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Sharing our love for authors, and the stories they are inspired to tell.

‘Bloq’ by Alan Jones

Prologue

As a funeral, it was nothing much. Only four people were present; one of them was dead and none of the others gave a f***. And there were one or two omissions from the service. Flowers. Music. Mourners. A Priest. And, oh – a coffin.

The body was badly wrapped in a polythene sheet, the kind used as a damp-proof membrane by builders, laid under concrete floors. From the size of the feet sticking out one end and the sad straggle of matted blonde hair at the other, you would probably have guessed it was a young woman.

Chapter One – Bill

Bill Ingram tried to ring his daughter’s mobile just before he left the house at six o’clock, to see if her train was running on time, but her voicemail message told him that her number was unavailable. She must be in a tunnel, or something, he thought. He headed for the station, always a stickler for leaving himself plenty time to spare for everything he did, especially when meeting Carol. Everything was ready, so there was no point hanging around at home.

Clicking on the book cover image, will take you directly to its Amazon page

Check out more details about both book and author, here

WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’ AND HOW CAN YOU JOIN IN THE FUN ?

A picture button for book beginnings at Rose City ReaderWould the first few lines of your book make you want to read on?

If so, would you like to share them with us, (without revealing too many spoilers of course) ?

Click here and visit your host, Gilion @ Rose City Reader

You can then leave a link to your own book beginnings post, or just browse for some great reads, there are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.

Don’t forget that Gilion and all the other contributors to this meme love to hear from you, so why not leave a comment or two at the same time?

I can’t wait to do a little blog hopping myself and check out all the great Book Beginnings you have!

 …

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Written by
Yvonne

I can’t remember a time, even as a child, when I haven’t been passionate about books and reading.
I began blogging, when I realised just how many other people out there shared my passion for the written word and I have been continually amazed at the wealth of books that are available and the amount of great new friends I have made, from literally 'The Four Corners Of The World'.

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8 comments
  • Definitely an intriguing first sentence, and the rest of the prologue does make me want to know more about what’s going on – even though it’s probably not a book I would have chosen. Thanks for sharing, and hope you enjoy the read!

    • Hi Joy,

      If you aren’t too keen on gritty thrillers, then this book and probably the writing style of author Alan Jones, perhaps wouldn’t be for you.

      I am assuming that the two first line excerpts are linked in some way, so this doesn’t bode well for Bill, or his daughter Carol!

      The other three people at the ‘funeral’, sound like real charmers!

      Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Even though we may not always enjoy the same reading genres, I always appreciate your comments 🙂

  • Oh my. Looking back at your earlier post about this book, I’m fairly certain the body in the prologue is Carol’s. It sounds like a book I’d enjoy!

    I’ve just started The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

    “For eight years I dreamed of fire. Trees ignited as I passed them; oceans burned. The sugary smoke settled in my hair as I slept, the scent like a cloud left on my pillow as I rose. Even so, the moment my mattress started to burn, I bolted awake.”

    • Hi Kelly,

      Although there is no direct reference in the full premise, I too am assuming that the body is that of Carol.

      The unceremonious treatment of her body and the nature of her burial, also suggests that she has been treated with very little dignity or respect, either in death, or I would suggest, in the latter hours and days of her life.
      ……………………………………..
      Your opening lines are very intriguing and almost disturbing, in their intensity. After having an acquaintance die in a cigarette fire at his apartment, I always tend to treat fire in the same way as I treat water – with a healthy respect and more than a little fear!

      I did have to cheat a little and check out the full premise though and before I knew it, I found myself clicking the ‘Want To Read’ button, without really knowing why, as this probably wouldn’t have been the kind of book I would buy for myself. The ratings and review stats. are also amazing, so all those people can’t be wrong and I feel that I am in for a real treat at some point in the not too distant future.

      Have a great weekend 🙂

  • The prologue tells a story all in itself and when I read the beginning – I immediately thought that it’s his daughter that’s the corpse in the prologue….not sure that this is my kind of story but I hope you enjoy it. Here’s my Friday meme

    • Hi Maria,

      I have to admit that I am not a big fan of prologue pages and never really know whether to feature them in Book Beginnings On Friday, or not.

      If you had read the synopsis for ‘Bloq’, you would have easily been able to work out what was going on in that opening passage from the first chapter. However, in the spirit of the meme, the first lines on their own, may have been quite intriguing and thought provoking.

      I do like a synopsis to be relevant and offer guidance to the storyline. However, a synopsis which gives too much away, can become quite annoying!

      Author Alan Jones, does know how to write an intense, gritty thriller, so the slight giveaway is not really a huge problem. However in the future, I think that I shall make it a general rule to share the first lines directly from the first chapter.

      Thank you for taking the time to comment, especially as this book isn’t really one for your own reading schedule 🙂

  • Those lines do sound thrilling, and like you mention above, the prologue kind of tells us that is probably his daughter there. Happy reading!

    • Hi Naida,

      I checked and a couple of other books on my TBR pile also have prologues which simply give too much away, so I think I shall stick to sharing from the first proper chapter in future, it will be much more suspenseful.

      No matter what information spoilers Alan shares in his prologue, I know full well that there will be plenty of extra action and twists in the tale of this book, before the story is over!

      Thanks for stopping by. I hope that all is well with you and have a good weekend 🙂

Written by Yvonne

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