a link to Sylvia’s past, they’re even more determined to find the murderer. But they’re not the only ones searching for answers. Someone has gone to great lengths to find the truth behind the binding of the books.

The hunt for the killer leads them to dark corners of London and unscrupulous players with much to gain by owning the collection. It also leads to the discovery of long-buried secrets, and staggering revelations that shed light on Sylvia’s past.