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!

First Lines:

“‘Murdering princesses,’ I said, ‘isn’t what I signed up for. I’m a priest, for crying out loud. Get someone else to do it.'”

But really though, I am absolutely sold on just those three short lines. I know I usually put a bit more, but that right there is what grabbed me for this story.

Do you recognize the lines?

Here’s a hint:

This is a fantasy novel.

Still not sure? Here’s another hint:

It is written by K.J. Parker..

The First Lines Friday book is:

Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead by K.J. Parker..

About the Book:

• Title: Sister Svangerd and the Not Quite Dead
• Author: K.J. Parker
• Page Length: 352 pages
• Publication Date: January 27, 2026
• Publisher: Orbit

Synopsis:

From World Fantasy Award-winning author K.J. Parker comes a devilishly clever tale of murder, intrigue, and existential crisis.

​Not even the Church of the Invincible Sun is invincible – and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both first-rate practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).

To get to her, they must attend the legendary Ecumenical Council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush.

To complicate matters further, it appears that some people who were definitely grim reapered might not be after all. What began as a little assassination is about to escalate into a theological debate of terrifying complexity.

Links: Goodreads     

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through my links.