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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#101
I don't do it for the money.
Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal
1point
#102
The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, so we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day. And then the murders began. (The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss)
1point
#103
Today, I am pleased that Fate chose the city of Branau on the Inn of Northern Austria as my birthplace. And then the murders began. (Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler).
1point
#104
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and then the murders began.
1point
#105
"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. And then the murders began.
1point
#106
It was thirteen minutes after midnight when i woke up, drenched in persperation and having short intermitent breath. And then the murders began.
1point
#107
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. (Ulysses, James Joyce)
1point
#108
You’ve got to be kidding me,” the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest. He stared down at the boy in the red zip-up jacket
and shook his shaved head. “You can’t bring that thing in here.” And then the murders began.
and shook his shaved head. “You can’t bring that thing in here.” And then the murders began.
- "City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments Series #1)" by Cassandra Clare
1point
#109
It is night: imagine, if you will, a path leading to a hut lost in a wildly growing arbour, shaded by the basho, a wide-leafed banana tree rare to Japan. A sliding doors opens: an eager-eyed man in monk's robe steps out, surveys his shadowy thicket and the purple outline of a distant mountain, bends his head to catch the rush of river just beyond; then, looking up at the sky, pauses a while, and claps his hands. And then the murders began. (On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho; introduction by L.S
1point
#110
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. And then the murders began. (A Visit from St. Nicholas; Clement ClarkeMoore)
1point
#111
Early one dark April morning a few years ago I was sitting in my living room in central Copenhagen wrapped in a blanket and yearning for spring when I opened that day's newspaper to discover that my adopted countrymen had been anointed 5hen happiest of their species ..... and then the murders began
The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth
The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth
1point
#112
I’D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO DYING—THOUGH I’D HAD REASON enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I wouldn’t have imagined it like this.
And then the murders began.
And then the murders began.
(Twilight)
1point
#113
Goldilocks entered the Three Bears house and then the murders began.
1point
#114
On the far-away island of Sala-ma-Sond,
Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond.
A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat.
The water was warm. There was plenty to eat.
The turtles had everything turtles might need.
And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.
And then the murders began.
(Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Seuss)
Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond.
A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat.
The water was warm. There was plenty to eat.
The turtles had everything turtles might need.
And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.
And then the murders began.
(Yertle the Turtle, Dr. Seuss)
1point
#115
THE Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. And then the murders began. (Wind in the Willows; Kenneth Grahame).
1point
#116
One evening at supper, Pa asked, "How would you like to work in town, Laura?". And then the murders began.
1point
#117
"On Friday Miss Nelson told her class that she was going to have her tonsils out....and then the murders began." (Miss Nelson is Back, James Marshall)
1point
#118
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal". And then the murders began. (Not a book. The Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln)
1point
#119
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. And then the murders began.
1point
#120
When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. And then the murders began. (To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee).
1point