I’ve had fun seeing other people’s First Lines Friday posts, and finally decided to give it a try myself! Here’s an overview:

First Lines Friday 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!

Note: I’m not sure if the original host blog is still active — I haven’t been able to find it! If anyone knows of a current host, please share the info!

Onward with my FIRST first lines post! This week, I’m featuring lines from a book that I just borrowed from the library. Hint: It’s a novella, it’s a sequel, and it’s sci-fi. Here goes!

The note from Ruthie arrived at breakfast with no preamble, flashing on the glowing face of my pocket watch. At what age do human children grow teeth?

So what’s the book?

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Nobody’s Baby (Dorothy Gentleman, #2) by Olivia Waite
Tor Books
Published March 10, 2026
144 pages

Synopsis:

Becky Chambers meets Miss Marple in the second entry of this cozy sci-fi mystery series, helmed by a formidable no-nonsense auntie of a detective

Welcome to the HMS Fairweather, Her Majesty’s most luxurious interstellar passenger liner! Room and board are included, new bodies are graciously provided upon request, and should you desire a rest between lifetimes, your mind shall be most carefully preserved in glass in the Library, shielded from every danger.

A wild baby appears! Dorothy Gentleman, ship detective, is put to the test once again when an infant is mysteriously left on her nephew’s doorstep. Fertility is supposed to be on pause during the Fairweather’s journey across the stars—but humans have a way of breaking any rule you set them. Who produced this child, and why did they then abandon him? And as her nephew and his partner get more and more attached, how can Dorothy prevent her colleague and rival detective, Leloup, a stickler for law and order, from classifying the baby as a stowaway or a piece of luggage?

Told through Dorothy’s delightfully shrewd POV, this novella series is an ode to the cozy mystery taken to the stars with a fresh new sci-fi take. Perfect for fans of the plot-twisty narratives of Dorothy Sayers and Ann Leckie, this well-paced story will leave readers captivated and hungry for the next installment.

Sound like something you’d enjoy?

Happy Friday! Wishing everyone a great weekend!