Yvonne
THIS IS A MEME FOR ALL YOU ‘FIRST PAGE BROWSERS’
THE KILLER’S GIRL by HELEN PHIFER
BOOK BEGINNINGS / FIRST LINES
CHAPTER ONE – SEPTEMBER 1999
“Janet Marks read the front page of the Cumbrian News for the third time, staring at the headlines so hard, for so long, they were now blurry and had merged into one word.
RIVERSIDE RAPIST STRIKES AGAIN
Despite the warmth from the late afternoon sun as it blazed through the kitchen window, a chill settled over her shoulders. She glanced at the clock: Gary would be home soon. A lump formed in her throat and cold beads of perspiration formed on her forehead. She knew without a doubt that he was cheating on her and this was a good enough reason to tell him to leave. The babies were asleep upstairs; she clasped her hands together and prayed. Prayed that her children would stay asleep, that he would leave without a fight, or even better that she was clutching at straws. Putting two and two together to come up with five. She couldn’t be right about this. She didn’t want to be right about any of it, but that cold fear snaked along her spine whenever she thought about it and she knew with a bone-deep feeling of certainty it was him: he was the Riverside Rapist. The date of this latest attack was two nights ago. When Gary had gone fishing. He said he liked fishing at night because it was peaceful. The river was too busy through the day with families, tourists and other fishermen. He’d been out fishing the night of the other two attacks as well; she’d checked the calendar on the kitchen wall where she wrote down all her appointments. He didn’t know it, but she also kept a track of the days he went fishing, working and running: a tiny asterisk next to the time he left the house. She didn’t trust him, not since she’d caught him with her friend the day she went into labour with their second baby. He said it was a misunderstanding, that Claire had come onto him and it was only a kiss. Bent over double in agonising labour pains, she’d been too shocked to say or do anything about it. Hard to believe that was three years ago”
So, you have taken a look, would 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.
THE KILLER’S GIRL (Detective Morgan Brookes #2)
by HELEN PHIFER
‘Mama, wake up.’
The little girl reached for her mother’s face with one pudgy hand. But the eyes stayed closed, and the blood continued to trickle across the floor.
When the body of a young woman is found, tied to her bed and the victim of a brutal attack in her own home, Detective Morgan Brookes is sickened by what she finds as she searches the house. And unprepared for the nightmares it inspires about her childhood.
When the DNA collected gives a positive ID, Morgan can’t wait to put the attacker behind bars. But the person it matches to is already in prison. How could the DNA of someone who has been locked up for over twenty years have shown up in Morgan’s crime scene? And then they make another close match. To Morgan herself.
Faced with the impossible proof that she is somehow connected to this case, Morgan delves deep into the crimes of a killer who stalked the Lake District two decades ago. But distracted by the old case, she misses the signs that he has found a new victim. And when he strikes close to home, Morgan finally realises that she has been living on borrowed time. To find this killer, it’s clear she must confront the nightmares in her past…
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, and you never know where that next ‘must read’ will come from
…
This gets off to a very interesting start! Have you read the first in this series or are you starting with this one?
Hi Kelly,
I have already finished reading this one for a Blog Tour / Review spot in December, a chilling read, it is well worth my final rating of 4 stars.
In answer to your question though: No! I haven’t read ‘One Left Alive’ and as the backstory was explained so well during the course of this story, I probably shan’t bother going back now, as the books work well as stand alone stories – although I realise that probably wouldn’t do for you 🙂
In actual fact, I thought this was quite a unique storyline, however my very next book, which is also due for review in December, had some quite striking similarities with this one, only for my money was just that bit more gruesome and deadly, so got 5 stars!
Either or both, are well worth reading, so long as you keep the lights on! 🙂
Oh, yes, I was drawn into this one, right from the opening lines, and now I definitely want to know more. Thanks for sharing! Here’s mine: “THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS”
Hi Lorraine,
If these opening lines were enough to draw you in, then the rest of the story will definitely keep you hooked until the very last page – It did me!
Thanks for stopping by and have a peaceful weekend 🙂
What a chilling opening! Can you imagine suspecting your significant other of something like that? So many emotions . . . That opening definitely appeals to me and has hooked me. I see from a previous comment you enjoyed this one. It sounds so intense–in a good way!
Have a great weekend. Stay safe and well.
Hi Wendy,
It must be the worst nightmare to suspect someone you know and maybe even love, of committing any crime, let alone something so horrendous as rape. Mind you, I wouldn’t have been with him in the first place if I had caught him up to something with my best friend – ‘there’s no smoke without fire!’ as they say.
You should see what happens in the next few pages of the prologue – then you would definitely keep on reading!
Very intense and definitely disturbing, but oh so good!
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend 🙂
This book sounds good. I have a pending request on NetGalley and should get it.
Thanks for sharing and if you like please follow my Blogspot blog. It’s the one I use the most. I can’t seem to figure out how to finish my WordPress. Driving me crazy. lol
Have a great weekend!
Hi Linda,
In all honesty, if it wasn’t for having my own personal techie (AKA hubbie), I would never be able to maintain my WordPress site. I struggled enough when I used to have a Blogspot site. They are now on about making changes to WordPress too, so we shall just have to wait and see!
This book was real nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat stuff, so I do hope that you get granted your Netgalley request.
I reviewed it for a December Blog Tour spot, as I am desperately trying to keep my head above water with all my reading commitments, so want to gain time wherever I can!
Enjoy ‘The Killer’s Girl’ and whatever book you are currently reading 🙂
I’m already interested to see where this one goes!
Hi Nikki,
I have already finished reading this one, as I am due to publish a Blog Tour Review, one of many, before Christmas! Eeek!
You wanted to know where this one goes – well let’s just say ‘from bad to worse’, especially for Detective Morgan Brookes.
It seems as though all fictional detectives come with plenty of ‘baggage’ these days, although I guess that simply reflects their real life counterparts, however Morgan definitely has more than her fair share, with a family history which threatens to swamp her, both mentally and physically.
If you still enjoy the odd read in this genre, this one is well worth while picking up!
Great to catch up with again and I hope that all is well in your neck of the woods 🙂