The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

How was your Christmas weekend? Merry, I hope! And I hope Santa brought you all the books you wished for. 

Please share the opening sentence (or so) from one of your new books with us here on Book Beginnings on Fridays. Or share from the book you are reading this week, or from a book that caught your fancy. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

"Just like a fucking cuckoo."

-- The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr. 

Oh my! Excuse me. I didn't remember the opening sentence uses the f-word right off the bat like that. Like most litigation lawyers, I swear continuously. And I'm married to another litigator. So between the two of us, I'm so inured to profanity, I probably didn't even notice this opening sentence!

The Pale Criminal is the second book in Kerr's mystery series set in WWII-era Germany, featuring Bernie Gunther, a former police inspector turned private detective. I started it after Christmas since a hard-boiled crime book didn't strike me as how I wanted to commemorate the birth of my Lord. But this is one of the many, many series I want to tackle because the books have been lingering on my shelves and in the back of my mind for too long. 

I plan to move straight on to the next book in the Bernie Gunther series, which will count as my German book for the 2023 European Reading Challenge. If you want to join in and read books (of your own choosing) from different European countries, click through to the main challenge page for details. I've hosted the European Reading Challenge here on Rose City Reader for 11 years!

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please leave a link to your Book Beginnings post, not the main page of your blog. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Another fun Friday event is The Friday 56. Share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your book, or 56% of the way through your e-book or audiobook, on this weekly event hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Pale Criminal:

Reinhardt Lange’s letters were written on the heavier weight of paper that only people in love bother to buy – the kind that costs so much it has to be taken seriously. The hand was neat and fastidious, even careful, which was more than could be said of the contents.