Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright is this week’s Reader Friday. Here’s the first line: Mullerian Manor. The countryside near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1921–1 year into Prohibition. Death had always been fashionable.
But first the photo and verse. I took the photo during an afternoon walk in my neighborhood and the verse in Lamentations was one I read this week. It fit my photo and where I was in life.
An ominous butterfly house. A sinister legacy. An untraceable killer.
In 1921, Marian Arnold, the heiress to a brewing baron’s empire, seeks solace in the glass butterfly house on her family’s Wisconsin estate. Prohibition and the deaths of her parents have cast a long shadow over her shrinking world. When Marian’s sanctuary is invaded by nightmarish visions, she grapples with the line between hallucinations of things to come and malevolent forces at play in the present. With dead butterflies as the killer’s ominous signature, murders unfold at a steady pace. Marian, fearful she might be next, enlists the help of her childhood friend Felix, a war veteran with his own haunted past.
In the present day, researcher Remy Shaw becomes entangled in an elderly biographer’s quest to uncover the truth behind Marian Arnold’s mysterious life. The unsolved murders linked to an infamous serial killer. Joined by Marian’s great-great-grandson, can Remy expose the evil that lurks beneath broken wings? Or will the dark legacy surrounding the manor and its glass house destroy yet another generation?
My Take:
Oh, my goodness! Jaime Jo Wright hooked me with the opening paragraph and didn’t let go until I finished the book at 2 a.m. the next morning. What twists and turns the story took. And the ending…so good. I love the way she went from 1921 to the present day and the way she tied the two stories together. This is a great, suspenseful read.
Times were different in 1921. Marian came from wealth and even though her circumstances changed, she is still Felix’s boss. I was rooting for them the whole way. And for Remy and the man she falls in love with. It’s a story you will not soon forget.
Okay, Readers, what are you reading this week? Leave your first line or the title in the comments and I’ll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library. October’s winner is…Diana Hart!
Specters in the Glass House by Jaime Jo Wright is this week's Reader Friday. Leave a comment on the blog and I'll enter you in a drawing for a book from my library! Share on XDeadly Revenge releases Tuesday!! Here is a review from Reading is My Superpower: “
Check out Meez Carrie’s review and enter her rafflecopter for an opportunity to win a copy of Deadly Revenge!
In Deadly Revenge, author Patricia Bradley deftly juggles a complex plot, a sweet romance, and even a bit of psychological suspense in this picturesque Tennessee mountain town that’s full of layered characters.”
You can find purchase links here! And the print copy is still 40% off and free shipping at Baker Bookhouse until Monday night, November 4th!
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Comments 32
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Author
Hi Diana! It is..
Jamie Jo Wright will keep your heart in overdrive for sure! You may as well stay up late finishing her books because you certainly won’t be sleeping!
I’m currently reading the anthology “Cold Escape.” The first book, Rescued, by Jerusha Agen was excellent! She’s a fantastic suspense author! The book opens with “The screaming blare sought her in the darkness.” And I’ll leave you hanging there.
Author
L. Jerusha is a really good author and I have her latest on my TBR table…and you’re tatally correct about Jaime!
But maybe I won’t read it late at night . . .
Author
Probably a good idea, Delores. 🙂
Perfect photo for a fall day, Pat. I love it. That’s a great verse from Lamentations. No lamenting with that one. God is faithful!
I’m currently reading, and nearing the end of, “Terminal Danger” by Jerusha Agen. This is book 5 in the Guardians Unleashed series. It is a real page turner that begins with: “The child would die. Every second wasted spelled her doom. Phoenix Gray stepped into the FBI conference room armed with efficiency as her goal and her K-9 Dagian at her side.”
Author
Thanks, Tim! Glad you enjoyed the photo and verse. And Terminal Danger is on my TBR pile!
I’ll bet that was an enjoyable walk through the neighborhood with all the Fall colors! Great verse to hold onto.
Jamie Jo’s book does sound intriguing. I’d have to read it in the daytime, though! Lol
I’m reading Deadly Revenge by our illustrious Patricia Bradley. “Chattanooga Detective Jenna Hart backed her ten-year-old unmarked Chevy into the church parking lot beside an even older Ford. If things went south, she could make a quick getaway.” Another good one, Pat!
