Each Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea shares the first part of a book that she is reading or thinking about reading. This week I'm sharing the first few paragraphs of They Did It With Love by Kate Morgenroth. See what you think:
It was autumn. Early morning. The air was sharp, and the sky was a deep October blue. The cars on the narrow suburban street whizzed by, churning up little whirlpools of leaves--but none of the people in the cars noticed the body hanging among the trees.
The feet were suspended in midair not far from the ground, and they looked like they had maroon stockings on--the deep purple color due to the blood pooling in the lowest parts of the body. The long, blond hair hung in a curtain around the lolled head. A light wind ruffled the hem of the nightgown and shivered the leaves in the trees, but the body hung motionless.
A dozen cars drove by without noticing anything. It might have been hours before the body was discovered--if it weren't for Sophie.
Afterward Sofie's life would never be the same, but a year earlier she hadn't even known the woman. For her it had all started with another death.
Publisher's blurb:
Sofie and her husband have left Manhattan in search of a more tranquil life in the suburbs. But when a member of Sofie's new neighborhood book club turns up dead, things get messy. She discovers that everybody has something to hide, including her own husband. Her neighbor Priscilla has been married to Gordon for fifteen years, but the love left their marriage a long time ago. Susan is Priscilla?s biggest supporter until she has to choose between loyalty to her friend and telling the truth. Ashley is eager to fit in, but her youth and status as a second wife keep her on the outside. She may know more than they think she does, though. Julia seems to have it all - the perfect house, job and husband. But her untimely death has people questioning how perfect her life really was. Through this swamp of suburban secrets, Sofie must wade to find the truth behind Julia's murder and the state of her own marriage.
What are your thoughts? Would you keep reading?
Oh yes I want to keep reading now!! That is just my kind of opening and I hadn't heard of this book or author before. I do hope it continues to be such a good read. Here is my post for this week https://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/first-chapter-first-paragraph-may-5/
ReplyDeleteI do too. Well, I haven't actually started it, but after this next book.
DeleteThat is one hell of a beginning. It started off so peacefully and then suddenly, bam, there's a dead body! I think I'd have to know a bit more about where the story is going before knowing whether this is one for me! I hope you enjoy it though! Thanks for sharing :) I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy Tuesday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
Thanks, Juli! Yes, we'll see how it goes. I always make no promises about finishing books. :-)
DeleteI love the intro Kay, so I'd definitely keep reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane.
DeleteHa - this one sounds very Desperate Housewives. The intro grabbed me...I'd keep reading...
ReplyDeleteIt does sound like one of those creepy neighborhood shows, doesn't it? We'll see how it is when I actually get it started.
DeleteThis sounds like my kind of read, so I'm adding it to my list. Thanks for sharing this new-to-me author and book, and for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteI picked this one up at a friends of the library sale. It's not an author I knew about either. Published in 2007, I believe.
DeleteThat's quite an opening paragraph... beautiful, pastoral image conjured and then boom - body hanging in the trees! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYep. May not be your kind of thing, JoAnn. :-)
DeleteYes, indeed, a great beginning! I'd definitely want to read on...
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping that what comes after is as interesting.
DeleteQuite an opening! Yes, I'd keep reading!
ReplyDeleteGood to get thumbs up from so many. LOL
DeleteSounds good. Even the body is described beautifully. Thanks for coming by My Teaser
ReplyDeleteI know. That is quite a picture, isn't it?
DeleteI love mysteries that center around a group of people who knew the victim...and what happens as the truth comes out. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, we'll see how it goes. I haven't actually started the book yet. After this next one.
DeleteSounds like a great plot. The opening made me want to know more about the body in the tree and how it got there. As a writer, the overuse of "was" and "were" bothered me (especially in the opening sentence), but that's a pet peeve of mine!
ReplyDeleteMy Tuesday post features ELIZABETH’S LANDING.
I hadn't noticed, but I see what you mean. Isn't it funny how those things jump out at us sometimes?
DeleteI read this when it first came out - and liked it! Maybe I'm due for a reread?!
ReplyDeleteLinda in VA
Good to know that you liked it, Linda. Perhaps a reread indeed for you.
DeleteI don't know if this is the sort of book I'd pick for myself after reading a bit about it, but the scenery on the cover is sooo pretty that I know it'd definitely have caught my initial attention at the very least. Yep, I kinda-sorta judge books by their covers!
ReplyDeleteI picked it up at a library book sale. Thought it looked like one thing and then started reading and discovered it was something else. :-)
DeleteThe title and cover didn't suggest a mystery novel to me, but I see it is from the beginning and book description. Looks very interesting. I'd read it!
ReplyDeleteNo, it doesn't really seem like a mystery, but when I started reading it - yep. There's the hook. LOL
DeleteNever heard of this one, but a good strong beginning. The cover and title are at odds with what the plot might be about, so a bit confusing but looks good nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteYes, I picked this one up at a library book sale and found out it was indeed a mystery.
DeleteI would keep reading. I am not familiar with this author, but am intrigued by the blurb and opening.
ReplyDeleteNo, this author is new to me as well. This book was published in 2007, I think. We'll see how it goes.
DeleteI would definitely keep reading! The blurb and beginning sound really interesting. Like everyone else I wouldn't have thought mystery just based off the cover and title or if I did it would've been more a family secrets/mystery from the past kind of mystery. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYes, that cover has one red shoe in the middle of the path. Guess that is supposed to be like the shoe of the dead woman. Anyway, we'll see if it holds up.
DeleteWould have to know a little more!
ReplyDeleteGot it. :-)
DeleteBeautiful writing is what catches me first - rhythmic, great descriptions, well-thought out list of characters. Yes, I'd like to keep reading this one.
ReplyDeleteThere are descriptive phrases here aren't there? Even if they are a little gruesome. LOL
DeleteYes, I'd keep reading. Sounds intriguing!
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping so.
DeleteSounds good. I'd keep reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping it turns out well.
DeleteOkay, I'm definitely intrigued. From the synopsis, I would have said, ah, a cozy, but those first paragraphs certainly don't sound like a cozy!
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think this is a cozy. Like someone said above, more like a Desperate Housewives sort of thing.
DeleteThat's quite an opening. GIrl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteIt definitely grabs you. Thanks for coming by, Donna.
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