Front Page Fridays Week-22
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-22. On Fridays I highlight a recently published book by showcasing the first page.
My Front Page Fridays Week-22 author is returning guest, Maureen Myant, and her brand-new thriller What Lies Beneath.
Here’s the first page:
Prologue
Imagine a globe. Made of glass. One with snow that falls when you shake it. Inside the globe is a village, a Christmas card scene, perhaps, with a church at its centre. Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and here are the people. Look closer. There is no church, only a house in the snow, all alone. It invites you into the living room with its shabby, yet comfortable furniture. The log fire burns brightly and spits out the occasional spark that dies on the hearth. Sitting round it are four people. A happy family scene. Or is it?
Lisa, the mother of the house, is laughing. She wants you to believe she hasn’t a care in the world. Her cheeks are flushed from the heat of the fire. Her eyes sparkle but the deep line between her eyebrows is a giveaway. She’s worried. A work problem? Difficulties with one of her children?
She’s been with David, her husband, forever. David is reliable, you’d turn to him in a crisis. Head of town planning in a large local authority. Well paid, not that you’d know from the suits he wears. His depute wears Armani but David is happy with Marks & Spencer. He’s not wearing a suit now of course, not on holiday. His face is flushed, too, but not from the heat of the fire. High blood pressure? Nope, he’s hacked off with Ollie.
About the Book
A family Christmas to remember
An idyllic, snow-covered landscape. A cottage in rural Northumberland. Full of love, laughter, food, wine and mince pies. The recipe for a joyous Noel, or is it?
They seem like the perfect family
With her seemingly perfect family, Lisa Truett is envied by all her friends. Husband David is solid and dependable, salt of the earth, adores his family. Enigmatic adult twins Emilia and Rosamund are on the path to successful careers in journalism and music. Her youngest, Oliver, is blessed with brains and beauty. He can expect a brilliant future. No wonder they’re known as the ‘too good to be Truetts.’
But they never thought it would end like this
Someone is stalking them but who? Whose footprints mingle with theirs in the snow around their cottage? It turns out the family is far from perfect, after all. Will Ros ever stop seeking male approval? Is Em’s eating disorder back again? What is Oliver hiding, or, rather, who is he hiding from? David has been distant and aloof recently. Is he having an affair? But it is Lisa who hides the biggest secret of all and it could tear the family apart.
Purchase Links
https://www.hobeck.net/product-page/what-lies-beneath-by-maureen-myant
About the Author
Maureen Myant lives in Glasgow. She is a graduate of the University of Glasgow’s Creative Writing Master’s and Doctorate programme. Her profession was educational psychology but she has now retired to concentrate on writing. Her Glasgow Southside novels are also published by Hobeck and she is currently working on the fourth in the series. You can find her on Twitter @maureenmyant
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-22. Please come back next time when I’ll be featuring a different author and the first page of their book.
And please take a look at books already featured on Front Page Fridays:
1. Blood Ribbons by Lin Le Versha – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-1/
2. Fatal Blow by Brian Price – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-2/
3. Can I Trust You? by Rob Gittins – Front Page Fridays Week-3 – Rachel Sargeant
4. The Last Bird of Paradise by AJ Aberford – Front Page Fridays Week-4 – Rachel Sargeant
5. Never Forgive You by Hilly Barmby – Front Page Fridays Week-5 – Rachel Sargeant
6. The Mists of Pencarrack Moor by Terri Nixon – Front Page Fridays Week-6 - Rachel Sargeant
7. The Thief of Joy by Stacey Murray – Front Page Fridays Week-7 - Rachel Sargeant
8. Edge of the Land by Malcolm Hollingdrake – Front Page Fridays Week-8 - Rachel Sargeant
9. The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood - https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-9/
10. The Midnight Man by Julie Anderson – Front Page Fridays Week-10 - Rachel Sargeant
11. Dark Road Home by Sheila Bugler – Front Page Fridays Week-11 - Rachel Sargeant
12. Her Charming Man by Rachel Sargeant – Front Page Fridays Week-12 - Rachel Sargeant
13. Wedding Bells at the Lakeside Hotel by Linda Huber – Front Page Fridays Week-13 - Rachel Sargeant
14. Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey – Front Page Fridays Week-14 - Rachel Sargeant
15. The Shame by Maureen Myant – Front Page Fridays Week-15 - Rachel Sargeant
16. Dead Mile by Jo Furniss – Front Page Fridays Week-16 — Rachel Sargeant
17. The Violin and Candlestick by David Jarvis – Front Page Fridays Week-17 — Rachel Sargeant
18. New Memories by S.E. Shepherd – Front Page Fridays Week-18 — Rachel Sargeant
19. Young Blood by Victoria Gemmell – Front Page Fridays Week-19 — Rachel Sargeant
20. Private Investigations by Rob Gittins – Front Page Fridays Week-20 — Rachel Sargeant
21. The Car Horn Revolution by A.J. Aberford – Front Page Fridays Week-21 — Rachel Sargeant