First Chapter: THE PARIS KEY by Juliet Blackwell

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn.

The Paris Key: A Novel by Juliet Blackwell, to be published September 1, 2015 by NAL

First paragraph, first chapter:

Her uncle Dave always used to say, "Remember the locksmiths' code, Genevieve. Never reveal the secrets you find behind locked doors, and never - ever! - abuse the power to open a lock." 

Book description: An American in Paris navigates her family’s secret past and unlocks her own future, in this evocative novel by Juliet Blackwell. Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle’s side. But since then, back in the States, she has been holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

Faced with an incredible opportunity to return to Paris to take over her late uncle’s shop,  she realizes the city also holds secrets about her family that could change her forever.

Based on the first paragraph, would you keep reading?

Winner of Life in New York

Life in New York: How I Learned to Love Squeegee Men, Token Stickers, Trash Twisters, and Subway Sharks, nonfiction by Laura Pedersen, published Jul 28, 2015; Fulcrum Publishing

The winner of the giveaway contest, chosen by Randomizer, is Sharon Berger. An email has been sent out.  Thanks to all who entered.

Sunday Salon: Shakespeare, Alternate History, and Baseball Verses

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit Mailbox Monday.

A few new books in diverse genres to share:

The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson, to be released October 6, 2015 by Hogarth
One of Shakespeare's final plays, "The Winter's Tale" is the story of newfound love, treacherous jealousy, revenge, regret, and ultimately, redemption. Award-winning author Jeanette Winterson will introduce this classic in a new and unique way, in the first installment of Hogarth's historic Shakespeare series. (goodreads)

The British Lion: A Novel by Tony Schumacher, to be released October 27, 2015 by William Morrow.
In this alternate history thriller set in the years after World War II, the victorious Germans now occupy a defeated Great Britain. London detective John Rossett joins forces with his Nazi boss to save the commander’s kidnapped daughter as the Germans race to make the first atomic bomb.
Rossett must secretly find Ruth Hartz, a Jewish scientist working in Cambridge. Spared from death because of her intellect and expertise, she is forced to work on developing the atom bomb for Germany.  (goodreads)

Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses by Dick Flavin,  published July 14, 2015; William Morrow.
From the voice of Fenway Park comes a collection of sixty-four humorous and nostalgic poems celebrating the Boston Red Sox.

Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe, to be published September 1, 2015; Touchstone
Francesca 'Frankie' Caputo is finally going to marry the man she loves. But when a freak accident cuts her fiancé Alex's life tragically short, Frankie flees from her overbearing Italian-American family to an abandoned cabin in a remote part of Washington forest. As her heart slowly begins to heal, Frankie discovers a freedom that's both exhilarating and unsettling.

So when her old life comes crashing back in, Frankie must decide: will she slip quietly back into her safe, former existence? Or will a stronger, wiser Frankie Caputo stand up and claim her new life?

What's on your reading desk this week?

A Pattern of Lies by Charles Todd: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

A Pattern of Lies: A Bess Crawford Mystery #7 by Charles Todd, to be released August 18, 2015; William Morrow
Genre: historical mystery

An explosion and fire at the Ashton Gunpowder Mill in Kent has killed over a hundred men. It’s called an appalling tragedy—until suspicion and rumor raise the specter of murder. While visiting the Ashton family, Bess Crawford finds herself caught up in a venomous show of hostility that doesn’t stop with Philip Ashton’s arrest. Indeed, someone is out for blood, and the household is all but under siege. 
The only known witness to the tragedy is now at the Front in France. Bess is asked to find him.(goodreads)

I have read several of the Bess Crawford mysteries and am looking forward to this one.

What new release are you waiting for?

Book Review: LIFE IN NEW YORK by Laura Pedersen

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn.

Life in New York: How I Learned to Love Squeegee Men, Token Stickers, Trash Twisters, and Subway Sharks, nonfiction by Laura Pedersen, published Jul 28, 2015; Fulcrum Publishing

First paragraph, Chapter One:

As my bus lurched toward the Lincoln Tunnel a sign proclaimed: NO TRUCKS OVER 12' 6". Underneath, in equally large letters, was painted, WE MEAN IT! Obviously I was entering a reckless, self-destructive society that couldn't or, more likely, wouldn't follow the kind of simple direction I'd learned in kindergarten.... After the Lincoln Tunnel sign I was half expecting a troll to ask me a riddle before I was allowed to enter the Big Bad City.

Teasers: There are a ton of great sentences that describe Laura Pedersen's take on New York City. First of all, I noted that NYC is not just the island of Manhattan but describes some five boroughs that includes the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Here are some notable and interesting, to me, observations that Pedersen makes:

New York is the number-one tourist destination in the United States. 

Most city residents live in small, cramped apartments....(I)t's not uncommon to live with roommates well into your forties.  

Solitude is rare and considered a luxury....people must often go out on the street with their cell phones to get some privacy. 

You determine where to live in Manhattan, not based on income but on age. 

To promote desegregation, both racial and economic. Kids take subways and buses all over the five boroughs, traversing back and forth to school every day. 

New Yorkers tend to have pets instead of kids. 

The one constant throughout New York City's history has been its ability to change, adapt, and reinvent itself.

And one fact that I especially appreciated about NYC: the drinking water is clean and free. But I'd miss the chance to have solitude, every day and often...There is so much more that Pedersen discusses in her book: the founding and history of NYC, the present subway system, the cultural life, humidity and allergies in the summers, the neighborhoods, the variety of foods and people, and more.

I loved this book. It's informative, current, and humorous. Not at all a dry history or travel book. It's one to read if you are thinking of moving to NYC or just visiting there.

Enter the GIVEAWAY, courtesy of the publicist/publisher, now through August 17, 2015. The contest is open to U.S. and Canadian residents. Email me at harvee44@yahoo.com with the heading New York Giveaway. A winner will be notified by email on Aug. 18 and asked for a mailing address. Good luck! UPDATE: The winner was Sharon Berger!

Sunday Salon: A Library Surprise

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit Mailbox Monday.

Getting used to Windows 10. Anyone using it? How do you like it?
I haven't noticed too many differences, so far.

We went to the library to return books and borrow DVDs. I got a book I thought my hubby would like, but landed up reading it myself. The thriller, One Mille Under by Andrew Gross, reminds me of some of the Nevada Barr mystery novels featuring park ranger, Anna Pigeon. At least at the beginning.

This one features Dani, a whitewater guide in Aspen, Colorado who finds out more than the sheriff wants her to after she discovers the body of an expert kayaker in the river. Her godfather, who happens to be a PI, is sent to her rescue. Enjoying it so far!

New books on my reading shelf:

9 1/2 Narrow: My Life in Shoes, a memoir by Patricia Morrisroe, published April 14, 2015; by Gotham. 
A funny, poignant coming-of-age memoir told through the shoes that she wore.

A Window Opens, contemporary fiction by Ellizabeth Egan, to be released August 25, 2015; Simon and Schuster
Alice Pearse, a compulsively honest, longing-to-have-it-all, sandwich generation heroine for our social-media-obsessed, lean in (or opt out) age. 

Broken Homes and Gardens, a novel by Rebecca Kelley, published April 28, 2015; Blank Slate Press
A girl, a guy, a broken-down house. Not exactly on-again, off-again, Malcolm and Joanna are in-again, out-again: in love, out of each other’s arms, in an awkward co-living arrangement, out of the country. Their unconventional relationship is the only way, Joanna says, to protect herself from the specter of commitment, which inevitably leads to heartbreak. (goodreads)

The Guilty One, a novel by Sophie Littlefield, to be released August 11, 2015 by Gallery Books.
(A) gripping exploration of the damage people can do to each other, and the resilience they find in themselves.
A man stands on the Golden Gate Bridge, poised to jump…if a woman on the other end of the phone tells him to. (goodreads)

What books are you reading this week? I am reading several books at once -
 Updike,  a biography by Adam Begley
and a few others. 

Book Review: Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen

The Friday 56: *Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader. Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. Post it. Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Queen of Hearts: A Royal Spyness Mystery #8 by Rhys Bowen, published August 4, 2015, Berkley

Book beginning, first chapter:

KINGSDOWNE PLACE, EYNSFORD, KENT

MONDAY, JULY 9, 1934
Dear Diary: Weather fine but absolutely nothing to do. Dying of boredom.

I was sitting in a white wicker chair under a spreading chestnut tree on a manicured lawn.Behind me the stately battlements of Kingsdowne Place, seat of the dukes of Eynsford, were reflected int he perfect mirror of the lake, its surface ruffled only by a pair of gliding swans. Before me was a tea table, groaning under tiers of cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches, strawberries and cream, eclairs, Victoria sponges, petit fours and scones with clotted cream. It was about the most perfect afternoon one could wish for, one of those rare English summer days when the only sounds are the buzzing of bees among the roses the clickety-clack of a distant lawn mower and the thwack of ball on bat at the cricket match down in the village.  

Page 56:

When we went down to dinner, there was no sign of Princess Promila.

"She was very subdued last night," I said. "I hope she's feeling all right."  

My comments: What an intriguing plan for a mystery series. A young English aristocrat, Lady Georgiana Rannock, is regularly commissioned as a royal spy by the Queen, who wants to keep tabs on everyone around her. Georgie travels on the Queen's behalf, reporting back to Her Majesty on the goings on with her subjects in and around the realm.

In this novel, however, it's Georgie's actress mother who persuades her on a trip across the Atlantic to America, where she plans to get a quickie divorce in Reno, Nevada, so she can marry her latest beau, the wealthy Max.

The trip on the boat across the Atlantic is adventurous, with lots of important people, including an Indian princess and a movie mogul, Cy Goldman. Cy persuades Georgie's mom to act in his latest picture in Hollywood and arranges for her to stay at his Hollywood mansion. When Cy turns up dead, however, several suspects at the crowded mansion come into the fore. Georgie is, of course, involved in the sleuthing to find out what happened to Cy.

Well known movie stars such as Charlie Chaplin appear at the Hollywood mansion, adding to the glamour and intrigue of the setting and place. The author seems to throw in everything but the kitchen sink to keep this mystery enticing. Even having an Agatha Christie-like scenario where many people are confined and isolated in a house where a murder has occurred, while the police try to find the culprit. And all these devices work.

I am looking forward to reading Malice at the Palace, the 9th and next in the series by Rhys Bowen.

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.