Front Page Fridays Week-18
Front Page Fridays Week-18
Welcome to Front Page Fridays Week-18. On Fridays I highlight a new book by showcasing the first page.
My Front Page Fridays Week-18 guest is S E Shepherd and her brand-new Sandlin PI crime novel, New Memories. Here’s a peek at the opening:
PROLOGUE
SUSAN, MAY 1992
Martin still wasn’t home when Susan returned. Retrieving the key to her lockable box, she made her way over to the tea chests in the corner of the lounge and dug deep. Unlocking the box, she took the top diary from the pile, turned to the next blank page and wrote the date. Susan knew she ought to jot down the day’s events, in particular the conversation that still had her head spinning, but one single sentence bounced around her brain, demanding to be written. So she wrote it: I’ve told him everything! At that moment, there was a knock at the front door. Shoving the diary back into the box, she locked it and hid it under the baby blankets in the tea chest. With no time to put the key in its usual place, she popped it in her pocket. As she made her way down the hall, the knock came again, louder and more insistent this time.
1
HANNAH, MARCH 2023
With her spiky, bleached hair and assortment of ear piercings, Hannah knew she was no Jessica Fletcher. But from the easy smile on her face, down to her comfortable, ever-present biker boots, Hannah Sandlin PI still radiated cordiality. Her aim was always to make her clients feel as comfortable as possible. She had learnt that the best way to get anyone to talk was to allow them to relax and give them time. Whilst she waited for this particular client to feel ready to speak, she attempted to suss her out.
Liv Farnley sat opposite Hannah, fidgeting and sipping cautiously from a mug of near scalding, black coffee. She had come to Hannah via Dave, Hannah’s employee. He had brought in a couple of clients last year, too, and it was helpful to have his input. However, Dave said that as he’d met Liv at an AA meeting, on this occasion it might be better if Hannah conducted the initial consultation alone.
The café Liv had chosen to meet in was not one that Hannah had previously frequented. Personally, she would’ve preferred her and Lottie’s favourite café, the one by the clocktower, or maybe Costa Coffee. She’d walked past this place often and had never felt the slightest inclination to enter. But this was a familiar place for her client, and that was the most important thing right now.
Hannah glanced around, taking in what little ambiance there was. The tables were white Formica; the walls a faded seaside blue. There were no personal touches as such. No flowers, no paintings, not one quirky, inspirational quote on the wall. It could be described as basic or functional, if you were being polite, spartan if you were not.
New memories by S. E. Shepherd. Published 6 August 2024 by Hobeck Books.
About the Book
For three decades, Olivia Farnley used alcohol and drugs to try to block out the memory of the horrific murder of her mother which put her father in prison. Now she’s ready to face her past, and her hypnotherapist is sure he can help her to fill in the gaps.
During therapy, a key detail comes back to her, one that is so momentous that Liv is forced to share this new-found information with the police. When they dismiss her claims, Liv is left frustrated and furious. Then a chance encounter leads Liv to private investigator Hannah Sandlin, who, accompanied by her best friend Lottie, embarks on an investigation in the Spanish resort of Marbella.
Amid the magnificent villas and infinity pools of Puerto Banús, and the stunning beaches of Playa de la Fontanilla, dark secrets lurk. Once Hannah deploys her sharp investigative mind and shameless tenacity, she discovers what really happened to Liv’s mother, Susan, all those years ago. In the process, she uncovers some shocking secrets that the rest of the Farnley family have been trying their hardest to keep.
Can Hannah separate the lies from the truth and bring Liv the resolution she so desperately needs?
S.E. Shepherd’s brilliant new tale is a gripping story of the power of memory and the dangers of buried secrets. If you love Richard Osman and Janice Hallett, you will adore this gripping new novel from the author of Swindled and Cousin Ash. Travel this summer with best friends and colleagues, Hannah and Lottie, as they try to unravel a brand new mystery. The perfect summer read for 2024.
Purchasing Links
Paperback https://amzn.eu/d/fWajCrO
Kindle https://amzn.eu/d/6RoDYmK
About the Author
Sue Shepherd was born in Harrow; she then spent several years living in Hertfordshire before taking a leap of faith across The Solent to the picturesque Isle of Wight. Sue lives with her two sons, and their dogs, a Standard Poodle named Forrest, and a Cavachon called Sky.
Sue has written three RomComs, 'Doesn't Everyone Have a Secret?' which reached the top ten UK Kindle chart in 2015, 'Love Them and Leave Them.' and 'Can't Get You Out of My Head.' These were published under the name Sue Shepherd.
Now writing under the name S E Shepherd, Sue's first suspense novel, Swindled, Book 1 in The Sandlin PI Series was published in September 2021 by Hobeck Books. The second in the series, Cousin Ash, was published in August 2022. The third in the series, New Memories, was published in August 2024. Sue is currently writing a fourth book in the Sandlin PI Series.
Sue’s passions in life are: her family, writing, the seaside and all the beautiful purple things her sons have bought her over the years. Ask Sue to plan too far in advance and you'll give her the heebie-jeebies and she'd prefer you not to mention Christmas until at least November!
Social Media Links
You can catch up with Sue Shepherd in the following ways:
X: @thatsueshepherd
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SueShepherdWrites
I hope you enjoyed reading Front Page Fridays Week-18. 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 – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-1/
2. Fatal Blow by Brian Price – https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-2/
3. Can I Trust You? by Rob Gittins – Front Page Fridays Week-3 – Rachel Sargeant
4. The Last Bird of Paradise by AJ Aberford – Front Page Fridays Week-4 – Rachel Sargeant
5. Never Forgive You by Hilly Barmby – Front Page Fridays Week-5 – Rachel Sargeant
6. The Mists of Pencarrack Moor by Terri Nixon – Front Page Fridays Week-6 - Rachel Sargeant
7. The Thief of Joy by Stacey Murray – Front Page Fridays Week-7 - Rachel Sargeant
8. Edge of the Land by Malcolm Hollingdrake – Front Page Fridays Week-8 - Rachel Sargeant
9. The Mind of a Murderer by Michael Wood - https://www.rachelsargeant.co.uk/front-page-fridays-week-9/
10. The Midnight Man by Julie Anderson – Front Page Fridays Week-10 - Rachel Sargeant
11. Dark Road Home by Sheila Bugler – Front Page Fridays Week-11 - Rachel Sargeant
12. Her Charming Man by Rachel Sargeant – Front Page Fridays Week-12 - Rachel Sargeant
13. Wedding Bells at the Lakeside Hotel by Linda Huber – Front Page Fridays Week-13 - Rachel Sargeant
14. Dark Island by Daniel Aubrey – Front Page Fridays Week-14 - Rachel Sargeant
15. The Shame by Maureen Myant – Front Page Fridays Week-15 - Rachel Sargeant
16. Dead Mile by Jo Furniss – Front Page Fridays Week-16 — Rachel Sargeant
17. The Violin and Candlestick by David Jarvis – Front Page Fridays Week-17 — Rachel Sargeant