You've Got Five Pages, The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager, 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 in order to hook those picky readers, so let's study the stories of others to see how they do it! Welp, we're back to prologues. Thankfully, the prologue is brief--a little over a page--and does accomplish two important things. First, there is a childhood memory used to establish the ominous mood and setting where the story takes place. Second, the narrator is very restrained and a little ominous in her word choices to the point where we can't--or shouldn't--trust her as a narrator. The first chapter shifts into the present time, a casual interrogation between a police detective and our narrator, Casey. The dialogue is very taut, and any exposition relays to the action, including the narrator realizing she has to lie to the police. I'm not a fan of time-jumping between chapters, but I do appreciate Sager's choice in keeping the narrator's inner reveals to the bare minimum. Sager doesn't want readers to trust the narrator, so the narrator's language reveals very little. Some readers may not care for such a small amount of insights into our narrator, but a mystery can't remain a mystery for very long if too much is revealed too soon. So, if you are keen for an isolated mystery, then I think Sager's tale will set your nerves on edge perfectly. And what will we find on the library's New Release shelf next week? I can't wait to find out. :) Cheers!