Mar 29, 2016

First Chapter: The Last Goodnight by Howard Blum

Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph every Tuesday. Share the first paragraph(s) of your current read or book interest, with information for readers
The Last Goodnight: a World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure & Betrayal by Howard Blum, to be released April 12, 2016 by Harper. The book is described as a "biography of Betty Pack, the dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during WWII and was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill" Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.” 

First paragraph, first chapter:
Betty Pack had planned her escape from the castle with great care. Too often impulsive - her greatest fault, she would frequently concede - she had deliberately plotted this operation with the long-dormant discipline acquired during her dangerous time decades ago in the field. Yet on the blustery morning of March 1, 1963, Betty, otherwise known in the tiny village in the French Pyrenees that lay just beyond the stone walls of the ancient castle as Mme Brousse, the American-born chatelaine of Castelnou, and who in a previous life had been known to an even smaller circle as the agent code-named Cynthia, was having doubts. 
Based on the opening paragraph, would you read on?

9 comments:

  1. Oh this sounds rather good. I am not familiar with this one.

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  2. I like the sound of this book too. Code name Cynthia - WWII espionage - fun!

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  3. This sounds amazing! I love World War II history and especially espionage. I'm adding this one to my TBR.

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  4. This does sound good but it's not my kind of book.
    Here is my review
    http://www.girl-who-reads.com/2016/03/review-off-campus-by-jeff-westwood-and.html?m=1

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  5. This one sounds very tempting...I like the idea of the spy aspect, with the multiple identities. Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “MOST WANTED”

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  6. I like the first paragraph and the promise of an fun adventure. I like this time period and a good biography.

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  7. I like the fact that the narrative refers back to adventures that occurred years earlier. Such situations have a lot of potential. Thus I would keep reading.

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  8. French Pyreness, I like the location and the castle. This one seems like a good suspense bio.

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  9. Double identities? Agents? Code names? I'd definitely keep reading! I'll be participating next week!

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I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

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