As I whip the first draft of my WIP into a semblance of a second draft, I'm posting chapters to my crit group.
The initial verdict seems to be that the story has a hook, which is a big relief. One problem out of the way. And everybody loves the first line, which is another item crossed off the list. The jury's still out on the dual parallel narratives, though. Hopefully the second narrative's not a sinker. ;-)
The whole thing's not without its problems, of course, but it's nice to know a few items I was worried about aren't actually issues. Then again, I suppose the proof will only be in the pudding when I start querying for this puppy.
That's all for now. Onwards with Draft 2!