Category: The Friday 56 Page 9 of 15

The Friday 56 for 1/7/21: Bloodlines by Peter Hartog

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56% of:
Bloodlines

Bloodlines by Peter Hartog

“What the f*** are you doing, Holliday?” Deacon hollered from the kitchen.

He leaned against one of the tables with arms folded across his chest.

“It’s what we police-types like to call ‘looking for clues,’” I retorted, irritated by the question. “Shake down the premises, go through his sock drawer, locate the virtual workstation, and mine it for information. You should try it sometime.”

“I get that,” he replied amiably. “But I doubt a vampire’s gonna hide its secrets inside an office, do you?”

The Friday 56 for 12/24/21: A Dream About Lightning Bugs by Ben Folds

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
A Dream About Lightning Bugs

A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons by Ben Folds

A few years ago, I volunteered to be a substitute teacher for my kids’ seventh-grade music class. Just for a day. That’s all I had to do. I knew most of the kids in the class anyway. It should have been a breeze.

It wasn’t.

If I didn’t fully appreciate the public school music teachers of my youth before 11 a.m. that day, by noon I damn well did. As I stood before the class, a lifetime of experience performing in front of people went straight out the window. The forty-five-minute affair was absolutely exhausting. Kids, 1—Folds, 0. Animals, every one of them! I am no music teacher and I bow to each and every man and woman who is. I especially bow to the ones who can see that these children are not animals and recognize which ones could use a push, or a hand, like I did when I was younger.

The Friday 56 for 12/17/21: Risen by Benedict Jacka

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
Risen

Risen by Benedict Jacka

“Verus,” he said, crossing the path to meet me.

I nodded.

Talisid glanced at the long sightlines around us, the Greenway stretching in both directions with the Olympic Stadium – to one side and the view over London to the other, “A little exposed.”

“Hiding isn’t really an option for me these days,” I said. “How can help you?”

Our relationship had changed, and I could feel it in the way Talisid addressed me. For all the years I’d been meeting like this with Talisid, he’d always been the more powerful. He’d never used if to threaten me; he was too courteous for that, in his well-bred way. But always, in our dealings, Talisid had been the one to set the terms. Not anymore.

The Friday 56 for 12/10/21: Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
Grave Reservations

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

“You’re really going out on a limb here, aren’t you?” she asked.

He shook his head and gazed balefully at the clippings. “This case has never made any sense, and we’ve never had any real leads, Something about it just … stuck in my craw, as they say.”

“Who says that?”

“My late wife’s family, in North Carolina. They have a wide selection of colorful expressions in circulation out there.” He used his index finger to move a few of the paper scraps around. “Consensus is that the murders were part of an interrupted robbery … but that explanation never felt right. This isn’t that kind of hotel, you know what I mean? We’re in the wrong part of town for a cheap shakedown, and this isn’t the kind of place that a tech CEO would choose for legitimate business activities.”

The restaurant manager sauntered by with a plate of pungent chicken wings and a lifted eyebrow.

“No offense,” Grady called over his shoulder.

The Friday 56 for 12/3/21: Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from 56% of:
Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition

Love & Bullets: Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski

His eyes rolled from side to side, trying to lock on me, but I made a point of standing directly behind him.

“What now?” he asked.

I scanned the empty corridor. “Where’s your partner?”

“What?”

“The guy you’re on shift with.” He shook his head. “Had to leave.”

I would choose to believe that for the moment. “Where’s that FBI guy?”

“He had to leave, too.” Another swallow. “Somebody called something in. Something big.”

What was bigger than me wiping out most of this county’s police force, along with its corrupt sheriff and probably a few townies? Suddenly I understood how Elvis must have felt when he heard about the Beatles for the first time, overshadowed by something far bigger. I was tempted to ask about the nature of the emergency, but my soul would have been crushed if he’d said my infamy was eclipsed by a shootout at the local meth lab.

The Friday 56 for 11/26/21: All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
All the Lonely People

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

The sense of relief Hubert felt when he saw Joyce walking toward him as he waited outside the entrance to the Regal was enormous. Her desire to go to the pictures with him hadn’t been an elaborate dream, a figment of his imagination, or a practical joke. She was here, she was really here, and the sight of her made him grin from ear to ear. She was, he thought, even more beautiful freed from the confines of her Hamilton’s uniform of demure black dress with dainty white bow and lacy collar. Sporting a navy-blue duster coat over a flowery lemon dress with green heels, she was a vision of spring and Hubert told her so.

“Thank you,” she replied. “The dress is new. I made it myself from a pattern in Vogue. Mum wasn’t sure about the color but I think it’s cheerful, don’t you?”

Hubert smiled.

“It’s like a piece of sunshine on a dull gray day.”

Joyce gave him an admiring glance.

The Friday 56 for 11/19/21: Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
Daughter of the Deep

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

The world is quiet except for the slosh of waves against the hull and my captor’s ragged breathing in my ear. It must be hard work pulling me along, using me as a human shield while swimming backward toward his pontoon. I hope he drowns.

Above us, Gem says grimly, “I’ve got the shot, sir.”

I don’t think he meant for us to hear this comment, but voices carry at sea. The idea of him firing makes my stomach twist. With the ocean swells, and the movements of the ship and my captor, it would be a tough shot even for Gem. Besides, I assume my captor still has his little hypodermic needle somewhere at hand. I hope he sticks himself with it.

“Stand down, Mr. Twain,” Hewett orders.

Really? I think. That’s all you’ve got, Hewett?

“That’s right,” my captor mocks, “stand down, Mr. Twain.”

The Friday 56 for 11/12/21: The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
The Dark Hours

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly

“So,” she finally said. “On the Albert Lee case, who was the factor?”

“It was a doctor,” Bosch said. “A dentist, actually. His name was John William James. His offices were down in the Marina and I guess he made so much money capping teeth that he started factoring.”

“You said ‘was.’ His name ‘was’ John William James.”

“Yeah, that’s going to be a problem with your case. John William James is dead. A couple years after Albert Lee got murdered, James got himself whacked as well. He was sitting in his Mercedes in the parking lot outside his office when somebody put a twenty-two in his head too.”

“Shit.”

“There goes your lead, huh?”

“Maybe.”

The Friday 56 for 11/5/21: The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

A nurse walks into the room to fill Ibrahim’s water jug, and the friends fall silent and nod their thanks. She leaves.

“I am conventionally handsome,” says Ibrahim.

“Not at the moment you’re not,” says Ron.

“So you need us to look out for him?” asks Joyce. “Like bodyguards?”

“Hardly bodyguards, Joyce,” says Elizabeth.

“We’re guarding his body,” says Ron.

“All right, bodyguards then, Ron, as you wish.” Ron nods.

“Yep, I do wish.”

The Friday 56 for 10/29/21: See Her Die by Melinda Leigh

The Friday 56This is a weekly bloghop hosted by Freda’s Voice.

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

from Page 56 of:
See Her Die

See Her Die by Melinda Leigh

(a rare, lighter moment in the middle of a murder investigation)

“I’ll be right in. Give me two minutes to check in with Marge.” Rounding her desk, she planted her butt in her chair.

Todd all but bounced out of the room.

Marge walked in with a vat-size mug of coffee in her hand.

Bree waved a hand toward the doorway. “Is he always this obnoxiously bright-eyed this early in the morning?”

“Yes, but you’re also unusually grumpy.” Marge set the coffee on the desk. “You look like you need this.”

“Bless you, Marge.” Bree inhaled the steam, then took a long swallow. “I need a bigger mug.”

“That would be the whole pot.”

Page 9 of 15

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