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)
This post may include affiliate links.
#81
Pray my Dear, quoth my mother, have you not forgot to wind up the clock?—Good G..! cried my father, making an exclamation.
And then the murders began. (Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy)
And then the murders began. (Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy)
2points
#82
"Guess how much I love you," says Little Nutbrown Hare. And then the murders began. (Guess How Much I Love You, Sam McBratney)
2points
#83
Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith. And then the murders began. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein.
2points
#84
That doesn’t sound like a school trivia night,” said Mrs. Patty
Ponder to Marie Antoinette. “That sounds like a riot.” And then the murders began.
Big little lies - Liane Moriarty
2points
#85
In the beginning god created the heavens and the earth. And then the murders began.
2points
#86
"Once there was a little girl called Sophie. She was having tea with her mummy in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a ring at the door. Sophie’s mummy said 'I wonder who that could be?'" And then the murders began. " (The Tiger who came to tea; Judith Kerr)
2points
#87
Marley was dead; to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. And then the murders began. (A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens)
2points
#88
If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. And then the murders began. (A Bad Beginning - A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket)
2points
#89
When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news. And then the murders began. (Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz)
2points
#90
Way out at the end of a tiny little town was an old overgrown garden, and in the garden was an old house, and in the house lived Pippi Longstocking. She was nine years old, and she lived there all alone. And then the murders began.
(Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren)
(Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lindgren)
2points
#91
In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. And then the murders began.
2points
#92
"One day Danny went to the museum. He wanted to see what was inside. He saw Indians. He saw bears. He saw Eskimos. He saw guns. He saw swords. And he saw... Dinosaurs! And then the murders began." (Danny and the Dinosaur, Syd Hoff)
2points
#93
I think it started with the bees. I was about seven years old, and I watched them... all day. And then the murders began.
2points
#94
Once there was a tree.... and she loved a little boy. And everyday the boy would come and he would gather her leaves and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples, and then the murders began.
2points
#95
I wasn’t born a first lady or a senator. I wasn’t born a Democrat. I wasn’t born a lawyer or an advocate for women’s rights and human rights. I wasn’t born a wife or mother. I was born an American in the middle of the twentieth century, a fortunate time and place. And then the murders began. (Living History, Hillary Clinton)
2points
#96
Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. We're moving today. I'm so scared God. I've never lived anywhere but here. Suppose I hate my new school? Suppose everybody there hates me? Please help me God. Don't let New Jersey be too horrible. And then the murders began. (Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Judy Blume)
2points
#97
If you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. And then the murders began.
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Rich
2points
#98
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-Exupery)
1point
#99
In life, Elizabeth Adora Holland was not only known for her loveliness but also for her moral of character, so it was fair to assume that in the afterlife she would occupy a lofty seat with an especially good view. And then the murders began. (The Luxe, Anna Godbersen)
1point
#100
"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him 'WILD THING!' and Max said 'I'LL EAT YOU UP!' "And then the murders began.
1point