Friday, February 18, 2022

First Line Friday - Naked in Death

Welcome to my first "First Line Friday" blog hop. To join the fun, post your link here and comment below. Or just tell me what's on your TBR pile that you plan to get to this weekend. 

I have on my nightstand the paperback of J.D. Robb's Naked in Death, the first of her Eve Dallas novels. (With over 50 books in the series? Oh man.)

I've never read a Nora Roberts / JD Robb book before, but my niece really enjoys this "In Death" series and may have read them all. The copy I have is the 25th Anniversary edition from 2020 - originaly published 1995.

What grabbed my attention is the genre - futuristic suspense. So that sounded interesting! And, of course, you have to read the first lines (or paragraphs) of the first chapter to see if it pulls you in. 

So here goes. Let me know if you like this opening...

She woke in the dark. Through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hint of dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell.

For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering, imprisoned, while the dream faded. After ten years on the force, Eve still had dreams.

I like it! I like that we know the person's name right away. I hate it when an author tries to keep an identity secret, just using pronouns for a page or two thinking that increases interest. It doesn't. It's frustrating. I want to know who the story is about, and now I know right away. Eve.

The alliteration is almost a bit too much here (dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars), but the image is great. Bars. Cell. Imprisoned. Very good. And the last line of the second paragraph sets the context perfectly. I'm glad Robb wrote simply: Eve still had dreams. No adjective. 

I'm also glad we didn't start with a dream - hate that writing strategy too. You're reading along thinking this is real and then the MC wakes up! Dumb. I'm sure in this case, we'll find out what Eve has been dreaming... 

Oh, and the next line to the third paragraph is even better: Six hours before, she'd killed a man.

Okay, I'm hooked. What about you?

BTW, another Fiday blog hop is #Friday56 - which means you turn to page 56 in your paperback (or go to 56% in your e-book) and share a snippet.

This particular meme is hosted by Freda's Voice - so click here to participate.

Here's my p.56 snippet from Naked in Death by JD Robb...

"It was an early evening. By eleven I was alone, with a book and a brandy, until about seven A.M., when I had my first cup of coffee."

Sure he was! Lt. Dallas is interviewing a guy named Roarke and is already suspicious. Don't know if he's guilty or not. Haven't read the book yet! ;-)

There you have it. Two memes for the price of one. 

Thanks for dropping by. Chat with you below!

28 comments:

  1. 50 book in the series! You have some reading to do, I guess :) That "56" sounds like an alibi. A book and brandy! Sounds good to me :) Thanks for stopping by.

    Colletta

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who wouldn't believe an evening alone with a book and brandy? lol Thanks for dropping in. Happy reading!

      Delete
    2. And I doutbt I'll make it through all 50+ lol

      Delete
  2. You've highlighted such a great series that I hope to catch up on one of these days. I've only read about 5-6 books, but I was impressed at how those early stories held up in current times and weren't dated at all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm looking forward to reading this first one and will go from there. Thanks for dropping in!

      Delete
  3. I have to admit "futuristic suspense" grabbed my interest. The quotes did too. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd heard about this series for quite some time and I'm looking forward to figuring out what futuristic suspense actually means! But it does sound cool. Thanks for dropping in.

      Delete
  4. My first attempt to read this one was an utter failure, but I think the timing was bad. I listened to the audio version a few years later and enjoyed it quite a bit. I hope you enjoy it! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, yeah some books are better as audio! And then some I have to read because I miss some of the subtleties that an audio version can plow right through. Thanks for dropping in.

      Delete
  5. Futuristic suspense? Ooh, sounds good!
    Mine is in French this time: https://francebooktours.com/2022/02/18/le-promeneur-sur-le-cap-friday-56-vendredi-lecture/
    I have free copies and also a giveaway, so if you read French or have friends who do, please pass the information along. Have a great week-end

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know French other than ca va? Will drop by your blog next. Have a great weekend.

      Delete
  6. It's been way too long since I've read Robb. I have to get back to that!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My first go with this series, so I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for dropping in.

      Delete
  7. This is the only one I have read so far and I liked it. I look forward to more in the series when I get a bigger book budget! :-) Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oops, my final comment was meant in response to your comment lol

      Delete
  8. Our local DAV has used books for 10 cents! So I pick up random mysteries and thrillers there and think I scored this copy of Robb's book a few months back. Keep searching! And thanks for dropping by!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I read this years ago. I don't know why I didn't go back to this series. I enjoyed the first one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very cool. So many series of books, though! I still haven't even made a dent in Sue Grafton's Alphabet series. Maybe on C or D? lol

      Delete
  10. I don't know how I've missed this series, especially since there's 50 books, but I'm really intrigued by the idea of 'futuristic suspense'. Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same with you. I'm looking forward to reading it!

      Delete
  11. I haven't read a Nora Roberts/J.D Robb book yet either, but her suspense ones especially look intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neither have I so looking forward to this one. Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  12. Sounds like a good book! Futuristic suspense is a new one to me but I would give it a go!

    Emily @Budget Tales Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The genre definitely piqued my interest. Did I get that word right? lol Thanks for dropping by!

      Delete
  13. That is a lot of books in a series. I'm not sure I could read that many in one series without losing interest. Enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you. I started the Stephanie Plum numbered novels by Evanovich and they all started to sound the same after about 5 or 6. That's the trouble with series that go on forever, I think.

      Delete
  14. I used to read Nora Roberts, but never read her as J. D. Robb. Enjoy your book and your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, you too. And thanks for stopping in.

      Delete

Keep it clean and positive. (And sorry about the word verification, but the spmb*ts are out in full force!)