Friday Fun - June 17th, 2022

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with two different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays and the Friday 56.

Last week I mentioned that I read Cast the First Stone by David James Warren for one of my June challenges, plus had moved on to the second book in the True Lies of Rembrandt Stone series, No Stone Unturned. This week, I zinged through the final four books. They were awesome! 

Book three is titled, Sticks and Stone.

Book four is  Set in Stone. 

Book five is Blood from a Stone.

And the final book, Heart of Stone.

Book Beginnings on Fridays

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

Here is my book beginnings for Sticks and Stone by David James Warren.

"The pieces of two lives sit in my brain like they should fit together, but no matter how hard I press, I can't get them to line up. My life is broken into fragments that refuse to align.""

I just loved how each book started off right where the previous book left off. 

And here is my book beginnings for Set in Stone by David James Warren.

"What is happiness? Is it a place? A time? A choice? I am afraid of the answer. Because if it is either of the former two, it's lost to me.""

And here is my book beginnings for Blood From a Stone also by David James Warren.

"This is not my world.

Not my life.

Not my time. 

Sure, it resembles a life I knew-from the snow piled up along the blackened, salted streets, the icy wind buffeting the frosty diner window, the sound of Celine Dion singing how her heart will go on, and even the smell of oil in the fryers of the late-night diner."

And finally, my book beginnings for the final book in the series, Heart of Stone by David James Warren.

"They say that without hope, people perish.

I say hope crushes the soul. 

That's why I look away when Frankie Dale's beautiful gray eyes fall on me as I walk into Alexander Malakov's third story office."

I have to say, the beginning of the final book confused me the most. 

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is hosted over at Freda's Voice.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections.

Sticks and Stone by David James Warren
 

"This part, I do remember, so I take a breath. 'My name is Inspector Stone. I'm with the Minneapolis Police Department, and we're looking into the murder of your sister-in-law.' I gesture to the scene outside, the coroner's van that has now pulled up." 

Set in Stone by David James Warren

"'At the moment I don't care what kind of detective he is. Because what I wanted to hear was the standard 'we just worked together,' defense. I didn't hear that, did you?"

Blood From a Stone by David James Warren

"'Listen. I know you're crazy about Eve. But you have a career here. You're Booker's favorite. Man, I could see you as chief one day. Don't give that up. Eve will come back-you know she will. Her family is here.'"

Heart of Stone by David James Warren

"But. . . why would she attend an AA meeting? 
She headed back to the den, shooting a look at Rem. He hadn't moved. Maybe she should check his breathing. 

And then end up waking him? She had no doubt she'd end up tangled in his arms."