Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #18

 It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts from one of my current reads with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

This week's selection:

  

Beginning:   CHAPTER 36  6:30 P.M., SUNDAY

 

She stood at the window of the Manhattan apartment, peering through a slit in the drapes. Her hands trembled.

 

"Do you see anyone?" the man across the room asked, voice edgy.

 

"I'm not sure.  Maybe."  Her body pitched forward, tense, Gabriela tugged the thick sheets of cloth closer together, as if someone was scanning the windows with binoculars.  Or a sniper rifle.  "Of course, I didn't see anybody earlier today, either.  Until it was too late."  She muttered fiercely, "I wish I had a gun now.  I'd use it.  If anybody's there, I swear to God I'd use it."

Sam Easton asked, "But who would it be?"

 

She turned to him, stepping away from the window fast.  "Who?  It could be anyone.  Everybody in the world, it seems, wants the god-damn October List!"

 

My thoughts:  I'm intrigued by a story that starts with its final chapter and works its way back to the first chapter.  This book, by bestselling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver, is told in reverse and contains photographs by the author.

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Page 56:  Just then Surani got another call.  He listened.  He disconnected.  "Surveillance.  Gabriella and Reardon're on the move again.  Near Forty-Eight and Seventh, moving west.  There're a couple unmarkeds in the vicinity, but they're staying out of sight."  (Note:  This excerpt is from page 55 of the hardcover edition; page 56 is blank.)

 

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It's interesting that the character's name (Gabriela/Gabriella) is spelled with one l almost everywhere else in the book, yet on page 55 it's spelled with two l's.  Since I was quoting the text directly from both page 7 (beginning) and page 55, I used the spellings that appeared on each of those pages.  Think I caught a typo on page 55....

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Overview from barnesandnoble.com:

The shocking end is only the beginning . . .

#1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver has created the most riveting and original novel of the year-a race-against-the-clock mystery, told in reverse.

THE OCTOBER LIST

Gabriela waits desperately for news of her abducted daughter.
At last, the door opens.
But it's not the negotiators. It's not the FBI.
It's the kidnapper.
And he has a gun.

How did it come to this?

Two days ago, Gabriela's life was normal. Then, out of the blue, she gets word that her six-year-old daughter has been taken. She's given an ultimatum: pay half a million dollars and find a mysterious document known as the "October List" within 30 hours, or she'll never see her child again.

A mind-bending novel with twists and turns that unfold from its dramatic climax back to its surprising beginning, THE OCTOBER LIST is Jeffery Deaver at his masterful, inventive best.

Enjoy life with books . . .

 

Catherine
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Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #18 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.