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.