My TBR Table and several first lines are what I’m sharing this week on What I’m Reading. It’s been a chock-full week, and I’ve had little time to read except for a wonderful book I plan to endorse–We Shall Not Shatter by Elaine Stock. More about that book in the weeks to come.
It’d been cloudy all day with remanents of Ida hanging around. As I drove to a friend’s house I rounded a curve and there was this beautiful sight. I stopped and snapped this photo, and this verse I’d read earlier came to mind.
My poor TBR table is sagging under the weight of all the books on it. Here are the first 5 in no particular order:
Hemlock Creek Suspense Series Boxed Set, Books 1-3 by Heather Day Gilbert.
Read straight through three fast-paced romantic suspense novellas featuring West Virginia siblings Katie, Molly, and Brandon McClure!Book
1: Out of Circulation
Librarian Katie McClure and Ace Calhoun race against time to prevent a vengeful mob hit…but when Katie discovers Ace is hiding secrets of his own, she has to decide if he’s truly on her side.
Book 2: Undercut
When ghosts from Zane Boone’s Marine sniper past come back to haunt him, can he stop their brutal rampage before his old flame Molly McClure gets caught in the crosshairs?
Book 3: Deadlocked
Brandon McClure isn’t happy to be stuck on jury duty…but when chaos erupts in the courthouse, terrified witness Nasha Patel turns her horrified gaze on him. Can he get to her before the paid hitmen do?
First line of book 1: “Rearranging the new books, librarian Katie McClure reflected just how completely her dreams had run aground.” You can buy the series or individual books here. Sorry it isn’t available on Nook!
2. Next on the list: Cold Case Double Cross by Jessica R. Patch
They’re on a cold trail
and running out of time.
Convinced his brother was wrongly convicted of murder years ago, detective Cash Ryland’s determined to find the real killer—even if it puts him in the crosshairs. But he needs help from cold case investigator Mae Vogel, whom he mistreated in high school. Can they put their past aside to solve the murder…before the killer succeeds in silencing them for good?
Here’s the first line: “Dread burst into Mae Vogel’s gut, mimicking the intensity of the red, white, and blue fireworks exploding over the lake on this Fourth of July night.” You can find buy links here.
3. Edge of Evil by J. A. Jance:
The end of her high-profile broadcasting career came too soon for TV journalist Alison Reynolds—bounced off the air by executives who wanted a “younger face.” With a divorce from her cheating husband of ten years also pending, there is nothing keeping her in L.A. any longer. Cut loose from her moorings, Ali is summoned back home to Sedona, Arizona, by the death of a childhood friend. Once there she seeks solace in the comforting rhythms of her parents’ diner, the Sugarloaf Café, and launches an on-line blog as therapy for others who have been similarly cut loose.
But when threatening posts begin appearing, Ali finds out that running a blog is far more up-close and personal than sitting behind a news desk. And far more dangerous. Suddenly something dark and deadly is swirling around her life . . . and a killer may be hunting her next.
Here’s the first line: “A pair of headlights inched down Schnebly Road, down from the Mogollon Rim toward red rock-rimmed Sedona, eleven treacherous miles below.”
You can purchase this first book in the Ali Reynolds series here. Again, sorry it isn’t available in Nook.
4. Dead Reckoning by Christy Barritt
A yachtie fears for her life when she’s the only witness to a murder . . .
Kenzie Anderson knows what she saw at the harbor—a woman strangled and pushed overboard. But there’s no proof of a crime . . . only her word.
Jimmy James Gamble believes Kenzie, even if no one else does. As he senses the danger in the air, all he wants is to keep her away from any more trouble—especially after their last charter. Either Kenzie or the yacht they’re working on seem to be a magnet for murder and mayhem.
Someone is willing to kill to get what he wants—and will do so again if necessary. Can Jimmy James and Kenzie navigate these unfamiliar waters? Or will relying on dead reckoning lead them to their deaths?
First line: “Are you sure you’ll be okay out here by yourself for a few minutes?” You can get it for 99¢ on Amazon.
