Book Beginnings: A Death in the Family

Mrs. Malory and A Death in the Family (Signet, 2006), part of Hazel Holt's wonderful Sheila Malory series of cozy mysteries. These are the book's opening lines:

I am very much afraid [my cousin Hilda wrote] that you may have to suffer a visit from Bernard Prior. He arrived at my house uninvited, and indeed unannounced, last Wednesday and stayed for several hours. He seemed oblivious to my hints that he and that dim little wife of his had long outstayed their welcome, so that in the end I was obliged to be quite brisk in my effort to get rid of them. 

Apparently now that he has retired he has taken up genealogy — such a tedious study, I always think — and wished to glean from me any information I might have about our common ancestors.

My Thoughts:

I love the Mrs. Malory mysteries, and my first thought was that I thought I had already read this one. But after skimming a bit of the first chapter, it doesn't sound at all familiar. Must have skipped over it (number 17 in the 21-book series). And my second thought was oh dear, they're dissing genealogists! Which makes me feel very uneasy since I dabble in family history myself, and hate to see a fellow enthusiast made light of. I'm also hoping that the genealogist won't turn out to be the murder victim in this one, but it's not looking good. Oh well, I'll just have to read on and see what develops.

I've been going through an annoying reading slump lately — just can't seem to settle down with any book for very long. But in the past, Sheila Malory has almost always given me the nudge I need to get going again — so I'm hoping she has that effect this time.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday.  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.