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?

The Rules:

• 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!

This is my first time doing this, but I figured I’d give it a try and join in the fun. Let me know if I’m doing this right?

First Lines:

There is a knife on his threshold and the door is ajar. 

The knife is a wicked-looking thing, curved and serrated with razor-sharp teeth that form a jaguar smile.

Well, that’s alarming, but I do like my mystery/thrillers dark. 

Do you recognize the lines?

Here’s a hint:

It’s a new thriller.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:

It’s written by Sam Baron.

The First Lines Friday book is:

The Therapy Room.

About the Book:

Title: The Therapy Room

Author: Sam Baron

Series: FBI Agent Susan Parker #1

Page Length: 310 pages

Publication Date: February 23, 2024

Publisher: Storm Publishing

Synopsis: 

It’s a typical farm kitchen. A large table fills the space, and in one of the chairs is the lifeless body of Doctor Magnusson. Under his feet and the dusty wooden floorboards lie the basement – and twelve therapy rooms. Behind each locked door, the victims are about to be rescued…

When a world-renowned psychiatrist is found dead in an abandoned ranch house in the Californian Santa Carina Valley, a post-it note with the words ‘Susan Parker’ and her cell phone number is taped to the basement door.

Still grieving her husband’s devastating suicide less than a year ago, FBI agent Susan Parker is taking a break from work and trying to rebuild her life as a single mom to her seven-year-old daughter Natalie. When she’s called to the crime scene of Doctor Magnusson, a chill runs down her spine.

For years, Susan had been trying to hunt down the doctor, convinced he was the serial killer known as ‘Splinter.’ Someone is playing a cruel game with her, and they’ve only just begun.

Desperate to speak to the twelve victims rescued from the locked therapy rooms, Susan finds herself faced with a wall of silence. Why won’t they talk?

Battling her demons while confronting the toughest case she’s ever had to solve. Susan discovers a chilling truth about the true nature of ‘Splinter’ – a killer preying on those seeking therapy.

But that’s not all she finds…

She’s about to uncover a shocking secret behind her husband’s death – one that links him to the Splinter case.

With her family’s safety hanging in the balance and her career on the line, can Susan protect her precious daughter and prevent a new killing spree before it’s too late?

A totally addictive and heart-stopping page-turner that will have fans of Robert Dugoni, Charlie Donlea and Lisa Regan reading late into the night.

Links: Goodreads     |     Amazon

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