Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & 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 a recent blog tour read, Don't Look Down, a psychological thriller by Hilary Davidson.  It's the second book in the Shadows of New York series. The excerpts shared are from the eBook I received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

  

Beginning:  Monday 

Chapter One

Jo

Jo Greaver was ready to kill someone.  There were a dozen reasons why, starting with the fact that her shoulder felt like it might break under the weight of the black duffel bag she was lugging across West Forty-Ninth Street.

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56% of eBook:  Sheryn felt like her head was spinning.  Priscilla McGarran seemed completely unaware that she had put her finger on a pressure point in the case.

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My thoughts:  Don't Look Down is a fast-paced, gripping read.  Its many plot twists and turns are fueled by a set of dastardly characters who conspire, manipulate, blackmail, intimidate, and betray to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.  It's a thrilling fight between good and evil, with the forces of justice combatting brazen lawlessness.

For my full review and a chance to win a copy of the book click here.

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From Goodreads:   From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of One Small Sacrifice, a gripping mystery about a sinister murder that everyone wants to stay buried—except one dogged NYPD detective.
 
Jo Greaver is a model of success. Young and ambitious, she’s built a thriving beauty business from nothing. But she has secrets she’ll do anything to keep buried. When her blackmailer offers to meet, Jo expects to pay him off—but gets a bullet instead. Bleeding and in shock, Jo flees with no one to turn to.

When NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling and her partner, Rafael Mendoza, find Andray Baxter murdered in his own home—shot through the heart—everything points to Jo as the killer. Her blood is at the scene, and so are disturbing photos of her taken as a young teen. But Sheryn has doubts. Was the kindhearted Andray really a criminal? Why did he repeatedly report finding spyware in his apartment? Was there something shady about Jo’s sister dying a year earlier?

Something’s not right, and it’s up to Sheryn to piece together the sinister puzzle, no matter the cost.

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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.