The opening line of a book is extremely important, as it has to be intriguing and powerful enough to capture the reader's imagination. Then, the second line has to intensify the intrigue. Coming up with these lines can be pretty difficult, yet one writer came up with a second line that would almost always heighten the intrigue to its peak, and the Internet is going crazy.
"And then the murders began" - that's the clever line Marc Laidlaw came up with. Add it to almost any opening line and you've got yourself a hell of an intriguing book opening. Now people are tweeting famous first lines of books followed by Marc's second line, with the hashtag #LaidlawsRule. The results are absolutely hilarious! See for yourselves below, and feel free to add your own intriguing openings to the list.
(h/t)
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#341
My sweater was new, stinging red and ugly.
And the murders began.
.... Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
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#342
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.
And then the murders began.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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#343
Why not go with the last verse of the Bible......And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all...Amen......Then the murders began
King James Version.....
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#344
They call me Ishmael. And then the murders began.
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#345
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. (A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens)
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#346
I WAS THIRTY-SEVEN THEN, strapped in my seat as the huge 747 plunged through dense cloud cover on approach to the Hamburg airport. And then the murders began.
(Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami)
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#347
It was a solecism of the very worst kind. He sneezed loudly, wetly, and quite unforgivably into the woman's face. An then the murders began.
'A Great Deliverance' by Elizabeth George
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#348
All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to back off — you know, just give me some space. And then the murders began. (Flipped by Wendelin Van Draneen)
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#349
Vaughan died yesterday in his last car-crash and then the murders began... —J. G. Ballard, Crash (1973)
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#350
Pretty sure after reading two pages of the repetitive phrase, I became desensitized.
And then the murders began.
And then the murders began.
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#351
Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day. And then the murders began.
- The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan
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#352
“I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror. Damn my hair – it just won’t behave, and damn Katherine Kavanagh for being ill and subjecting me to this ordeal. And then the murders began. (Fifty Shades of Grey E.L.James)
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#353
Stop you must not hop on pop. And then the murders began. (Hop On Pop by you know)
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#354
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. And then the murders began. (The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett)
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#355
It didn't seem to matter to the couple that the museum stank of blood. And then the murders began.
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#356
Naughty Spot! It's dinner time. Where can he be? And then the murders began.
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#357
Call me Ishmael and the murders will begin.
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#358
The sky above the port was the color of television, turned to a dead channel. And then the murders began... (Neuromancer, William Gibson)
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#359
In the week before their departure to Arrakis, when all the final scurrying about had reached a nearly unbearable frenzy, an old crone came to visit the mother of the boy, Paul... And then the murders began... (Dune, Frank Herbert)
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#360
Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! And then the murders began.
Oh, the places you'll go! -Dr. Seuss
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