Welcome to Day 23 of 24 Days of Shelves of Spines!

Friday Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and the Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.

So Friday Book Beginnings you choose the book you are currently reading or the one that is closest to you and share the first few sentences. For the Friday 56 you simply turn to page 56 or 56% on your e-reader and share a sentence or two that you enjoy. Then just add maybe a synopsis about the book in case others are interested. That’s it!

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The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

Published on: May 27th 2014

Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository | Indigo

Synopsis (from Goodreads): August 30, 1975: the day fifteen-year-old Nola Kellergan is glimpsed fleeing through the woods, never to be heard from again; the day Somerset, New Hampshire, lost its innocence.

Thirty-three years later, Marcus Goldman, a successful young novelist, visits Somerset to see his mentor, Harry Quebert, one of the country’s most respected writers, and to find a cure for his writer’s block as his publisher’s deadline looms. But Marcus’s plans are violently upended when Harry is suddenly and sensationally implicated in the cold-case murder of Nola Kellergan—whom, he admits, he had an affair with. As the national media convicts Harry, Marcus launches his own investigation, following a trail of clues through his mentor’s books, the backwoods and isolated beaches of New Hampshire, and the hidden history of Somerset’s citizens and the man they hold most dear. To save Harry, his own writing career, and eventually even himself, Marcus must answer three questions, all of which are mysteriously connected: Who killed Nola Kellergan? What happened one misty morning in Somerset in the summer of 1975? And how do you write a book to save someone’s life?

Beginning: “Somerset Police, What’s your emergency?” “Hello? My name is Deborah Cooper. I love on Side Creek Lane. I think I’ve just seen a man running after a girl in the woods.”

Page 56: “When we learned that it was probably Nola Kellergan’s body, it was a shock for everyone,” Ernie Pinkas said. “None of us could beleive it: after all this time, the poor girl was just there, under our noses. I mean, how many times have I been to Harry’s place and drunk a Scotch on that deck? Practically right next to her…”

Thoughts: I loved this book. Once I got over the daunting size of it I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end!

What do you think?