First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros: Monday, Monday by Elizabeth Crook

First Chapter First Paragraph

Every Tuesday, fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.

Monday Monday, Elizabeth Crook, fiction, 1966 University of Texas shooting

This year, I’ve been on a bit of a kick with fiction based on a true crime (thanks to The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress!), so I’ve had Monday, Monday on my TBR list for awhile. After I finish Natchez Burning, I’ll finally be picking it up!

Plot Summary from Amazon
On an oppressively hot Monday in August of 1966, a student and former marine named Charles Whitman hauled a footlocker of guns to the top of the University of Texas tower and began firing on pedestrians below. Before it was over, sixteen people had been killed and thirty-two wounded. It was the first mass shooting of civilians on a campus in American history.

Monday, Monday follows three students caught up in the massacre: Shelly, who leaves her math class and walks directly into the path of the bullets, and two cousins, Wyatt and Jack, who heroically rush from their classrooms to help the victims. On this searing day, a relationship begins that will eventually entangle these three young people in a forbidden love affair, an illicit pregnancy, and a vow of secrecy that will span forty years. Reunited decades after the tragedy, they will be forced to confront the event that changed their lives and that has silently and persistently ruled the lives of their children.

Shelly stared at the graph of imaginary numbers on the chalkboard, confounding figures represented by the letter i and less relevant to her life than fairies from her childhood or the vanishing rabbit in the magic show at the Student Union last week. The professor had the face of a cherub and arms too long for his squattish body, and was marking on the chalkboard as he spoke. “The square root of minus four,” he said, slashing the numbers onto the board, a ring of sweat under his arm, “is two i. Two i squared is negative four. That’s two times two is four – times i times i, which is negative one…’

What do you think? Would you keep reading? Stay tuned for my full review…


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12 Comments

  1. Mystica wrote:

    I like the story very much but the Professor bit sounds dull.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  2. I can see how The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress might send you off on a fiction based on true crime streak… this sounds like a good one, too.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  3. I like the cover and the story sounds pretty good, so yes…I would keep reading. Hope you enjoy it when you get to it!
    Today I’m featuring Losing Touch by Sandra Hunter.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  4. I would keep reading. I am not much for reading true crime itself (although occasionally a title or subject will catch my interest), but I do like crime fiction based on true crimes. This sounds like it would be good. I hope you enjoy it!

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  5. Yes, this one drew me in. I hope to be reading it soon, as I downloaded it a few weeks ago.

    Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  6. This sounds like a disturbing read but I can understand why you’re interested. I like how the beginning, because you know what’s going to happen, is quite suspenseful for a Math’s lesson! I hope you enjoy the rest of this one 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
    My Intro
    Juli @ Universe in Words

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  7. I actually downloaded this last month after finding out about it from Patty on her blog. I remember hearing about this (I was a small child when it happened) and I enjoyed the tv movie with Kurt Russell portraying the shooter. It’s a fascinating character study book from what I can see.

    I will be reading this sometime this summer and will probably enjoy it. I don’t read tons of true crime, but I do enjoy the rare book of Ann Rule and I am reading The Innocent Man by John Grisham on the side. Also coincidentally just read the new book by the Cleveland Kidnapper survivor last month.
    Enjoy!

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I love Ann Rule – the one about Ted Bundy (The Stranger Beside Me) was terrifying!

      Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  8. The first thing I saw when I came to your blog was Monday, Monday. Instantly my head started singing the old Mamas and the Papa’s song. It’s going to be stuck in my head all day. (That’s a good thing. Thanks.)

    I also like the first paragraph. Very gripping. I’d keep reading.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  9. Ooh, I really want to read that one!

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply
  10. Diane@BibliophilebytheSea wrote:

    Haven’t heard of this one, but it definitely sounds good. Hope u enjoy it Sarah.

    Posted 7.15.14 Reply

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