Tuesday - First Chapter - First Paragraph - The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala

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 The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio.  This is the 3rd book in her 'Book Club Mystery' series (yes, the 3rd book - can you see how well I am doing on my 'getting out of the comfort zone of compulsion to read series in order').  Ha!  I have also been trying to read a few books that aren't classified as 'thriller' and the premise of this one - Gothic Gala - and a 'Book Club Mystery' did it for me.  See what you think:

     Normally, when I'm surrounded by books, I'm in a state of bliss.  Today, I could feel a headache coming on.  That wasn't the books' fault; no, it was a by-product of dealing with the people who wrote them.  I'd never had much contact with writers.  Barring the one signing I went to some years ago in Boulder, where the author entertained the small audience with humorous stories about writing his police procedurals and life in Wyoming, I didn't think I'd ever met a writer.  I'd blithely assumed they'd all be something like the Boulder author--affable, entertaining, happy to interact with fans.  First wrong assumption...
     I'd discovered the hard way that attending an author signing bore no resemblance to organizing a multiple-author event.  When Gemma Frant, owner of Heaven's only bookstore, Book Bliss, had hired me to put together a 'Celebration of Gothic Novels' to coincide with the September birthdays of her favorite twentieth-century gothic authors, I'd jumped at the chance.  What could be more fun than organizing an event focused on books?  After all, I'd grown up in a house with more books than dust mites, with a mother who was a librarian.  I had read voraciously since sounding out my first Dr. Seuss book, and would just as soon have gotten on a plane or gone to a doctor's waiting room naked as without a book.  Five years ago, I'd started the Readaholics, the book club currently reading du Maurier's REBECCA in honor of this event.  It's one of the most widely read gothic novels of all time, after all.  So, I'd figured any event that revolved around books had to be fun, right?  Second off base assumption...


Blurb:

Reading the gothic classic Rebecca already has the Readaholics spooked, and the chills only get worse when someone in town actually gives up the ghost....

Amy-Faye Johnson has her hands full coordinating the Celebration of Gothic Novels in Heaven, Colorado. The festivities start off smoothly, but the weekend is soon cursed with large egos, old resentments, and uninvited guests. Matters become truly grave when a dead body is found at the gothic-themed costume party.

The out-of-town authors claim not to know the victim, but Amy-Faye has doubts. With skeletons turning up in all of the suspects’ closets, Amy-Faye and the Readaholics must tap into their knowledge of gothic literature to find a killer who lurks in the shadows...

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I was attracted to this book not only because of the book club angle.  Our mystery group read and discussed Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca a couple of years ago at our October meeting.  I always try to make our October selection a book that would fit the 'Gothic' category.  We had a good discussion, though there were no bodies.  Also, the author that is referred to in the intro  - the Wyoming one - could definitely be Craig Johnson - author of the Walt Longmire series.  It could probably be others as well, but I've heard such good things about Craig's author events.  I'm looking forward to reading this one and the two books that precede it.