Maybe don’t think of the beetles.

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

This month I snagged from the New Release shelf:

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

There’s a lot to dig for the suspense/mystery lovers here.

Prologues ALWAYS put me on my guard, but Dove utilizes the prologue to establish reader investment in a character who’s about to disappear–and that disappearance is the catalyst for our protagonist’s involvement in the mystery.

The first page and a half of the prologue already provide a solid narrative twist; we go from a girl wandering the dark on her own to learning she’s an ambitious student determined to locate beetles the Western world assumes are extinct. We also see some effective prose work with sharp, short sentences, often framed in their own paragraphs. “She was going home” sounds relatable, welcoming, something folks often do to deal with tough school days…unless one goes home to find her way out, which is exactly what Chenoa thinks when she finds her precious beetles: “It was her way out.”

But then another sharp sentence cuts in: “The night sounds close in.” And in a rapid supply of small paragraphs and even smaller sentence fragments, Chenoa is no longer alone. Or safe.

Now Chapter 1 goes back in time a little bit, which is a pretty common storytelling move in film, television, and novels. I’m not a fan of it, but I can also appreciate the time jump takes us to the protagonist, Carrie Starr. And here’s where I goofed in my podcast regarding character names: I thought Odeina was a different name for the protagonist Carrie Starr, but that was a different character introducing herself.

That’s what I get for cutting off after five pages, lol.

That said, the first part of Chapter 1 also packs a lot about Carrie into a tight space: her unhappiness being back on the rez, her unhappiness with her job, and her propensity to drink. Here’s a character who needs to rise to the challenge, and it sounds like the mystery of Mask of the Deer Woman will give her the chance to do just that.

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!