Book Beginnings, First Line Friday, & Friday 56: Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. I'm also linking up with Carrie at Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday. Friday 56 asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two. It was started by Freda at Freda's Voice, but Anne over at My Head is Full of Books has taken over for the time being.

This week I'm featuring Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep. 

About the Book

The shadows hold secrets darker than they ever imagined. . . .

In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for saving black-market artifacts from falling into the wrong hands, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker.

After eight years in India, Oxford's most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor's determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin--rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk--surfaces, and they're left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hiding among the shadows. . . .

Book Beginnings / First Line Friday

Oxford, England

July 1888

Cemetaries always smelled of earthworms and damp dog fur, especially after a rain, and Brudge rather liked it that way. It made death more tangible. Imminent. An irrefutable reminder that life balanced on a knife's edge.

Friday 56

Just past the end of the Black Raven, he veered down a narrow passage running the length of the nefarious pub. A door with a slot at eye level stood at the back, where he rapped once, thrice, paused, then twice. The metal covering the slot scratched open. A bloodshot eyeball appeared.

"Password?" The voice was as raspy as the slot casing.

What have you been reading lately?