First Chapter, First Paragraphs

I just finished The 100 year old man, and while I try to compose a suitable review, I thought I'd write the next instalment of First chapter first paragraphs, not least because they're intriguing.

There are 217 pages, the font is large, and the page margins are large too, so I don't think this one will take long to read.  In fact before I knew it 40 pages had slipped by in flash.

The book is The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen.

And the longer and more carefully I examine all these things, the more clearly and distinctly I know that they are true.

Rene Descartes

It was snowing the morning I found the dead boy.  The island with it's two houses and one church was covered in a layer of white.

Papa was pulling in the fishing nets when I saw a hand between two rocks.  It looked like a magic trick; almost as if a bunch of roses was about to appear - boom!  There you are, for you - and then applause.  But everything was quiet and the hand didn't move.

Looking forward to the rest.