DJ´s Bait in the Box # 91

[No, these signs are NOT Scandinavian - I hope they will prove helpful]

This week´s bait book is the third debut in a row - a very well-written one.

"Echoes of my footfalls faded into the damp air of the Hall of the Unnamed Dead as I paused to stare at the framed photograph of a man. He was laid out against a riverbank, dark slime wrapped around his sculpted arms and legs. Even through the paleness and rigidity of death, his face was beautiful. A small, dark mole graced the left side of his cleft chin. His dark eyebrows arched across his forehead like bird wings, and his long hair, dark now with water, streamed out behind him."

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 90

A debut again, but like last week, I have tried to pick a significant quotation for you.

"He what, now?"
"Signed it all over. You didn´t know? Jessup signed over everything. If he don´t show for trial, see, the way the deal works is, you-all lose this place. It´ll get sold from under you. You´ll have to get out. Got somewhere to go?"

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 89

[Bait box: Tim Duncan]

If you have read this debut, I think there is a fair chance this quotation will jog your memory.


"Nineteen years ago this eleven-year-old boy - probably much like himself - had tired of his fantasy space game and gone outside to play on a warm supper evening, apparently - infuriatingly - unaware that he would never return to put his toys away..."

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 88 - win an e-book

This quotation comes from a brand-new collection of very short crime stories.

     When Toffee Brown moved to Knavesborough, no one noticed her the first few weeks. She could just as well have been a ghost. Perhaps she was? No, surely she would have noticed. She tried to poke a finger through her own body and wailed loudly. These country bumpkins just chose to ignore her! How inconsiderate! 

     She, however, noticed her neighbour in the adjacent house. The blind man in the wheelchair with the afghan coverlet and the blue-eyed cat constantly on his lap. She especially noticed that each time they passed each other on the pavement, the cat ignored her, while the man seemed to be following her with his eyes, but of course that was impossible. Toffee, you are losing it, she whispered to herself.

Can you guess who wrote it?

Send me an e-mail with the name of the writer before Sunday - among the correct answers I will draw one winner of the e-book version of this collection.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 87

This week´s book is of a different category – let´s see what my intelligent readers make of it.

“… Benger lifted the lavatory lid and peered in until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. ´By steadily looking down, I could see better, and saw a something like clothing below; I put my hand down and raised the blanket´. The blanket was soaked with blood. About two feet under the seat, on the wooden ´splashboard´ that partly blocked the descent to the pit beneath, was the boy´s body.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

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EKSTRA: 
se min præsentation af DJ´s Krimiblog på Blogkvinder 40+.

To my English readers - sorry there is no translation, but as I have joined a Danish blogging community, I suppose I should write a few words in Danish now and then ;)
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 86

This novel is the first in a still fairly short series:

“It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had shoved me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to remain calm. I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath, and to eight as I released each one slowly into the darkness. Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left unobstructed, and I was able to draw in one slow lungful after another of the stale, musty air.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 85

[I know I have used Jane´s gorgeous box before, but I think it suits the book very well]

 Outside our home, a blue late-model Cadillac SUV slowed to a crawl on the street and swung into our driveway. I could see two people inside.

Garrett, son of the judge and supposed birth father of Angelina, got out first and looked at our house with an expression I can only describe as amused disdain.

The Rules: 

If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 84

Not Wednesday yet? How should I know, this is my holiday.

“For a second I was confused … because I knew her from somewhere, I´d seen that face a million times before. Then I took a step forwards so I could get a proper look and the whole world went silent, frozen, darkness roaring in from the edges and only the girl´s face blazing white at the centre; because it was me. The tilt of the nose, the wide sweep of the eyebrows, every tiniest curve and angle clear as ice: it was me, blue-lipped and still, with shadows like dark bruises under my eyes.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, don´t spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Wednesday. 

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 83

If you have read this one, you´ll have had plenty of time to forget it - but perhaps this quotation will jog your memory?


"It was spring when Julia arrived at the observatory. Conditions were perfect. Night skies were clear, the moon slender and as evening fell the swelling air thinned to a wintry clarity. Viewing, however, had been halted. There was a technical fault on the main telescope, or perhaps even in the computer itself."

The Rules: 

If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 82

This police procedural is not a debut, but the first in a series.

“Once the horror happened, the shock would wake her as usual and she would fling herself upright in bed, gasping and sobbing and soaked in sweat. Please God, make it soon! She was actively willing the final charge when it came.

It was only when one of the pointed silver horns, razor-sharp, pierced her through to the heart with exquisite agony that she understood this was no dream, for the brief moment before she fell into the sleep that knows no waking.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 81

This police procedural is far from the first in the series.

