Category: The Friday 56 Page 7 of 15

The Friday 56 for 7/1/22: Short Tails by Spencer Quinn

On July 1, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Short Tails

Short Tails by Spencer Quinn

(it might help people to know that the narrator is that handsome guy on the cover)

I barked my low rumbly bark. Bernie rose and followed me to the top of the ridge. We gazed into the distance, a hilly distance with everything so clear in the early morning light: giant red rocks, tall saguaros like green men stuck in the ground, a tiny black blur of circling buzzards. The bubble gum smell grew stronger. I started making my way down the ridge.

“Chet? We haven’t finished breakfast.”

I kept going.

“You know we’re on vacation?”

Vacation was what again?

“Hang on. It’s steep.”

It was? Somehow I’d missed that, and now it was too late, what with me already at the bottom, the making my way down part having turned into a sort of bounding.

The Friday 56 for 6/24/22: Movieland by Lee Goldberg

By HCNewton

On June 24, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56% of:
Movieland

Movieland by Lee Goldberg

Duncan put the bag down and picked up the one containing Netter’s watch. It had come through the crash unscathed. “The only Rolex I’ve seen that’s bigger than this is the one in the Calabasas clock tower.”

Netter’s watch had clearly been built to last, Eve thought. Rolex could use it as a selling point. You might not survive a car crash, but your watch will.

The Friday 56 for 6/17/22: Against All Odds by Jeffrey H. Haskell

By HCNewton

On June 17, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 55 (because 56 was blank) of:
Against All Odds

Against All Odds by Jeffrey H. Haskell

“Don’t worry, sir, you’re in good hands. I’ll take care of everything so you can focus on your research,” she said with a smile.

She was certainly chipper. An optimist to keep him company wasn’t a bad idea. Not to mention, nothing made an old man feel young like a beautiful girl at his side. He sighed. Those days were long past, but the reminder would be nice. Not that she would think of him that way, nor would he ever try anything. It would just be nice to have her along.

Yes, this was going to be the best year of his life.

The aircar swooped out of the sky and came to hover next to them. Iker picked up his bag and loaded it in the trunk with a smile, daydreaming about how the future of the galaxy was about to change.

The Friday 56 for 6/10/22: Payback by R.C. Bridgestock

By HCNewton

On June 10, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from 56% of:
Payback

Payback by R.C. Bridgestock

Charley turned her head in Ricky-Lee’s direction and silently raised an eyebrow indicating the large, sturdy box on Wilkie’s desk. He stopped and immediately changed his tune to a long, low whistle.

‘What the hell did he do to deserve that?’ he said. Opening the box, he took out a shapely, substantial glass bottle. ‘A superb example of the aesthetic,’ he said, knowledgeably.

Charley was impressed.

‘I swear I could just about pound a nail into a two-by-four with this thing.’

Tattie sat back in her chair waiting for the document she had been typing to print out. ‘I don’t advise using that or any other whisky bottle as a carpentry tool,’ she said.

The Friday 56 for 6/3/22: Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

By HCNewton

On June 3, 2022

In Abbi Waxman, Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Adult Assembly Required

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

“Is that why you have a limp?” Polly asked, mildly ashamed of being nosy, but not enough to not want to know. It’s not the kind of thing you can ask about immediately, at least not once you leave preschool, but she’d wondered.

Laura nodded.

“What kind of accident was it?” continued Polly, hoping for something interesting like being crushed by a falling piano, or attacked by a tiger.

“Car crash,” said Laura, laughing when she saw Polly’s disappointed expression.

The Friday 56 for 5/20/22: Heroic Hearts edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie L. Hughes

By HCNewton

On May 20, 2022

In Currently Reading, Fantasy, Fiction, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56, Urban Fantasy

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Heroic Hearts

Heroic Hearts edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes, “Comfort Zone” by Kelley Armstrong

My faith in humanity has been tested by the sheer number of the last kind. Ghosts trapped in this realm by bitterness and a need for revenge. I’ve taken to humming “Let It Go” as my answer, which works much better on modern ghosts.

Then there are the ghosts who treat necromancers like an Internet connection. They want us to pop off an e-mail. Or check the stock market. Hey, you there, necromancer, can you tell me how the Cubs are doing this season? Can you tell me how my favorite TV show ended? Simple requests, easily completed, but once you start doing them, you never stop, and pretty soon, you have a dozen ghosts wanting weekly coffee dates, during which they watch you creep on their family and friends’ social media accounts.

Just say no. The mantra of necromancers everywhere.

The Friday 56 for 5/13/22: Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh

By HCNewton

On May 13, 2022

In Currently Reading, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
Right Behind He

Right Behind Her by Melinda Leigh

“I can’t decide if he’s a great actor or truly impulsive. Did he insult that man thinking he could get away with it here?”

“No.” Matt considered Shawn’s expression after the fight. “He wanted that fight. The big guy reacted exactly the way Shawn intended.”

Bree frowned. “Why? Why would he want to get the hell beaten out of him?”

“By going to the ER, he avoided spending a night in jail.”

Bree sat back.

Matt continued. “He looked pleased with himself.”

The Friday 56 for 5/6/22: The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

By HCNewton

On May 6, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Cartographers

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

<it’s me. I know it’s been a long time,> she had written and deleted about fifty times. Finally, she just sent:

<Dr. Young died.>

Then:

<Swann asked me for help. I know I have no right, but it’s in your specialty, Just one last favor.>

She didn’t even know for sure if he had the same number. But a few long minutes later, her phone buzzed.

<I can stop by tonight.> Then: <For Swann.>

The Friday 56 for 4/29/22: A Mint Condition Corpse by Duncan MacMaster

By HCNewton

On April 29, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it

from Page 56 of:
A Mint Condition Corpse by Duncan MacMaster

A Mint Condition Corpse by Duncan MacMaster

Molly Garret had to get out of that hotel room.

Air laden with car exhaust and tobacco smoke from Toronto’s furtive fugitive smokers was an improvement from the little two bed hotel room that was currently housing Molly and six other female artists, writers and editors. It could have been okay, Molly had survived it before, even enjoyed it as a form of urban camping, but Emma, a junior editor pushed Molly over the edge. Emma had purchased, then broken, a bottle of perfume that claimed to be Chanel, but smelled more like it washed ashore out of the English Channel. The lesson learned by everyone staying in that room was that the products sold by street vendors never matched what the labels said, in quality or odour.

(just not enough authors give attention to this sense, it’s really effective in creating a scene, right?)

The Friday 56 for 4/15/22: The Cutting Season by M.W. Craven

By HCNewton

On April 15, 2022

In Currently Reading, News/Misc., Quotations, The Friday 56

This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

RULES:
The Friday 56 Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that is okay.
Find a snippet, short and sweet.
Post it.

from Page 56 of:
The Cutting Season

The Cutting Season by M.W. Craven

Poe was dragged feet first out of the van. His skull cracked against the wet concrete. He ran his tongue across his teeth. One of his fillings had come loose.

Great, he thought.

He was pulled to his feet and pushed into a building. It immediately got colder. He was still wearing a hood and his nose felt like it was full of broken glass, but Poe knew where he was. The smell of raw meat and the sudden drop in temperature meant he was in the meat warehouse the Hole in the Wall Gang had bought twenty years earlier. It was where they cured and air-dried the pork and beef and game meats they served in Battista’s Bar and Grill and the other restaurants they owned. It was where the sausages were made.

Poe knew it was also where the gang disposed of anyone who bothered them. The turf wars of the eighties were long over, but all gangs squabbled from time to time. A building whose only purpose was the processing of meat was also perfect for making humans disappear without a trace.