5. Hostile Intent by Lynette Eason
Ava Jackson entered the military shortly after high school, but her mother’s illness has forced her to request an early discharge. She already lost her father while deployed, and there’s no way she’s going to let her mother die alone. But after a visit to the nursing facility where her mother lives, someone attacks Ava walking back to her car. Fortunately, FBI Special Agent Caden Denning arrives in time to help fight off her attacker.
Ava may hold the key to the murders of three families, and Caden needs her help before anyone else is harmed. The hits show a pattern, and clearly the killer has an agenda. But if Caden and Ava can’t discover what it is, Ava may be next on the hit list.
Bestselling author Lynette Eason concludes her latest suspense-filled series with a bang as secrets are revealed and the guilty are brought to justice.
First Line: “Today the watching ended and the killing started.” You can find links here.
Those are five of the books on my TBR table and their first lines. What’s on your TBR Table? If you don’t have those first lines, what’s the first line of the book nearest you? Leave a comment and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library.
Winner of August’s drawing for a book from my library is Teri DiVincenzo!
My TBR Table is this week's Friday blog! Come see what 5 books I'm reading next and their first line! Leave a comment with the first line of what you're reading or just anything and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library! Share on X
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Comments 32
I’ve read 3 of those books. All are authors I enjoy. First line from book I finished tonight – When did this fairytale become a nightmare?
Thoroughly enjoyed Dust by Kara Swanson. For someone who grew up watching Mary Martin’s Peter Pan, it was pure pleasure. Loved the intro quote from C.S. Lewis – “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairytale again.”
Author
Pamela, with a first line like that, I’ll have to read Dust by Kara Swanson! My TBR table just groaned. lol
Beautiful picture! Thanks for sharing! Just finished “The Heart’s Charge” by Karen Witemeyer – excellent read!
Author
Ms Barb, I just downloaded one of Karen’s books. Not sure if it’s that one, but I’m looking forward to reading any book by Karen!
That first line from Edge of Evil is awesome, but I don’t think it’s Terry Odell’s book. I’m reading Shattered Lives by Sarah Stuart. The first line: “Ralph Thyme sat in his sapphire Maserati Gran Turismo about two miles from where he lived.”
(Wow, what a car!)
Author
Oh, Priscilla, thank you!! It was J. A. Jance’s book…Terry O’Dell has some great books, and When Danger Calls is her next book on my list to read. (It’s free right now on Amazon) Wednesday she was on the Killzone with some great examples from her books showing how to use weather in a story… here’s the link for any of you writers out there: https://killzoneblog.com/2021/09/weather-or-not.html
And I love your
first line!
I sympathize with the large TBR pile. There are so many I’d like to read. First line of my current book: He hadn’t ranched in four years, but the tug of cowboy life always beckoned. The Rancher’s Mistletoe Bride by Jill Kemerer
Author
Sally Jo, I think I have Jill Kemerer’s book on my Kindle. I’ll have to make that book 6. lol
Wow! What a picture. It almost looks like a globe in the pic representing the whole world.
The brutal killer put a knife to her mother’s throat.
First line of Hours to Kill by Susan Sleeman
Author
Thanks, Barbara. I love being able to catch unusual shots with my phone! And Oh, my goodness–your first line sent chills down my back again–just like it did when I read Susan’s book.
Your photo is beautiful, Pat. Good choice for a matching scripture verse.
“K-9 officer Maya Rodriguez took in a sharp breath as she stepped out onto the deck of the Alaska Dream cruise ship.” by Sharon Dunn. It’s #3 in the Alaska K-9 Unit series. I’m catching up with these.
The next four books on my TBR (all preordered) are
“Trent’s Trust” by Laura Scott; part of her Smoky Mountain Secrets series.
“Trace of Doubt” by DiAnn Mills.
“High Stakes Escape” by Elizabeth Goddard; part of her Mount Shasta Secrets series.
“Jame’s Journey” by Laura Scott; last of the Smoky Mountain Secrets series.
I’ve recently read “Cold Case Double Cross”, and “Hostile Intent”, and both were great.
