This week's sponsor, Sedro Woolley's Abbe Rolnick, is a strong contributor to the literary neighborhood, a past bookstore owner and employee of Village Books and a current active member of the Bellingham writers' community. She's also the author of an expanding list of compelling and thoughtful titles, from Cocoon of Cancer, advice from the inside for cancer survivors and caregivers, to the three-book Generation of Secrets sequence, which starts with River of Angels and concludes with a final volume in 2019.

Rolnick is sharing the first chapter of River of Angels with our readers this week. One reviewer calls the book "Atmospheric, intricately plotted and fast paced ... a dive into an exotic, dangerous and sultry world." We can vouch that it's the perfect escape from a long Monday afternoon — instantly engaging and endlessly intriguing. Try a paragraph, then click through for the rest.

Monica hurried down the cobbled road with the sun’s rays on her bare shoulders. She smiled, listening to the chaotic rhythms of the streets. Music blared from storefronts, and vendors at each corner offered up helado — shaved ice with flavoring. Her new home wasn’t that different from New York, less tidy but just as crazy. She still wasn’t used to the openness of the police toward drinking cerveza outside of restaurants or bars. Different laws, different customs. More ...

Sponsors like Abbe Rolnick make the Seattle Review of Books possible. Did you know you can sponsor us, too? We're sold out through January 2019, and we haven't released the next round of slots — which means this is a great chance to reserve dates for February through July before they sell. Just send us a note at sponsor@seattlereviewofbooks.com.