Tuesday Intros -- The President's Hat

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
I've heard good things about The President's Hat and I loved The Red Notebook by the same author, Antoine Laurain.
Here's the opening:

Daniel Mercier went up the stairs at Gare Saint-Lazare as the crowd surged down. Men

and women hurried distractedly past him, most clutching briefcases but some with suitcases. In the crush, they could easily have knocked into him but they didn't. On the contrary, it seemed as though they parted to let him through. At the top of the steps, he crossed the main concourse and headed for the platforms. Here too it was crowded, with an uninterrupted tide of humanity pouring from the trains. Daniel forced his way through to the arrivals board. The train would be arriving at platform 23. He retraced his steps and stood next to the ticket-punching machines. At 9:45 p.m. train 78654 ground into the station and released its passengers. Daniel craned his neck, looking for his wife and son. He saw Veronique first. She waved, then described a circle above her head, finishing her gesture with an astonished look. Jerome meanwhile made a beeline for his father, flinging himself at his legs and almost tripping him up. When Veronique reached them, slightly out of breath, she stared at her husband.
"What on earth is that hat?"

Uh, oh. Sounds like Veronique does not like his hat. In French class, when we had to choose French names, the one I took was Veronique. Hope she doesn't end up quashing her husband's dreams.
Thanks for visiting and I look forward to seeing what everyone else is reading.