Front Page Fridays Week-63
Front Page Fridays Week-63
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-63. On Fridays I showcase the first page of a new book.
My Front Page Fridays Week-63 guest is… me! Under my new pen name Rae Starling, I present a sneak peek at the opening page of An Ordinary House, a dark thriller to be published on 3rd September by Hera Books, part of Canelo.
An Ordinary House
Here’s the opening:
Noise. Muffled through the heavy wool. An unending wahwah siren.
‘You can take the blanket off now we’re moving,’ the policewoman says from the front of the car.
My stomach goes stone-hard even though it’s the third time she’s spoken since she guided me down the stairs, my fingers tracing papery bumps on the wall; since we reached the gaping front door and she unfolded the blanket. ‘Mind your head’ was the last thing I heard before firm hands pushed me into the police car.
Now my thumbs twist into the wiry texture of the wool and I tense for whatever she has planned. Where is Prof? My father is the care-master, so why hasn’t he stopped the police taking me?
‘Or if you want,’ the policewoman adds, ‘you can stay underneath until we get to the hospital.’
My tongue tastes of fear and I can smell my sweat, worse than usual. My legs tingle, numb yet shaking. I can’t do this on my own. Where has my family gone? Police took Fayla ahead of me, but what about my siblings?
I long for the lightbox. Right now, I’d watch anything: CBeebies; ITV3. Any channel that Techy has managed to make work by twisting the dials at the back and ignoring the static crackling from the screen.
There’s static in this blanket too, pricking and sudden. A flicker of another journey enters my thoughts. Another blanket over me long ago, but I can’t be sure.
About An Ordinary House:
We lived in a house on Beech Avenue.
Outside-People say we're safe now.
But one of us wants to go back.
Back to that house and the darkness it held.
Police raid an ordinary house in a quiet suburban street and find a traumatised teenager held captive with his family. They call him a survivor, but he doesn't know what to believe. His memories don't match what his siblings and the press tell him about his home.
As he struggles to make sense of his new world, he must find and face the truth.
With one of his siblings set on revenge, should he forget his family, or turn from victim to killer?
Purchase Links:
Also available from bookshops.
About Rae Starling
Rae Starling is the pseudonym of me … Rachel Sargeant, a bestselling suspense author from Gloucestershire. My novels are sold worldwide, including in translation in Europe. As Rae Starling I write about captivity, control and manipulation. After time out to study these topics in depth for a PhD, I’m here with a dark, compelling thriller about survivor exploitation and resilience, featuring a unique, unforgettable narrator.
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-63.
I don’t have a Front Page Fridays guest next week so I’ll be taking the opportunity to post a cheeky peep at the rest of Chapter 1 of An Ordinary House. It’s only a few lines so I’ll be posting Chapter 2 as well.
Front Page Fridays will be back on 11 September when I’ll be featuring a different author and the first page of their book.
In the meantime please take a look at books already featured on Front Page Fridays:
1. Blood Ribbons by Lin Le Versha
2. Fatal Blow by Brian Price
3. Can I Trust You? by Rob Gittins
4. The Last Bird of Paradise by AJ Aberford
5. Never Forgive You by Hilly Barmby
6. The Mists of Pencarrack Moor by Terri Nixon
7.The Thief of Joy by Stacey Murray
8. Edge of the Land by Malcolm Hollingdrake
9. The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood
10. The Midnight Man by Julie Anderson
11. Dark Road Home by Sheila Bugler
12. Her Charming Man by Rachel Sargeant
13. Wedding Bells at the Lakeside Hotel by Linda Huber
14. Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey
15. The Shame by Maureen Myant
16. Dead Mile by Jo Furniss
17. The Violin and Candlestick by David Jarvis
18. New Memories by S.E. Shepherd
19. Young Blood by Victoria Gemmell
20. Private Investigations by Rob Gittins
21. The Car Horn revolution by A.J. Aberford
22. What Lies Beneath by Maureen Myant
23. A Safe Place by Stephanie Carty
24. Fatal Image by Brian Price
25. Run For Your Lies by A.A. Abbott
26. A Walk in the Park by Natalie Kleinman
27. A Storm in a Teacup by Rachael Gray
28. The Midnight Bookshop by Amanda James
29. A Death in the Afternoon by Julie Anderson
30. Justice by Madalyn Morgan
31.Let Me Out by Amanda Brittany
32. A Pocketful of Poisons by Brian Price
33. Tribute by Madalyn Morgan
34. Mistress of the Manor by Cara Clayton
35. Waves of Change in Pelican Crossing by Maggie Chistensen
36. A French Inheritance by Jennifer Bohnet
37. Beneath the Same Moon by AS Andrejevic
38. The Fallen by Maureen Myant
39. The Bad Women by Jennie Ensor
40. Lies Between Friends by AA Abbott
41. Fatal Shot by Brian Brice
42. The Alibi by Katharine Johnson
43. The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn
44. If I Were You by Helen Matthews
45. (Not Quite) Done With Dating by Bella Osborne
46. Poison at the Wild Haggis Bookshop by Jackie Baldwin
47. Beattie Cavendish and the Highland Hideaway by Mary-Jane Riley
48. Missing… Rose Malone by Linda Huber
49. Fiasco by Nicola Kelsall
50. 27 Church Street by A.J. Hobart
51. The Girls of Maple Close by Amanda Brittany
52. Growing Old Disgracefully by Karen King
53. Meet Me At Apple Blossom Lane by Anita Faulkner
54. Festival Days by Julie Anderson
55. The Conservatory by Anthony Aberford
56. Her Rising Star by Rachel Sargeant
57. Wonderful by Louise Beech
58. Safe Space by Beck Lewis
59. The Boy in the Photograph by Hilly Barmby
60. One Little Lie by Charlotte Leonard