You've Got Five Pages, Blind Spots by Thomas Mullen, to Tell Me You're Good.

The first chapter can make or break a reader's engagement with a story. We as writers must craft brilliant opening pages to hook those picky readers, so let's study the stories of others to see how they do it! This podcast covers a lot of mysteries--I mean, a LOT of mysteries--so it's fun to see how blending mystery with another genre can create something unique yet accessible for a reader. Thomas Mullen's Blind Spots opens with a traditional setup of The Cop Stakeout, but this traditional setup is warped outside our traditional experience as protagonist Owens thinks about how much life has changed because of The Blinding: a mysterious event that has led to the humanity collectively losing their eyesight. (During my podcast I read one moment that the sun was blown out of the sky--my apologies for the misread.) Now humanity has to see through "vidders," implants that has turned humanity into "vampire bats," as Owens describes it. It's a fascinating concept that allows for the science fiction aspect of this story to shine; plus, it creates a multi-layer mystery here, for alongside the mystery Owens has to solve, we readers wonder about the mystery of The Blinding. For those who are eager for a new flavor of mystery, Blind Spots may be the perfect selection to sample. And what will you find in these first five pages? Let's find out! Cheers!