Front Page Fridays Week-32
Front Page Fridays Week-32
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-32. On Fridays I showcase the first page of a brand-new book.
My Front Page Fridays Week-32 guest is Brian Price and his new collection of crime short stories, A Pocketful of Poisons, published by Hobeck Books.
Here’s the opening:
THE SCENT OF AN ENDING
It started with a tickle. A faint irritation in his chest. Then his eyes began to water and he started to cough. He had no idea he was dying.
‘Bloody Julia,’ muttered Keith Watts. ‘Giving me her sodding cold. And it isn’t as if she was standing anywhere near me.’
Feeling the need for something loud, Keith eased a rare, signed, copy of the Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn from its place on the shelf, removed the disc from the sleeve with cotton gloves and placed it reverentially on the turntable. He sat back to listen, immersing himself in the psychedelic swirls and crazy lyrics of his favourite band.
By the end of ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ Keith was beginning to feel quite unwell. His breathing was painful and his chest was tight, but swallowing a couple of paracetamol tablets made no difference. Realising he was seriously ill and needed help, he tried to open the door but the key wouldn’t fit in the lock. Something had jammed it. Shouting or banging on the door would be pointless as Emily and Julia wouldn’t hear him – his den was soundproofed extremely well. He could reach the windows, if he stood on a chair, but they were too small to climb through and no-one would hear him if he opened them and shouted for help.
Perhaps he could Skype or WhatsApp Emily? He staggered over to his laptop and switched it on. ‘No Internet Connection’ flashed up when he tried to log in. Panicking, he stumbled to the door and tried once again to get the key in the lock. No joy. By now he could hardly breathe. He vomited, coughed up bloody mucus and collapsed on the floor. Ten minutes later, he took his last agonising breath.
*
Keith Watts’s death had been reported by his wife, Emily, at 10.40 that morning. He hadn’t appeared for breakfast and, getting no reply by hammering on the locked door of his den, Emily had stood on a ladder, peered through the window and shouted to her sister, who was holding the ladder.
‘Get an ambulance. He's on the floor, not moving.’
About the Book
Innocent, ordinary substances can have lethal potential in the hands of those seeking revenge or motivated by greed, misguided altruism or self-protection. Why is poison the choice of the calculated killer? What can go wrong?
In this thrilling kaleidoscope of short stories, written by critically acclaimed crime fiction writer]and poison expert, Brian Pirce, you will enter the dark recesses of a poisoner’s imagination. You’ll wish you hadn’t had that coffee before heading up the motorway.
Purchase Link
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocketful-Poisons-Collection-Deadly-Stories-ebook/dp/B0F2SS2WFR/
About the Author
Brian Price is the author of the DC Mel Cotton thrillers, published by Hobeck books, and Crime writing: How to write the science, a guide for authors on how to avoid scientific mistakes. A chemist and biologist by training, he has worked in a hospital pharmacy, as an environmental consultant, as an Open University tutor and for the Environment Agency. As well as writing thrillers, he advises other authors on such matters as poisons, knockouts, and DNA.
Social media
https://www.facebook.com/brian.price.16100/
Twitter/X @crimewritersci
https://www.threads.net/@briancrimewriter
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-32. 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
22. What Lies Beneath by Maureen Myant – Front Page Fridays Week-22 — Rachel Sargeant
23. A Safe Place by Stephanie Carty – Front Page Fridays Week-23 — Rachel Sargeant
24. Fatal Image by Brian Price – Front Page Fridays Week-24 — Rachel Sargeant
25. Run For Your Lies by A.A. Abbott – Front Page Fridays Week-25 — Rachel Sargeant
26. A Walk in the Park by Natalie Kleinman – Front Page Fridays Week-26 — Rachel Sargeant
27. A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray – Front Page Fridays Week-27 — Rachel Sargeant
28. The Midnight Bookshop by Amanda James – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-28
29. A Death in the Afternoon by Julie Anderson – Front Page Fridays Week-29 — Rachel Sargeant
30. Justice by Madalyn Morgan – Front Page Fridays Week-30 — Rachel Sargeant
31. Let Me Out by Amanada Brittany – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-31