Book Beginnings on Fridays - The Boy Between by Susan Stairs

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you 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. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

My book beginning this week is from The Boy Between by Susan Stairs. This is the author's second novel and you can read my review of her first, The Story of Before, here

 

 

Mags unlocks the wardrobe. With cold fingers she parts the thick wall of hanging clothes, sliding a hand through to the darkened depths behind. She leans in as she feels around, fabrics brushing against her cheek, their movement releasing the dusty, perfumed scent of the past. Her breath catches in her throat when she finds it, its edges rigid lines under the flimsy folds of an old, threadbare shawl.

 

  

 

Book Description:

 

 Mags keeps everything safe in the box. Letters. Postcards. Photographs. Each memento plays a role in the secret story that's always in her thoughts. A story that can't remain hidden forever.
When Orla is handed an envelope by her father, she is perplexed by what she finds - a photograph of her parents, taken the summer she was born. Her heavily expectant mother, unusually, is smiling. Between her parents stands a teenage boy, her mother's arm lovingly around him.
Orla later asks her father about the boy's identity, but he refuses to be drawn. Her mother's mood is low again and he doesn't want her upset. So begins the daughter's investigation, back to the summer of 1983, and the story of a young English boy on holidays in rural Ireland. As the circle closes on a web of tragedy and deceit, the truth that emerges will impact on all their lives.