“The victim was Asian and looked to be almost seventy. He was on his back, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. His lips were pulled back from clenched teeth, almost in a sneer. ... The front of his shirt was soaked with his blood and B...... could see at least three bullet entry points in his chest.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 80

In this book which weighs 680 g, or more than twice as much as my Kindle, a little boy gets a surprise:

“Raising his head, he saw a sack of something draped over a set of railings further down. It hadn´t been there when he´d run down the road after his dinner, he was sure. He dawdled along for a closer look. It wasn´t a sack, but a woman, impaled on the sharp black spikes. He stared at her, uncomprehending. Face down, her dress was caught up round her waist, and he could see her drawers.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 79

[This delicious tin belongs to Kelly, Kelly´s Thoughts and Ramblings]

Written in another millenium, this cosy mystery may be considered old.


The girl cried again, ´Don´t ... don´t push -!´

Then there was a terrible cry and a splash as something heavy hit the water. Then silence.

Charlie stepped back into the shelter of the hedge. He was trembling, his nerve ends jumping like fleas on a hot plate. It was some time before he could start to make his way home. And when he did, more than one person noted his progress, for an English country village, despite all appearances to the contrary, is never quite asleep.

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 78

[I know I used Julia´s wonderful tin last year
- but this is just the right choice for today]

This novel is first in a not quite new series.

“Moira´s body lay a few yards inside the door of the rehearsal room. Her limbs were played at angles too awkward for comfort. That alone would have been enough to show something was badly wrong. But there was more. The back of her head was matted with blood, which had trickled into a congealed pool behind her. A few yards away lay a tenor sax, its gleaming golden horn smeared with blood.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.
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DJ´s Bait in the Box # 77

I thought this quotation was most suitable for a bait post:


“He clocked the police uniform instantly. A captain. Wide-shouldered and big-boned with blond hair cut close to the skull. Small silver fish danced around what looked like a bullet round in the man´s head and another gash torn into the middle of his broad back. A thicket of reeds held the body fast against the current. A blood-stiffened blanket and an overturned lantern with a burnt-out wick marked a fishing spot. Bait worms had spilled from a jam can and dried on the coarse sand.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 76

[This week´s box belongs to Kelly, Kelly´s Thoughts & Ramblings]

I am afraid this week´s quotation is as unguessable as last week´s, but you won´t catch me underestimating my bright readers (at least not today). A British debut; does that help?

“In another corner a girl was hurled up in the foetal position. She was bright red with the blood that covered her. At first glance Denison took her to be naked, then realized that her bra and knickers were soaked through with the stuff. A paramedic was trying to shine a torch in her eyes. Denison instinctively went over to see if he could help. The girl was rocking to and fro, eyes unseeing, her pupils huge and black, ringed with only a thin line of iris.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 75

This week´s quotation comes from a debut.

“I let the telephone fall from my hand. Panic first cripples and then revives me. My fingertips tingle as they feel their way around the coffee table, scrabbling first for my car keys and then for my mobile. I seem to have eight limbs as I try to get dressed in the dark, pulling on my coat and a pair of oversize sheepskin boots that I usually wear as slippers.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 74

Absolutely no help for you this week. Except for the quotation, that is.

“Someone rested a dry hand on her forehead and murmured words she didn´t understand. She spat out an obscenity at him. 

More pain. 

This is what it is to die. 

The drug must be wearing off because she had a sudden burst of clarity as she opened her eyes again to bright, artificial light. 

No, this is what it is to give birth.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 73

[This week´s box was sent to me from Tim]

I know that it is horribly unfair to use this brand-new debut for my game, but it happens to be the one I am reading (and some of my readers are the most brilliant detectives) so what you see is what you get:

“Momentarily, my heart palpitates; my hands are clammy with sweat. This must be the nervous thrill that burglars feel. But I won´t steal anything. Emma was the thief, not me. I´ve only ever taken one thing from this house: the back door key. Secretly copied, and then returned to its hook.

I climb quietly up the stairs, avoiding places I know would groan under my weight. Night-lights illuminate the hall, making me blink. Emma´s door is ajar and I can see into the bedroom.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday or Saturday.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 72

This book is not a debut, and it does not sound as if it is for dog lovers or the faint-hearted.

“He must have stabbed Jessica too before she ran off because there was a trail of blood, a path that led them to her, although not at first because the field of wheat had closed around her, like a golden blanket. She was lying with her arms around the body of the dog and their blood had mingled and soaked into the dry earth, feeding the grain, like a sacrifice to the harvest. Joseph died where he was, strapped into the pushchair. She liked to think that he never woke up but she didn´t know.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday.