Front Page Fridays Week-50
Front Page Fridays Week-50
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-50. On Fridays I showcase the first page of a new book.
My Front Page Fridays Week-50 guest is A.J. Hobart with a sneak peek at his debut novel, 27 Church Street, a family saga, to be published by Hobeck Books on 28 April.
Here’s the opening:
Chapter One
SUNDAY 10 JULY 1910
Carried on a cocktail of fear, adrenaline and anger, Bob Townsend had never run as fast or with such determination as he did now. Desperation drove him on. His son’s cries of anguish rang in his ears as if he were with him now, rather than in the waiting room at the infirmary, the bones of his forearm jutting through the three-inch gash caused by the accident. Bob fought back tears of frustration as he ran on through the streets of Kidderminster in search of that precious piece of paper. Three addresses visited. Three refusals. His options were dwindling. Surely someone would take pity on him.
‘They’re all at the town hall. Try your luck there,’ he’d been told by a maid at one of the houses he’d sought help at.
His lungs screamed for air; his legs buckled under him as he stumbled towards the town centre. The taverns were busy. He received sympathetic looks from some of the patrons, and the occasional encouraging word. They’d probably been in this position themselves, praying that someone on high would come to their aid. A simple but ever elusive ticket stood between Bob, his son and vital treatment.
The young surgeon that presided over the infirmary this summer’s afternoon had been implacable. ‘No ticket, no treatment. Those are the rules, as you well know.’ The man’s arrogance and coldness had shocked him, unmoved by the torment Bob’s son was in. Judging by their expressions, the nurses were just as shocked but had remained silent. No matter how much Bob had pleaded, the answer had been the same. It didn’t matter that Bob had made workplace donations to the infirmary for years. That meant nothing. Losing his job at the Brinton works two weeks earlier did, and so this hellish odyssey had begun. He needed to find Sammy Stretton.
About the Book
Kidderminster Town Hall, July, 1910
A glittering family celebration
The Stretton family spare no expense as the heads of their medical dynasty, Samuel and Kate, mark their golden wedding anniversary at Kidderminster Town Hall. Daughter Katie fights to ensure everything goes to plan. But family divisions soon come to the fore in a very public way, fueling gossip that will keep the town talking for weeks.
A transatlantic threat
Meanwhile, the social fabric of this famous carpet-making town is being threatened by a surprise arrival. Ambitious American carpet-tycoon Calvin Whitmore has designs on disrupting the established order. Whitmore’s son Charles is far from convinced about his father’s plans. Can Katie support him to find the courage to finally face down his father?
A lethal epidemic
As the future of Kidderminster is being fought over, the town’s population is threatened by a deadly outbreak of smallpox. Principal surgeon Lionel Stretton, son of Samuel, must inspire his hard-pressed team at the infirmary to save as many people as possible. Under the strain, more buried family secrets emerge, secrets that threaten to destroy the family’s unity and reputation forever…
27 Church Street: The Gathering Storm is a sweeping family saga of frustrated love, medical innovation, industrial rivalry, civic unrest, and family fracture.
Purchase Links
Amazon UK:https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0G86TGV8S
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G86TGV8S
Hobeck: https://www.hobeck.net/product-page/27-church-street-by-a-j-hobart
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/27-church-street/a-j-hobart//9781915817976
About the Author
A. J. Hobart worked in Brighton for several years before joining BBC World Service Radio Sport in London, then TV Sports news, before migrating to Salford in 2012. He left the BBC after twenty-five years to set up independent publisher, Hobeck Books, with his partner Rebecca Collins. They live in Staffordshire, with three of their five sons, and two permanently hungry and vocal cats. 27 Church Street: The Gathering Storm is his first novel.
Social Media
Book website: https://27churchstreet.com/
Hobeck website: www.hobeck.net
X/Twitter: @HobeckBooks
Instagram: @hobeckbooks
Facebook: @hobeckbooks
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-49. 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
38. The Fallen by Maureen Myant - Front Page Fridays Week-38 — Rachel Sargeant
39. The Bad Women by Jennie Ensor – Front Page Fridays Week-39 — Rachel Sargeant
40. Lies Between Friends by AA Abbott – Front Page Fridays Week-40 — Rachel Sargeant
41. Fatal Shot by Brian Brice – My Front Page Fridays Week-41 — Rachel Sargeant
42. The Alibi by Katharine Johnson – My Front Page Fridays Week-42 — Rachel Sargeant
43. The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-43
44. If I Were You by Helen Matthews – Front Page Fridays Week-44 — Rachel Sargeant
45. (Not Quite) Done With Dating by Bella Osborne – Front Page Fridays Week-45
46. Poison at the Wild Haggis Bookshop by Jackie Baldwin – Front Page Fridays Week-46 — Rachel Sargeant
47. Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley – Front Page Fridays Week-47 — Rachel Sargeant
48. Missing… Rose Malone by Linda Huber – www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-48
49. Fiasco by Nicola Kelsall – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/blog/front-page-fridays-week-49