Front Page Fridays Week-38
Front Page Fridays Week-38
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-38. On Fridays I showcase the first page of a brand-new book.
My Front Page Fridays Week-38 author is a returning guest. Maureen Myant is back with The Fallen, the latest novel in her excellent Glasgow Southside crime series, published on 30th September by Hobeck Books.
Here’s the opening:
Chapter One
Shit! He’d forgotten to set his alarm. Quarter to eight and he was due in at work in fifteen minutes. Alex Scrimgeour stumbled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, cursing as he stubbed his toe on one of the numerous boxes of tiles blocking his hallway. The builders were coming in a couple of weeks to remodel his bathroom, and all the materials were stored there. He half-hopped the rest of the way and tried to make up for lost time by rushing through his ablutions. What was it they said? More hurry, less speed. Too fucking true. A nasty cut on his chin meant he wasted several more minutes trying to get the damn thing to stop bleeding. By the time he left, it was well after eight. If he’d been less distracted when he came out of the tenement close, he might have taken more notice of the man lingering across the road not far away.
It was a beautiful morning. Perfect. Alex stopped at the bottom of the steps for a moment to take in his surroundings. April was his favourite month, well, maybe it was May. Spring, definitely. Sparrows chitchatted their business, both to those prepared to listen and to those who were oblivious. A blackbird sang from a nearby branch and several goldfinches were lined up on the telephone line. Alex had the good fortune to live opposite a tiny patch of green filled with shrubs and trees. The rowans, birches and horse chestnut trees were all coming into leaf, and although the daffodils were all but finished, tulips poked their heads above ground. The leaves on the trees were a soft velvet green, as yet unmarred by pollution from the ubiquitous cars, and although he knew it was unlikely, the air tasted fresher and cleaner now than it had done last week. He took a deep breath and immediately went into a spasm of coughing. So much for the fresh air.
About The Fallen
An errant crisp packet is all that stands between DI Alex Scringeour being murdered on his way to work. Who would want Alex dead? Or was it perhaps a case of mistaken identity. If the bullet wasn’t meant for Alex, then who was it meant for and why?
Alex’s journalist daughter, Kate, newly in his life and happily settled in the same city, is obsessed with finding out more about a spate of apparent teenage suicides in the city. What do the deaths have in common, if anything? And who are the two mysterious ‘friends’ claiming that some of the teenagers were suicidal despite their families believing otherwise? Despite pressing domestic issues, Kate can’t let the matter go, plunging her into a potentially dangerous situation.
When his would-be killer turns up dead, Alex is forced to look further back into the past to discover what motivated the shooting. Who is behind the vendetta? Can they be stopped before the next attempt is more successful?
Purchase links
About the Author
Maureen Myant is the author of the Glasgow Southside crime series set mainly in the southside of Glasgow where she lives. She studied creative writing at the University of Glasgow and gained an MLitt and PhD. A former psychologist, she has now retired to concentrate on writing. She has also written a standalone psychological drama, What Lies Beneath and a historical novel, The Search, set in WW2 Europe.
Social media links
X : @maureenmyant
Bluesky : @maureenmyant.bsky.social
Some of Maureen’s Other Titles
The Search https://tinyurl.com/5bnhw3dn
The Confession https://tinyurl.com/4sth2myr
The Deception https://tinyurl.com/2s3d7r8z
The Shame https://tinyurl.com/4r2b2488
What Lies Beneath https://tinyurl.com/37zfv9b3
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-38. 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
32. A Pocketful of Poisons by Brian Price – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/85orb6bc15cs2voyn37yv3jprw0jec
33. Tribute by Madalyn Morgan – Front Page Fridays Week-33 — Rachel Sargeant
34. Mistress of the Manor by Cara Clayton – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-34
35. Waves of Change in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Chistensen – Front Page Fridays Week-35 — Rachel Sargeant
36. A French Inheritance by Jennifer Bohnet – Front Page Fridays Week-36
37. Beneath the Same Moon by AS Andrejevic – Front Page Fridays Week-37 — Rachel Sargeant