Beginning ~ in a brothel

But first, more neighborhood photos

There is one house between me and these two downed trees, which are in the same yard.  I stood between them to take these photos.  They fell in different directions, the top one northward, the other eastward.  Click to enlarge the images.

After dark last night, I discovered UPS had left a package in a clear bag tied to my front door.  Since I'm in the third day of being literally "in the dark" (without power since tornadoes passed through), it was a very frustrating moment -- for a bookaholic.  No lights.  A new book won from another book blogger.  I am using wi-fi at a different Panera, paying for food because what's in my refrigerator has gone bad.  Obviously, I can't carry lots of books to write about, so today's Book Beginnings will be from the just-arrived book I haven't even started -- because I happen to have it with me.  Here's the beginning of India Black by Carol K. Carr, 2011, mystery:

"My name is India Black.  I am a whore."

So?  I'm not particularly interested in reading about whores, so this doesn't in itself make me want to keep reading.  I'm more interested in this from the back cover:

"In the winter of 1876, the beautiful young madam India Black is occupied with her usual tasks -- keeping her tarts in line, avoiding the police, and tolerating the clergyman bent on converting her girls.  But when Sir Archibald Latham of the War Office dies from a heart attack while visiting her brothel, India is unexpectedly thrust into a deadly game between Russian and British agents who are seeking the military secrets Latham carried."

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. Then, share your impressions of that beginning. Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.