Author
Aww, thank you Barbara! I’m sorry to be late answering comments…I think you’d enjoy Jaime’s book!
Good review, Pat! Wright is so good at conveying atmosphere. I am reading a nonfiction book called Misled by Allen Parr. It’s about churches who have strayed from Biblical teachings. The first line: “It was the spring of 1994, and I hadn’t attended church my entire freshman year of college.”
Author
Wow, Priscilla…Allen Parr’a book sounds like one we all need to read!
I’ve read other books by Jamie Jo Wright and loved them. This one sounds just as intriguing.
Happy Fall!
Author
It is intriguing and kept me guessing to the end, Stephensfeather7!
I am currently reading Shadows of the Past, written by none other than Patricia Bradley. 🙂 It got me hooked in the first paragraph!
Author
Awesome, Paul! I am right this minute working on another book for that first series. 🙂 I’ll reveal the title once Deadly Revenge releases…
My copy of Deadly Revenge is on its way! Yay!
Love Jaime’s books! I’m not into scary, but hers are just the right amount of scary for me! lol!!
Fun fact and weird councidence – I’m reading Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella! Here’s the first line: The thing about lying to your parents is, you have to do it to protect them.
Author
YAYAY that your book is on its way! And that first line from Twenties Girl is very intriguing!
This book is on my radar and so are books by Jerusha Agen. I finished Deadly Revenge this week. So good, Pat! Brought back memories of my uncle and his fox hunting. Fun!
July
Wonders never ceased.
Unforgotten by Shelley Shepard Gray
Gloria Anderson
Author
Thank you, Gloria! I loved writing the coon training pages. And Shelley Shephard Gray is a wonderful writer.
I just received this book as a gift. Looking forward to reading it. Jaime Jo Wright is one of my favorite authors. I’ve followed her before she even got her first book published.
Author
Jaime Jo is a hoot, Gail! I love her books…you never know how they’ll end…
Another beautiful photo and your verse is one of my favorites, so comforting to know God’s mercies are new each morning!
I just started The Garden Girls by Jessica Patch, first line goes
Sharp claws go across my neck. Back and forth. Back and forth.
After just reading the Prologue of this book my heart was pounding and couldn’t go to sleep for awhile. Has anyone on here read this book? Just wondering about it. I’m not sure how I came across it and it seems to have a strange storyline. It isn’t one to be reading late at night! Looking forward to Deadly Revenge next week Patricia.
Dottie, I’ve read “The Garden Girls”. I would say it’s definitely a psychological thriller, somewhat intense, but not nearly so much as some of Steven James’ books. If you’ve read the first two books in the series, you have an idea what this one is like.
Thank you Tim for the info! I was thinking someone had reviewed it on here, but wasn’t quite sure. I haven’t read any of the others in the series, and you’re right, it’s quite intense. Not one to read at night when you’re trying to relax! Lol!
Author
Dottie, Jessica Patch is a fantastic writer. And yes, you might not want to read it late at night. But her redemption of the hero/heroine stories are awesome in her books.
That is such a pretty picture. We are seeing some fall foliage in our area, but it seems to be hit or miss. I guess it depends on the kind of tree. Some are colorful, others are already brown, and yet others are still mostly green. The verses are so wonderful and appropriate anytime.
I may not get to start my next book until tomorrow, having just finished one this afternoon. I plan to read Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard. I believe someone has already shared the first line since the book was released late last year, but I’m behind on a number of authors. This one opens with:
AIRSPACE OVER ZHUGANDIA, EAST AFRICA
The old cargo plane vibrated as the pilot descended into the airdrop zone, the turbulence shuddering through Carrie James.
Author
That opening in Shadows at Dusk was spellbinding, Edward! I reviewed it here. I’m glad you liked my photo. Because of the drought here, most of the trees are just turning brown and the leaves drop off.
currently reading Undertow by Lisa Phillips. Congrats Diana!
Author
Undertow is on my radar, Shelia!
She struggled to focus on the warm brown of his eyes as he looked down at her in alarm. A Reluctant Assasin – JC Morrows
Author
Oh, wow, Caryl, that’s a great opening line.