Yvonne
This is a weekly meme, for all you ‘First Page Browsers’
TURN TO DUST by RACHEL AMPHLETT
BOOK BEGINNINGS / FIRST LINES
CHAPTER ONE
“The crows should have alerted him.
Ducking and wheeling across a bleak late spring sky, the birds cawed and cackled as they swooped upon the muddy undulating landscape before rising to the air once more.
They seemed distracted, hesitant to leave the field in pursuit of the tractor that rumbled over the adjacent land, dragging a seed drill in its wake. Back and forth, back and forth, following the furrows left behind from the plough only weeks before.
A cold wind whipped across the field, shaking the hedgerows and threatening to tear the ripening buds from a cluster of hazel shrubs that hunkered under a canopy of birch. A second blast of air shoved against the metal five-bar gate, rattling the chain looped between the frame and a wooden post.
Luke Martin blew into his hands and wished he’d worn an extra pair of socks.
Instead, the damp mud oozed around his calf-length rubber boots and chilled his toes, and every breath he took was expelled in a cloud of condensation.
His fingers fared little better.
The thermal-lined gloves he’d purchased had promised on the label to protect his extremities from temperatures down to five below zero Centigrade, but he reckoned now that the claim was overambitious.
He became aware of a vehicle approaching, the purr of the engine running under the crackle and snap of branches and woodland detritus disappearing under its wheels.
Luke turned away from the field to see a battered four-by-four round the corner in the single track…”
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So, you have taken a look, will you read the book?
Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Just to give you an extra helping hand, here is the book’s premise …
My review is scheduled for July 16th 2020
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TURN TO DUST (Detective Kay Hunter – book #9) by RACHEL AMPHLETT
When the body of a naked man is found in the middle of a barren field, Detective Kay Hunter realises the investigation will test her skills to the limit.
With only one clue to the victim’s identity, her inquiries lead her to local charities for war veterans and the homeless – both of which are underfunded and overwhelmed.
Discovering that someone is offering money in return for information about the dead man and anyone connected to him, Kay realises that there is a disturbing and dark side to the victim’s past.
When a key witness disappears from a local temporary shelter, she fears the worst.
Can Kay and her team of detectives find out who is behind the man’s murder before another vulnerable person is targeted?
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You might also like to visit Gilion, over at ‘Rose City Reader‘, where you can share links to the book beginnings from her own reading schedule and that of many of our fellow bloggers.
There are always plenty of new authors and titles to be discovered.
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I feel muddy and chilled from reading those excerpts! The lines bring us right into the setting. Great cover, too. Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “WATCH ME DISAPPEAR”
Hi Lorraine,
I know what you mean about those words giving a sense of ‘feeling’ to the reader.
I enjoy a good walk, however I’m more of a footpaths, riverside and sandals person, not muddy fields, dirt tracks and wellies walker!
I’m also not a fan of walking in horrendously hot temperatures, but neither do enjoy wet and windy walking!
Not that I’m really fussy or anything 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that all is well with you.
I am really intrigued by the title of your book, so I shall be by to check it out soon. 🙂
Too deep into a series for me to be adding this to my wishlist… but it really gets off to a great start! The words about the crows totally set the scene!
Hi Kelly,
I have featured quite a few of the earlier books in this series, however I totally agree that if you want to start reading from the beginning, the series is now quite entrenched and Rachel adds a new episode on quite a regular basis. You know what I’m like though – and as each story works well on its own, I’m quite happy to dip in and out, as I really like the character of ‘Kay Hunter’.
Crows circling in a field like that, would bode nothing but ill from my point of view. Our property backs onto a wooded lane with an oak tree as its central point. The uppermost branches are laden with crows’ nests at this time of year and the noise is pretty formidable sometimes – really eerie!
Thanks for stopping by even though this may not be a book for you. I always appreciate your time spent and comments made 🙂
Turn to Dust feels very familiar for some reason. The scene with the crows and the name Kay Turner both remind me of another book that I’ve read. Guess I’ll have to investigate!
Hope you enjoy it.
Hi Roberta,
I could only find a couple of books with the title ‘Turn To Dust’ and none of the premises gave any hint of crows, or a character called ‘Kay Hunter’, so I shall be keen to know what you discover when you investigate – I am completely intrigued as to what it might be now! 🙂
Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend 🙂
Looking back I realized I read Cradle to Grave, but somehow mixed it with one of the Shetland mysteries that I read around the same time. Good thing for reviews.
Phew! I’m pleased that’s sorted out … I do hate a mystery that can’t be solved!
Have a peaceful weekend 🙂
Oh, yeah. With that beginning, cover, and description, that book is right up my alley. The series is new to me, so I will try to find it and start with the first book. Or dive right in and then go back and fill in the earlier books if I like it.
Have a good weekend Yvonne!
Hi Gilion,
This is a series that you can dip in and out of, although there is a bit of an ongoing backstory. The storylines are good and solid, with the police procedural elements having been well researched and very realistic of the way in which a true UK crime team would handle an investigation.
Author Rachel Amphlett now lives not too far away from me either, which is not relevant to the book, however I do like to support local authors whenever possible, although having said that, the story doesn’t have a local setting, which is a bit of a shame.
I love the sound of your ‘Little Free Libraries’, although I’m not sure that over here people would really be up for handling second hand books right now. In fact our charity shops will not be taking donations of books for the foreseeable when they do re-open and our high street book shops will have a policy that every book you browse but don’t buy, has to be placed on a set of wheel away shelves, where they will be taken away and isolated for a period of 72 hours, before being returned to the shop floor for sale.
We do (rather did) have a growing trend of ‘telephone box libraries’, which are very similar to your LFL’s but on a slightly larger scale, with the same principle that you could take any book you wanted, so long as you left another in its place for someone else to enjoy. I now keep a small bag of books in the boot of the car, just in case!
I’m not really making my book hoarding obsession any better, but at least it’s a few different books to sit and admire on my desk 🙂
Thanks for hosting 🙂
This definitely sounds like a book I would enjoy!
Hi Nikki,
I too, think that this book is right up your street. In fact Rachel has also begun another couple of new series, all of which I think you might enjoy.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/rachel-amphlett/
Nothing too heavy, just good all round murder / mysteries, with some excellent police procedural and good strong leading characters!
I’ve left a link so that you can check them out if you want to, and thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