Today I’m reading Exit Strategy by Linda L. Richards for Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!
Exit Strategy* by Linda L. Richards
(*Amazon Affiliate link- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
This novel is a sequel to Endings. It just came out this week.
Summary: A killer for hire is rattled by her most recent hit, and therefore her handler assigns her to do something new. Her job is to protect Virginia Martin, who is about to change the world with an invention that turns garbage into energy. Can she make the transition from being a hitwoman to being a bodyguard?
First Sentence:
He proves to be a genial companion. I never doubted that he would.
Discussion:
The poor guy is on a date with a killer for hire? Uh oh. I have a feeling he’s in real trouble.
The book is written in first person –from the point of view of the hitwoman– and present tense. By in large the sentences are short and packed with action verbs. Those choices make it a compelling book to read.
56
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. The premise is simple. Turn to page 56 in the book and pick a quote.
When I leave the salon, I am beautiful. I can feel it. My hair bounces around me …I feel my hair springing around me as I walk out of the salon and all I want to do is cry, reminded of what was long lost.
What an abrupt change in her mood. I’m not sure what is going on. Perhaps I should have started with the first novel in the series.
After reading:
In many thrillers, the protagonist has a flat character arc, that is, his or her job is the change the world rather than being changed by it. In those kind of books, it is easier to simply pick them up in any order. Lee Child’s Reacher series is a prime example.
In Exit Strategy, the protagonist is definitely on a journey that is changing her. Because that journey started in the first book of the series, Endings, I recommend reading it first.
What do you think? Have you read a novel by Linda L. Richards?