Author
Wow! I love your TBR books, Tim. I’ll be reading Elizabeth Goddard’s book at some point. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Heartfelt thanks for the unexpected mention on your blog of my upcoming novel… you’re so thoughtful and caring. Thankful you endured Ida without harm.
Author
It is a great book, Elaine! Thanks for stopping by.
I have a lot of books on my TBR and a bunch to read and review this month. I am reading a new to me author, Traci Hunter Abramson, and her book coming out later this month, Redemption. She has written many books that I plan to check out. The first line from Redemption:
Perspiration beaded on Eric’s forehead. The plan had been so simple.
Author
I’ll have to add Traci Hunter Abramson to my list of authors to check out, Gloria! Love that first line.
That’s a gorgeous photo. These all look like really good books, thanks for sharing a little about them.
Author
Megan, I read and finished Cold Case Double Cross after writing the blog and it is so good! I love the LIS books because I can read them so quickly–most of the time in one sitting.
Beautiful photo and verse!
I’m reading Until I Met You by Tari Faris. Then on to #3 Since You’ve Been Gone. Then Trace of Doubt by DiAnn Mills and Hostile Intent by Lynette ( finally came in the mail). If It Rains by Jennifer Wright a debut and A View Most Glorious by Regina Scott. And more as they get to my mailbox.
Author
Thank you, Paula! All of your TBR sounds so good!
What a great picture! I love it when I can catch one like that. You caught that one at the exact right time. Great choice of Scripture with it as well.
Let’s don’t talk about TBR stacks. I have two stacks on the right front corner of my desk. I think the desk is tilted downward on that corner from the weight of the books and the length of time they have been there. Truthfully, these are primarily books I won in giveaways four or more years ago when I entered every giveaway I saw. I think my wife has read them all, but I don’t know whether I will or not. I am currently reading “Deployed” by Mel Odom, a book I won with three others in a Tyndale Father’s Day giveaway in 2014. I think it took so long to ever get the books that I had other newer books to read when they arrived. The first line of this one is: The past swaggered through the door of Darlton’s Bar & Grill in cowboy boots.
Author
Thanks, Edward. I was happy to snap the photo. 🙂 And I understand all about your sagging TBR table. lol. I like that first line, too.
What a beautiful verse and photo, thank you for sharing it. This is the first line from “Runner” by Tracy Clark: “I yanked the door open and all but flung my half frozen self into the snug White Castle, the hawk clawing up the back of my neck, my lungs shocked rigid by the subreeze wind chill.
Author
Thanks, Alicia! Wow, like that first line. Thanks for stopping by.
Another ten paces and she’d have to shoot. A Warrior’s Heart by Misty M. Beller
Author
Oh, I like that, Lucy! Thanks for stopping by.
On my TBR stack is : Beneath the surface by Lynn Blackburn and Sweet Taste of Revenge by Mary Ellis
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Beneath The Surface is so good, Shelia! And I want to read Sweet Taste of Revenge. Thanks for stopping by.
They used to hang men at Four Turnings in the old days. My Cousin Rachel – Daphne du Maurier
Enjoy your weekend!
Author
I love Daphene du Maurier, Paula! I think I read that back in the day. Going now to see if I can find it. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Labor Day!
My first few lines is from “All That Matters” by Nicole Deese:
“I used to marvel at the way my Great Mimi’s arthritic fingers would pinch her eyeliner pencil and trace a perfect stroke of midnight black along her upper lash line. The way her tired, nearly translucent skin would transform into a picture of regal elegance with only a few pats and swipes of color. For an eleven-year-old girl whose mother had never owned a single tube of mascara, it was a magical experience.”
My TBR pile consists of–finishing up “Saving Lord Berkshire” by Laura Beers (clean Regency), “The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady” by Sharon Mondragon, and an ARC of “A Christmas Courtship” by Shelley Shepard Gray.
I have “Plot Twist” by Bethany Turner on hold at my library, but it will be about 2 weeks before I can read it. She’s one of my must-read authors!
Author
Oh, wow, Trixi, I love that first line! And you have piqued my interest with your TBR pile! Thanks for stopping by.