Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted each week by Rose City Reader. It’s a chance to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading this week. You can check out others’ book beginnings here. I’m also going to link up with Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower for First Line Friday. And I’ll be sharing for Friday 56 with Anne at Head Full of Books! She’s keeping the meme alive – y’all hop over to her blog and join in the fun!
This week’s book beginning:
Synopsis:
May Day should mark the start of spring. But this year, it means murder… Fortunately antique store owner and amateur detective Bella Winter is on the case!
Everyone in Hope Eaton climbs the hill to Sweet Agnes’ Spring on May Day, to greet the dawn and leave tokens among the flowers. Antique store owner Bella Winter grumbles about the early start, but she has to admit that watching the sun rise over the flower-strewn grove is worth it. And her interest deepens when she sees that one of the offerings this year is a little doll stuck all over with pins… a perfect replica of Mary Roberts, who lives nearby.
Determined to find out what lies behind this bizarre threat, Bella dives into a murky mess of strange events. Mary’s house is up for sale, but someone’s trying to wreck the deal, leaving rotting weeds on her front step. And Mary claims she’s seen a cloaked figure watching her from the woods…
Bella’s half convinced this is all nonsense, but then Mary is found dead, her prized carving of the spring stolen from her dresser. The police say it was a heart attack, but was she literally scared to death?
Soon Bella has uncovered a string of further mysteries. Why is Mary’s nearest neighbour missing? Who graffitied her boss’s house with a warning the night she died? And why would anyone want Mary’s carving?
All paths lead back to the spring itself… but does it hold answers or more danger? And can Bella track the killer down before she’s cut off at the source?
It was four fifteen in the morning on 1 May.
“At least we all know he’s using his time off to pick up the pieces. Unlike Noah. I saw him this morning near Meadow End, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.”
Does this sound like a cozy mystery you’d enjoy?
Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. It starts each Friday and runs through the following Thursday. Each week, there’s a new prompt featuring a book-related question. It’s designed to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, make new blogging friends, and gain followers. See what others have to say on this topic and link up your own post here.
I’m not necessarily motivated by self-help books, and I generally don’t go seek them out. My faith is important to me, so I do read my Bible. I find a lot of inspiration and encouragement there, but it isn’t a “self-help” book in the typical sense. If you’ve got a motivational book you think I should read, shout it out!
Do you read inspirational or motivational books at the start of the year?
Got any thoughts to share on the Hop topic? Leave a comment, and link up at the Hop page!
I like the idea of an antique store as a setting.
There are so many murders set in bookstores and libraries it is refreshing to find one set elsewhere. Ha!
I bet I would enjoy Clare Chase’s book. I love a good cozy mystery! While I do enjoy nonfiction from time to time, I would have to say most inspirational books I read are fiction. And sometimes even motivating. I don’t usually seek them out at the beginning of the year–it’s more a matter of what I’m in the mood to read at any given time. I hope you have a great weekend!
Happy Saturday!
I’m currently reading The Perfect Rom-Com by Melissa Ferguson. It’s really good!
“The following week is one dizzying event after another.”
I hope you have an excellent weekend! 🙂❤️📚
That is definitely the sort of mystery that I would enjoy.
I don’t read inspirational books either – unless one of the fiction books that I read accidentally inspires me!
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2025/01/24/book-blogger-hop-inspiration-at-the-start-of-the-year/