Yvonne
HUGO – December 1944
He was going to die, that was quite obvious. Hugo Langley tried to examine this fact dispassionately. The left wing of the Blenheim bomber was on fire and flames licked at the cabin. Behind him, his navigator, Flight Lieutenant Phipps, lay slumped forward over his instruments. A trickle of blood ran down one side of his face, seeping from under his flight helmet. And Gunner Blackburn was already dead, shot in the rear gun bay by the first wave of Messerschmitts.
Hugo wasn’t sure whether he himself had been hit. Adrenaline was still pumping so violently through his system that it was hard to tell. He stared down at his blood-spattered trousers, wondering if the blood was his own or came from Phipps.
Clicking on the book’s title will link you directly with it’s Goodreads listing.
Find out more about both book and author at “Mailbox Monday“
…
WHAT IS ‘BOOK BEGINNINGS’?
Would 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) ?
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!
…
The opening lines certainly get off to an exciting start… and having read the blurb from the earlier post, it has me wanting to read on to find out what happens once Hugo ejects from the aircraft.
I’m not sure what it is about the cover that I find so appealing, but I do like it!
Hi Kelly,
Sorry to have been so long in replying to your comment, however the world’s biggest update has taken an age to install and I have been without my laptop! Fingers crossed all is good now, although from the noises coming from the machine as I type, I have this feeling that all may not be over yet!
One day I can look at this cover art and really see something in it and the next I am not so sure, but then I guess that is part of the art of keeping a reader hooked and needing to know more?
I am also intrigued at the slight change of direction in Rhys’s writing, as both of her stand alone novels, which includes this one, have the Second World War as their focus and slightly more serious theming, whereas her numerous previous series, whilst still broadly set in the same time frame, just from reading the premises, seem to have the definite feel of an Agatha Christie style approach to them.
Perhaps I am too busy judging a book by its cover and reading too many reviews, so I definitely aim to try and read more than just one of Rhys’s books, for the intrigue factor alone.
I wish you and yours a Very Happy Christmas and enjoy the day 🙂
I’m actually quite keen on having a look into this further! Thanks, Yvonne!
Here is mine: http://bit.ly/2DwnTZ8 The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo.
Have a very Merry Happy Christmas! Hope you get lots of books 😀
Luv Sass x
Hi Sassy,
It is just good to have my laptop back up and running right now. The biggest screw up of an update has taken 24 hours to complete, so not only have I been out of action, but I have been waiting with baited breath to see if everything is still as it should be!
Fingers crossed, all is looking okay right now, so it really might be a Happy Christmas 🙂
Have a lovely Christmas, Sassy and Best Wishes for a Happy 2018 🙂
Great beginning. I’ve never read anything by this author. This week I am featuring The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. Happy reading!
Hi Kathy,
Having read a few articles about author, Rhys Bowen, it would appear that she is a highly successful writer of long standing renown, although I must also admit to not having come across any of her books before.
She is definitely heading for my reading list, although as she is generally a prolific series writer, I first need to establish that her books can be successfully read as stand alone stories, or I am going to be scuppered, as I am not good at sequence reading!
I appreciate you taking the time to comment this busy week and would like to wish you and yours a Very Happy Christmas 🙂
That is definitely a grim opening…I imagine that, somehow, the narrator will be saved. I’m curious about how that will happen. Thanks for sharing…and here’s mine: “THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS”
Hi Lorraine,
If you click on the ‘Mailbox Monday’ link, the synopsis does rather give the game away in answering your question, although there is definitely a twist to this cozy little tale and about that, there is no clue to be had!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and may I take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Very Happy Christmas 🙂
Those are intense lines Yvonne. I’m thinking most of the blood is from Phipps. Happy reading and Happy Holidays! I don’t think I’ll be back on blogland till after Christmas.
Hi Naida,
I tend to agree that most of the blood is probably coming from Phipps, although sometimes it is very difficult to work out exactly where blood is coming from and just how badly wounded someone is, as generally, when a wound is properly cleaned up, it looks a lot less gruesome than it did when there was blood flowing freely all over the place!
Have a lovely Christmastime with the family and i hope that you get some great new books to read 🙂