First Lines Fridays 4th September 2026

Books: First Lines Fridays 4th September 2026

Ready for another First Lines Friday? It's that time of the week when we judge a book not by it's cover or even by it's blurb. Instead we will be judging it's ability to hook us from the opening lines. Let's see if this week's pick will have you adding it to your TBR list or not.

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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:

Ryan stands in front of the house where his mother raised her other children, while he grew up in a home among strangers. Kind people. Mostly. But strangers all the same, who didn’t know how to love a child that wasn’t theirs. The red gloss door should have been his front door. Number eighteen. The same age as him.

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

And the book is...

Not My Child by Jane E. James book cover

Book synopsis for Not My Child by Jane E. James

Looking out at my dead wife’s family in the pews, I know I’m meant to read the eulogy that’s tucked into my pocket. The one that tells a story of the life I built with my wonderful wife before she was tragically killed in a hit-and-run.

But I decide to tell the truth. ‘I was married to two women. One I knew. And one I didn’t.’ Shocked murmurs echo around the church.

‘My wife left me a letter. She told me to destroy it once I’d read it and not reveal its contents to anyone.’

I grip the pulpit, my knuckles white. I see our two beautiful children sitting with their grandparents. ‘You might think me disloyal for going against Tara’s wishes, but I’ve decided to share this letter anyway.’

‘Starting with lie number one.’