Snare of the Hunter by Helen MacInnes -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Snare of the Hunter by Helen MacInnes

Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

A feeling of laziness, of a gentle slipping into sleep, spread over the fields as the July sun arced slowly downward, deepening in colour, yet losing intensity.

-- from Snare of the Hunter by Helen MacInnes.

Snare of the Hunter was Helen MacInnes's 17th novel, first published in 1974. I'm hosting a Helen MacInnes group read on bookstagram and this one is our current pick. We started with The Venetian Affair, followed by The Salzburg Connection. This one is shorter and moves faster than those, but is still packed with Cold War intrigue, a confusingly large cast of characters, and a budding romance. All three feature an ordinary guy roped in to undertake a dangerous mission and an attractive young woman who has to keep up with him on the adventure while wearing a skirt and high heals. I love them! 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Please add the link to your book beginning post in the linky box below. If you participate or share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings so other people can find your post.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 asks participants to share a two-sentence teaser from their book of the week. If your book is an ebook or audiobook, pick a teaser from the 56% point. 

Anna at My Head is Full of Books hosts The Friday 56, a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please visit My Head is Full of Books to leave the link to your post. 

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from Snare of the Hunter:

McCulloch gave a casual but friendly nod as he took his place. Just one stranger briefly summing up another who would share close quarters with him on a long journey.

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

Irina Kusak’s recently divorced husband, Jiri Hrádek, is a high-ranking official in the Czechoslovakian secret police: cruel, ambitious, utterly ruthless. So when he turns a blind eye to her defection to the west, she is uneasy. Aided in her escape by a group of friends, including David Mennery, an American with whom she once had a passionate affair, Irina begins to feel herself truly free. But soon their journey becomes a nightmare. It becomes clear that Hrádek only allowed Irina to defect in order to bait a trap for her father, a world-famous author living in secrecy in the west, but when she refuses to lead Hrádek to his quarry, Irina herself becomes his prime target.