Yvonne
This is a great meme for all you ‘First Page Browsers’
THE DEVIL’S DICE by ROZ WATKINS
BOOK BEGINNINGS / FIRST LINES
PROLOGUE
“The man clambered into the cave on shaking legs, sucked in a lungful of stale air and stared wide-eyed into the blackness. When the dark mellowed, he shuffled inside and sank onto the seat that a long-dead troglodyte had hewn into the cave wall. The familiar coldness seeped through his trousers and into his flesh. The discomfort pleased him.
He fished out his torch and stood it upright, so the light beamed up and bounced onto the glistening floor. Bats hung above him, their tiny feet grasping at the rock, furry bodies tucked into cavities.
The solitude was soothing. No judgemental glances from colleagues. No clients clamouring for his attention like swarms of angry insects. No wife shooting arrows of disappointment his way”
CHAPTER ONE
“I accelerated up the lane, tyres skidding in the mud, and prayed to the gods of murder investigations. Please bestow upon me the competence to act like a proper detective and not screw up in my new job.
The gods were silent, but my boss’s voice boomed from the hands-free phone. “Meg, did you get the details? Body in a cave… almond smell… philosophy book…”
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So, you have taken a look, would those opening lines make you want to 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.
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THE DEVIL’S DICE by ROZ WATKINS
A SHOCKING DEATH – A lawyer is found dead in a Peak District cave, his face ribboned with scratches.
A SINISTER MESSAGE – Amidst rumours of a local curse, DI Meg Dalton is convinced this is cold-blooded murder.
There’s just one catch – chiselled into the cave wall above the body is an image of the grim reaper and the dead man’s initials, and it’s been there for over a century.
A DEADLY GAME – As Meg battles to solve the increasingly disturbing case, it’s clear someone knows her secrets.
The murderer is playing games with Meg and the dice are loaded…
You might also like to visit the meme moderator, 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, and you never know where that next ‘must read’ is going to come from!
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I really like how this one starts off, especially the prologue! Actually, things stated in the opening lines of the first chapter pique my curiosity, as well. I think you were already reading it when you featured it in a “mailbox” post, so I hope we get a full review soon!
Hi Kelly,
Full review is scheduled for the Blog Tour November 19th!
I have come into this series right at the beginning, so perhaps I shall actually be able to keep up with this one!
I like this new protagonist, she is an unconventional DI, who is very down to earth. However she does come with quite a bit of baggage, so if you want to know all the juicy details, it would probably be beneficial to get in at ground level with this first book, although I know that is how you prefer to work anyway! 🙂
Sounds interesting and a bit different! Looking forward to seeing where this one goes 🙂
Hi Nikki,
Meg has been newly promoted to DI and has moved back to her hometown to take up the position, so that she can be close to her mother and grandmother, both of whom have health issues. This doesn’t go down well with all the members of her new team, especially given that Meg isn’t your conventional image of DI material, and she has an intriguing past, which still haunts her!
I have high hopes for the series if Meg keeps ‘uping’ her game, the way she does in solving this case.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that all is well with you 🙂
I was so “creeped out” by the descriptions of the bats, etc….but I am also curious about the mystery and how the detective will solve it. Thanks for sharing, and here’s mine: “ALL THE BEST LIES”
Hi Lorriane,
Same here I’m afraid, bats don’t really ‘do it’ for me either!
Things get even worse a bit later in the story though, when the waters begin to rise in the caves and the only way to get from one cave to the other and eventually to the outside world, is to go underwater! For someone who has never been able to swim, just reading those scenes was traumatic 🙂
It was real edge-of-the-seat stuff all the way for DI Meg Dalton.
Thanks for stopping by and have a peaceful weekend 🙂
The first few lines were a bit heavy for me, but “The discomfort pleased him” really grabbed my attention. I wanted to know what was going on after that. Meg Dalton sounds like an interesting protagonist. I’m going to look into this one.
Hi Roberta,
There are one or two ‘darker’ moments in this very descriptive crime thriller, as superstition and myth play a role in setting the scene for the story.
The area of the UK where ‘The Devil’s Dice’ is set, The Peak District, can be quite bleak and forbidding if the weather closes in. It can also be beautiful with its valleys and gorges and is a walkers paradise and one of our National Parks.
I hope that you enjoy checking this one out and thanks for taking the time to stop by 🙂
Oooh nice start!! I wish I read some mysteries more often, marking this one up for when the mood strikes!! Thanks for sharing!
Here’s my Friday Post
Hi Priyanka,
Those are the kind of opening lines I like a book to have. They really set the scene in my minds eye and draw me in. I have great hopes for this as a continuing series.
I have a really eclectic mix of books on my shelves, with the exception of fantasy and science fiction, which I don’t really get along with, so I generally have something to suit just about every mood.
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, it was great to ‘virtually’ meet you. I always value and appreciate comments, they mean a lot to me 🙂
Sounds great to me! But a dead lawyer hits a little close to home!
Hi Gilion,
If it’s any consolation, as both the victims and the suspects mount up, they are all professional people, from different professions, so don’t think that Roz is just picking on lawyers!! 🙂
This is a great start to a promising series and one which I shall be following for sure.
Thanks for stopping by and for hosting BBOF 🙂