First Lines Fridays 18th July 2025 | Jo Linsdell

First Lines Fridays 18th July 2025

          

First Lines Fridays


Books: First Lines Fridays 18th July 2025


Welcome to First Lines Fridays, where I tease your literary curiosity with just the first line of a book. No title, no author—just a sentence to spark your imagination. Can you guess the book before the big reveal? Whether it’s a classic or something new, it all starts with a single line…

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I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves. 

What is First Lines Fridays?

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? 

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page 
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 
  • Finally… reveal the book!

My Pick For This Week


The first lines of the book:


Professor Matthew Stanford cursed under his breath. Should he get off and run? It was only another mile until his home stop opposite the train station, but the bus was edging through the rush hour early-evening London traffic, barely outpacing the pedestrians. He hit redial and waited, counting the rings until it flipped to his son’s voicemail. ‘Hey, this is Alfie. Here’s the beep. Knock yourself out.’ Still no answer. Matthew stared at the last text messages from his son. I had a missed call from Mum. I can’t get hold of her. He tried his son again.


Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!


First Lines Fridays


And the book is...


Genius Club by N.J. Barker book cover



About the book


  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1KBZ8Z
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 18, 2024
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Book synopsis for Genius Club by N.J. Barker

They were gifted enough to be selected. Are they smart enough to survive?

PREPARE TO BE GRIPPED BY THIS INTRIGUING, PULSE-RAISING THRILLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE HONESTY INDEX, NJ BARKER.

Professor Matthew Stanford is a genius with numbers, but when it comes to people, he's always struggled.

As a teenager, he was offered a scholarship by the reclusive polymath, Benjamin Caesar, where he met a group of like-minded intellectuals, which became known as the Genius Club.

The now thirty-something prodigy still stays in close contact with the other participants, but when Matthew discovers his wife - also a member of the club - dead on the floor with an empty syringe by her side, his life unravels.

Authorities dismiss it as a tragic overdose, Matthew is certain something far darker is at play. When he uncovers unsettling truths about Caesar's motivation behind forming the club, Matthew realizes he and his friends have been part of a disturbing experiment all along. And now, they are being hunted down one by one.

Can Matthew outsmart a faceless enemy before he’s next?

Genius Club is a dark psychological thriller and perfect for fans of T.M. Logan and Harlen Coben.



Buy now



Where to find Genius Club by N.J. Barker online: 

 



First Lines Fridays


Have you read this book?

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