# Read the first page of The Tower by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz Read the opening of The Tower by Gregg Andrew Hurwitz free, no signup. A brilliant psychopath escapes an island prison and begins killing. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/the-tower-gregg-andrew-hurwitz - Genre: Thrillers - Year: 1999 - ISBN: 9780684871899 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780684871899&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9780684871899 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9780684871899 ## The opening He didn’t sleep well, but then he never did. He woke in the night and it seemed as if he had been awake all along. He tried to close his eyes and let sleep wash over him again, but it didn’t. Throwing back the covers, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and rested his hands on his knees. The first light of morning showed through the blinds. Soft morning light, still dull around the edges. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and stood up. The dim light cut him at the waist and shadowed the muscles in his stomach. He ran his hand hard across the back of his neck and stretched his shoulders. The greenness of his eyes was startling; they seemed to draw the dim light of the room into themselves. Green, flickering gems set in the dark silhouette of a face. Picking up a thin chain from the nightstand, he examined it for a moment before putting it on. He had worn the chain for years, though he had long since removed the medical tags it once held. He pulled the blinds up. It was 5:26 in the morning and the air was still a heavy gray. He went into the kitchen and took a healthy swig from a carton of milk. The house was impeccably neat, as if some divine hand had swept things into order. He placed the milk back in the refrigerator, pushing it gently into line with the other items. The living room was adjacent to the kitchen, and he went and lay across the couch. The room seemed empty although it was filled with furniture. It was sparsely but well decorated. He grabbed the remote from the glass table and flicked on the TV without looking at it. Blue light danced across his face and the hum of voices filled the room. He gazed at the ceiling, shut his eyes, and counted as he breathed. He was still for a long time. It was a forced restfulness. Finally, he got up and went to the bedroom. Lying backward on the bed, he put his feet on the wall. He reached into a drawerful of papers in his nightstand. On top was a Phi Beta Kappa key. His dirty little secret. He turned it aside and dug deeper, pulling out a racquetball. He squeezed it, then threw it at the wall, catching it in front of his face. The ball’s rhythm relaxed him, the tick against the wall, the tock against his palm. The television sounded from the other room. The sounds of six in the morning. “Tired of spending another night rearranging your sock drawer? Well, now’s your chance! It’s time to be social—but not in a way that’ll make you uncomfortable, like in all those singles bars.” Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Each time he caught the ball, he gave it a firm squeeze, pressing his fingertips into its soft surface. Tick. Tock. “I never thought it would be so easy. I just pick up the phone and I have a whole network of friends to talk to.” He looked over at his phone. It was like the President’s line. It usually rang out. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. He was into the four hundreds when he lost count. The ball became a blue blur, a line to the wall and back to his face. He threw and caught, threw and caught as the sun made its tedious ascent outside his window. At about seven, he got up and went into the study. He pulled a pistol from the top-left drawer and felt its familiar balance in his hand. It was a Sig Sauer, government issue, a weapon he had learned to use and love in his Quantico days. He went to the dining room and gazed out across his front yard. There was a difference in the air that he could taste, as if something ## Books with a similar feel - [The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-good-daughter-karin-slaughter.md) - [The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-kind-worth-killing-peter-swanson.md) - [The Terminal List by Jack Carr](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-terminal-list-jack-carr.md) - [The Breakdown by B.A. Paris](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-breakdown-b-a-paris.md) - [The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-other-mrs-mary-kubica.md) - [Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister](https://uncovered.ink/read/wrong-place-wrong-time-gillian-mcallister.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.