First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

Lines

THOMPSON: I’m Jack Thompson, with the Berkshires Medical Center. How many shots did you hear? CROSS: Multiple shots. THOMPSON: What is your name, sir? CROSS: Alex Cross.THOMPSON: Are you having trouble breathing? Experiencing any pain? CROSS: Pain in my abdomen. Feel liquid sloshing around. Shortness of breath. THOMPSON: You know that you were shot? CROSS: Yes. Twice. Is he dead? The Butcher? Michael Sullivan?THOMPSON: I don’t know. Several men are dead. Okay, guys, give me a nonrebreather mask. Two wide-base IV lines, stat. Two liters IV saline solution. Now! We’re going to try to move you, get you to a hospital immediately, Mr. Cross. Just hold on. Can you still hear me? Are you with me? CROSS: My kids . . . tell them I love them.

Hint: Wrote by the master of thrillers

The Book

 Goodreads

Alex