I had a hard time this week finding three really strong openers, even in the books I enjoyed. These were among the better ones (I haven’t read any of them).
Guilt by Degrees by Marcia Clark, …

After four disappointing crime fic novels in a row, I decided I needed a change of pace, and was happy to fall into Overseas, an engrossing fairy tale by debut author Beatriz Williams.
Twenty-five-year-old investment banker …

*This is a sticky post. See above and below for newer content.*
Since May is Mystery Month, it’s time for the second annual Stalker Awards! I created these last year so that crime fiction readers at …

Time for another sampling of opening passages from the books in my TBR pile, a regular Friday feature here at PCN. As some of you know, I go straight to the first page of the …

This originally ran in Shelf Awareness for Readers, and is republished here with permission.
Miriam Black, the protagonist of Blackbirds, has the Dead Zone-ish ability to see a person’s future when she touches him or her, but Chuck …

May the Fourth be with you! You know I had to get that out of the way.
Now, for this week’s First Impressions, let’s add something new. After reading the following opening passages, leave a comment …

Late last night, Deadline.com reported that Warner Bros. Digital Publishing will be releasing a series of eBooks that contain shooting scripts for classic films, with loads of extra content about each movie. The four announced …

Another Friday, another sampler of opening passages from books in my TBR pile to see which ones grab your attention right away.
For your perusal this week:
Long Gone by Alafair Burke, Harper, out June 19
Second Acts: …