Front Page Fridays Week-66
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-66. On Fridays I showcase the first page of a new or forthcoming book.
My Front Page Fridays Week-66 guest is Maureen Myant and her brand-new novel, The Reckoning, the fifth book in her Glasgow Southside series.
The Reckoning by Maureen Myant
Here’s the opening:
Prologue
The body was lying in one of the lanes off Hope Street. The drunk man pissing up against the battered brick wall didn’t notice it at first, and when he did, he thought she was sleeping. He finished as fast as he could before zipping himself up, muttering sorry, hen, I didn’t see you there. Poor soul, he thought, having to sleep on the streets. But the way she was lying worried him and he moved closer. Shit. Was she dead? He prodded her with his foot.
‘Hello, there. You OK?’
No response. He studied her more carefully. There was an empty syringe in her hand. Fuck, she was dead. He blinked rapidly, wishing he hadn’t had that last pint. He patted his pockets, searching for his phone.
‘Police,’ he said when his 999 call was answered. ‘And ambulance. I’ve found a dead body, a woman.’ He paused to listen. ‘Where am I?’ He scanned the grubby stone walls, hoping for enlightenment. There was plenty of graffiti but no sign. Ah, there it was, ‘St. Vincent Lane,’ he said. ‘Where abouts? Ah, fuck man, I don’t know.’
Blurb: The Reckoning
When a successful businessman is left for dead in a tenement close, police in Glasgow are flummoxed. Who could want him dead? His wife has a strong financial motive but decoding of a mysterious inscription on his forehead points to a motive of revenge.
Then a second body is found, horribly mutilated and also bearing a message. DS Mark Nicholson and DCI Alex Scrimgeour fear they may have a potential serial killer on their hands. Their fears are realized when two more murders turn out to be connected.
Can Mark keep his mind on the job for long enough to work out how exactly these deaths are related to each other? He has enough worries of his own, what with juggling work, being a single parent to two-year-old Gus and now his boss Alex is edgy and distracted. He’s hiding something, but what?
With the help of DC Megan Webster, Mark vows to catch the twisted killer before they strike again but are they on the right path? Is the killer hiding in plain sight after all?
Purchase Links
The Search, set in World War Two, by Maureen Myant.
About Maureen
Maureen Myant lives in Glasgow where her Glasgow Southside series is set. She has a PhD and MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. The Reckoning is the fifth in the series and she is currently working on the sixth. Maureen is also the author of a historical novel set in WW2, The Search and a domestic drama What Lies Beneath. She has also had many short stories published in anthologies and journals.
Social Media
Twitter: @maureenmyant
Facebook: Maureen Myant author
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-64. 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
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
61. Come Fly With Me by Natalie Kleinman
62. The Silent House by Lynda Renham
63. An Ordinary House by Rae Starling