Teaser Tuesdays: Wylding Hall

This week my teaser lines come from Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand (Open Road Integrated Media, February 2015).

And now I could hear another sound -- a kind of slithering, like something being slowly dragged up the steps.
Or something dragging itself....The dank air grew putrid, until I gagged and clapped my hand to my mouth. (Loc.970 of the Kindle edition)

I feel like I've stumbled into an H.P. Lovecraft story here. But this tale is a little more complicated (and better written) than any Lovecraft I've read. And just as eerie.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings: Beethoven's Tenth

Beethoven's Tenth by Brian Harvey is published by Orca Books (an imprint of Raven Books) and is part of their Rapid Reads program. As their website says, the books are "well-written, well-told books that can be read in one sitting" and are intended for "ESL students, reluctant readers, adults who struggle with literacy and anyone who wants a high-interest quick read." I received my copy from the publisher, through Library Thing's Early Reviewer Program. This quote is from the opening paragraph:

It's amazing what people lose inside grand pianos. House Keys, a corned beef sandwich, a single dirty sock -- I think I've seen it all, then somebody goes one better. Once I found a black bra between the last three bass strings of a nine-foot concert grand. Not jammed, not stuffed, but carefully threaded, way down at the end of the instrument. Don't ask me why.

Initial thoughts:

Well, I think I like it so far. The first person narration and the humor are very appealing. I've read one other book in the Rapid Reads line, and it was fast and fun; so I'm expecting a similar experience with this one.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: The Ice Twins

This week I'm reading The Ice Twins, by S.K. Tremayne. This snippet is from Chapter 3 (sorry, but my Kindle edition doesn't have page numbers):

For the last two weeks whenever I've dropped Kirstie off at school, I've called her "darling" and "Moomin" and anything-but-her-real-name, because I am scared she will turn and give me her tranced, passive, blue-eyed stare and say I'm Lydia. Not Kirstie. Kirstie is dead. (@Loc.447)

This is actually a very disturbing story...and so far I'm loving it.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

Book Beginnings / Friday Finds: Gently Does It

The Hubs and I have gotten hooked on the BBC's Inspector George Gently series -- I love Martin Shaw who plays Gently in the series, and the 1950s-60s settings make it very appealing to old fogies such as us two. So of course I couldn't resist sampling one of the Alan Hunter novels the shows are based on. I decided to do it right this time, and started with book number one: Gently Does It, from 1955. Here's the opening paragraph:

Chief Inspector Gently, Central Office, CID, reached automatically into his pocket for another peppermint cream and fed it unconsciously into his mouth. Then he folded his large hands one over the other on the guard rail and peered into the inferno below him with a pleased expression, rather like a middle-aged god inspecting a new annex for the damned.

Initial thoughts:

Actually, my first thought was that the description reminded me of Tom Baker's Doctor Who and his jelly-babies.

But I digress. Sort of.

I loved the opening. Inspector Gently sounds like an interesting bloke -- someone I thought I'd enjoy getting to know. And I wasn't disappointed. In fact, this book kept me turning pages so quickly, I managed to finish it in just a few hours. And that's almost unheard of, for me. Now I want even more Gently -- and with over thirty books in the series, I shouldn't have any trouble fulfilling that desire!

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

This week I'm also linking up with Friday Finds, hosted by Jenn @ A Daily Rhythm. It's a chance to let everyone know about books you've discovered and added to your must-read list. And of course it's another great place to learn about new books and connect with fellow-bookworms.

Reading Update: April Wrap-up

While I was getting this update done, I read the news that Ruth Rendell has died.  She was 85 and had suffered a stroke in January.  I've read several of her Inspector Wexford books over the years, and always enjoyed them.  She also wrote "stand-alone" suspense novels under the Barbara Vine pseudonym.  Very sad to think that there won't be any more new Inspector Wexfords, but I've still got more than half the series to read, so I can console myself with that.

So...another month has winged its way outta here.  This year is really rushing by, isn't it?  But I did manage to read six books, which is quite a lot for me in one month.  Here's what I read in April:

The Witch of Painted Sorrows. M.J. Rose (2015)

The Fifth Gospel. Ian Caldwell (2015)

A Fine Summer's Day (Inspector Ian Rutledge #17). Charles Todd (2015)

Wylding Hall. Elizabeth Hand (2015)

As the Crow Flies (DI Nick Dixon #1). Damien Boyd (2013/2015) 

Fear the Darkness (Brigid Quinn Thriller #2). Becky Masterman (2015)

Now I need to spend some time taking stock of how I'm doing with all my reading challenges.  Also (of course) need to work on getting more reviews written and posted -- but that's a never-ending battle with me, I'm afraid.