Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts 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.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read, Murder on Millionaires' Row by Erin Lindsey. The excerpts shared are from the trade paperback I purchased.

Beginning: Chapter 1

ROSE GALLAGHER OF 55 MOTT STTEET -- JUST ANOTHER DAY -- CLARA'S ADVICE -- THE FIRST CLUE

As I tell you this story, I'll thank you to remember that I was young and in love.

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Page 56:  What happened next is seared forever in my memory.  For a long time afterward, the sound of church bells tolling the hour would send a shiver of dread down my spine. 

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My thoughts:  This is another one of those books that appeals to me on many levels: it's historical fiction: it's the first in a series (Rose Gallagher #1); it has a female protagonist; the setting is Gilded Age New York; it's a debut novel; the second book in the series is imminent (if not already available).  I plan to soon immerse myself in Rose Gallagher's world.

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From Goodreads:  Erin Lindsey takes readers on a chase through Gilded Age Manhattan, filled with wonderful historical details, ghosts, romance, and Pinkerton detectives in Murder on Millionaires' Row, a delightfully charming debut mystery. 

Rose Gallagher might dream of bigger things, but she’s content enough with her life as a housemaid. After all, it’s not every girl from Five Points who gets to spend her days in a posh Fifth Avenue brownstone, even if only to sweep its floors. But all that changes on the day her boss, Mr. Thomas Wiltshire, disappears. Rose is certain Mr. Wiltshire is in trouble, but the police treat his disappearance as nothing more than the whims of a rich young man behaving badly. Meanwhile, the friend who reported him missing is suspiciously unhelpful. With nowhere left to turn, Rose takes it upon herself to find her handsome young employer. 

The investigation takes her from the marble palaces of Fifth Avenue to the sordid streets of Five Points. When a ghostly apparition accosts her on the street, Rose begins to realize that the world around her isn’t at all as it seems―and her place in it is about to change forever.

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter with appropriate recognition is appreciated.