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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#441
In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered to be a bad move. And then the murders began. (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams)
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#442
“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.”And then the murders began. (Out of Africa - Isak Dinesan)
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#443
I. I Am Born
WHETHER I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o’clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously. And then the murders began.
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#444
"Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed." And then the murders began. (James Joyce, "Ulysses)
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#445
"We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.” And then the murders began. (Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson)
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#446
It was one of those hot Summer days in New York City when kids open fire hydrants and men pause to wipe their brow. And then, the murders began.
Ron Nicoletta
Ron Nicoletta
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#447
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. And them the murders began. T
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#448
It begins, as most things begin, with a song.
In the beginning, after all, were the words, and they came with a tune. That was how the world was made, how the void was divided, how the lands and the stars and the dreams and the little gods and the animals, how all of them came into the world.
They were sung.
And then the murders began.
[Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman]
In the beginning, after all, were the words, and they came with a tune. That was how the world was made, how the void was divided, how the lands and the stars and the dreams and the little gods and the animals, how all of them came into the world.
They were sung.
And then the murders began.
[Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman]
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#449
once upon a midnight dreary, as i pondered weak and weary ... and then the murders began. The Raven/ edgar allan poe
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#450
Fly, you fools! And then, the murders began.
(Gandalf, Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Ring)
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#451
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And then the murders began. (A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens)
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#452
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company that developed the Microsoft Windows.
And then the murders began.
And then the murders began.
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#453
You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
You're mountain is waiting,
So...get in your way!
And then the murders began.
Today is your day!
You're mountain is waiting,
So...get in your way!
And then the murders began.
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#454
If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. And then the murders began
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#455
Beatrice's Quimby's biggest problem was her little sister, Ramona. And then the murders began.
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#456
I have the best job in the world. I study what makes people happy. At the Happiness Research Institute....we explore the causes and effects of human happiness..and then the murders began.
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#457
One evening of late summer, before the present century had reached its thirteith year, a young man and woman, the latter carrying a child, were approaching the large village of Weydon-Priors on foot. And then the murders began.
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.
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#458
When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. And then the murders began.
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#459
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in. And then the murders began.
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#460
Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest. And then the murders began. (The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupéry)
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