The sample for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Kindle price: $7.99) is a solid sample to draw you into the story. It's 3-4 chapters long-- a fairly long sample, really-- and it ends at a good point. The narrator's character has been established. The reader's thinking "okay, I kind of know what's going on," and a little mystery is opened up.

This isn't the only book sample I've read which starts with death, and both it and Inferno intelligently end the sample after the story starts to pick up momentum again. In both, there is a brief pause in the action after the initial chapter, like someone taking a breath of air after nearly suffocating, and it would have been easy, but unwise, to end the sample after that pause. Instead, the editors or typesetters have placed the end of The Book Thief's sample just after the story starts to move.

I will buy and read this book. Although I've seen it's been popular with other readers, I was not convinced until I had read the sample.