Always With a Book

First line: Cornelia Litchfield Case had an itchy nose. From the back cover: How does the most famous woman in the world hide in plain sight? The beautiful young widow of the President of the United States thought she was free of the White House, but circumstances have forced her back into the role of First Lady. Not for long, however, because she’s made up her mind to escape –…

First line: The little girl woke up the way she’d been trained: quickly and quietly. From the inside cover: In four days, someone is going to kill me . . . Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise. But a lone woman outside D.D.’s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition: Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes she will be murdered in four days. And she wants Boston’s…

First line: Have you ever contemplated killing someone? Synopsis from B&N: In Lisa Gardner’s first-ever short story following thirteen bestselling novels, The 7th Month takes readers between the books and into a day in the life of Boston Detective D. D. Warren. In her seventh month of pregnancy, D.D. should be taking it easy. Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting…

First line: Hannah Shapiro was having a wonderful day. From the back cover: For Hannah Shapiro, a beautiful young American student, this particular nightmare began eight years ago in Los Angeles, when Jack Morgan, owner of Private – the world’s most exclusive detective agency – saved her from a horrific death. She has fled her country, but can’t flee her past. The terror has followed her to London, and now…

First line: Today they will find her body. From the inside cover: In her most masterful novel of medical suspense, New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen creates a villain of unforgettable evil–and the one woman who can catch him before he kills again. He slips into their homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, unaware of the horrors they soon will endure. The precision…

First line: The tears on her cheeks were still damp and her temper was still hot, when someone – no, not just someone, the family calvery – pounded on the door of Melanie’s Boston apartment. Synopsis from B&N: With her unforgettable warmth and charm, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sherryl Woods invites you to join the D’Angelo sisters as they journey home to Rose Cottage… – a…

First line: She wasn’t entirely sure whether it was the pull of the mahogany sewing box in the window or a much-needed respite from the endless barrage of curious glances, but either way, Elkin Antiques and Collectibles seemed as good a place as any for a momentary escape. From the back cover: A sewing circle newcomer is on pins and needles… Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina,…

First line: Mike Valenzuela was up and had his Jeep SUV packed long before sunrise. Synopsis from Goodreads: The tightly knit community of Virgin River has been a safe haven for more than a few lost souls over the years—and there’s always room for one more… A decorated U.S. Marine reservist, LAPD officer Mike Valenzuela was badly wounded in the line of duty, but has found hope and healing in…

First line: Rumors about the Cassidy women and their magic had long swirled through Bliss, Texas, like a gathering tornado. From the back cover: All the Cassidy women possess special gifts. Harlow Jane Cassidy’s is creating beautiful dresses. But she’s about to discover secrets in her own family and another gift – one that can reach beyond the grave… When her great-grandmother passes away, Harlow leaves her job as a…

First line: A dark sedan turned off Pacific Coast Highway and slipped into the driveway of a gated Malibu beach house worth, had to be, seven or eight million. From the inside cover: UNSOLVABLE CASES Since former marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world’s most effective investigation firm – sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private’s investigators are…

First line: She thought she swallowed because her throat burned hot, as if splashed with sharp acid, but she wasn’t sure because she couldn’t think clearly. From the back cover: FBI Special Agent Jackson Crowne is flying renowned psychiatrist Timothy MacLean to Washington, D.C. But they don’t make it. FBI Special Agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock are sent to find out what happened. Crowne was able to crash land…

First line: I was rummaging around the trash Dumpster searching for my lost paycheck, when I reached down and grabbed Cindy Gambrowski’s severed leg. From the back cover: Dumpster diving for her lost paycheck is definitely the low point of Kiki Lowenstein’s day – that is, until she finds a severed leg thrown in with the trash. Who’d toss a body part in the garbage outside the scrapbook crafts store…

First line: “What star is that, Mama?” From the inside cover: When Eve Duncan gave birth to her daughter, she experienced a love she never knew existed. Nothing would stand in the way of giving Bonnie a wonderful life – until the unthinkable happened and the seven-year-old vanished into thin air. Eve found herself in the throes of a nightmare from which there was no escape. But a new Eve…

First line: Stop me. From the inside cover: As a former Navy Seal turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance –…

First line: Two minutes. From the inside cover: Eve Duncan’s mission in life is to bring closure to the families who have experienced the agony of a missing child. As a forensic sculptor, she is able to piece together bones, create a face, and match a name to a child who would have otherwise gone unidentified. Eve is brilliant, driven, and tormented – because her own daughter, Bonnie, was taken…

First line: Bad things come in threes. From the back cover: After the unexpected death of her parents, shy and sheltered Ginny Selvaggio, a young woman with Asperger’s syndrome, seeks comfort in the kitchen. The rich aroma of ribollita, painstakingly recreated from her Italian grandmother’s handwritten recipe, calms her senses. But it also draws an unexpected visitor – the ghost of Nonna herself – and Ginny soon discovers she has…

First line: Eve Meyers, my BFF, a gothic fashionista with a steampunk edge, tall in her black and brass Lindi Buckle Leather Booties, invaded my vintage dress shop with mischief aforethought. From the back cover: Even though Maddie is swamped running Vintage Magic and dealing with the consequences of the visions she gets from certain of her fashion treasures, she’s agreed to plan her sister Sherri’s baby shower and mentor…

First line: This will be a good weekend for reading. From the back cover: Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town’s self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five-year-old pharmacist with a “mountain girl’s body and a flat behind.” She lives an amiable life with good friends and…

First line: As I drove to work that morning, I remembered the dream I’d had last night: Me as a toddle being passed between my mother and Aunt Fiona, the two of them dancing and chanting in rhyme beside the Mystic River beneath a full and magical moon. From the back cover: Madeira loves her Vintage Magic boutique, but the visions she gets from the garments can be hard to…

First line:  On a mission, Elisabetta Gardelli walked into Consign or Design, a small shop off Main Street in downtown Serendipity known for high-end outfits bought on consignment and unique items crafted by the owner, April Mancini. Synopsis from GoodReads:Elisabetta Gardelli thought she’d spend her days serving coffee and writing obits for the town paper. But then an unexpected opportunity results in her dream job as a real journalist for…