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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#161
Once there was a tree... and she loved a little boy. And then the murders began. (The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein)
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#162
I scowl with frustration at myself in the mirror. And then the murders began.
(50 Shades of Grey, E.L. James)
(50 Shades of Grey, E.L. James)
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#163
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. And then the murders began...
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#164
"As I stepped out of the darkness of the movie house into the brightness of the street lamp, I had two things on my mind. Paul Newman and a ride home." And that's when the murders started.
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#165
I am seated in an office, surrounded by heads and bodies. My posture is consciously congruent to the shape of my hard chair. And then the murders began. (Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace)
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#166
My name is Apollo.I used to be a god. Then the murders began. (The Trials of Apollo, The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan)
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#167
There once was a lady who swallowed a fly. And then the murders began.
(There Once was a Lady who Swallowed a Fly, Pam Adams)
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#168
Mother died today, and then the murders began (the stranger Camus)
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#169
In the midway of our mortal life
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
And than the murders began
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
And than the murders began
Dante, The Devine Comedy
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#170
Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo- And then the murders began. (James Joyce)
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#171
I sing of arms and the man, and then the murders began. Aneid, Virgil
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#172
In the great green room
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of-
The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens
And then the murders began.
(Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown )
There was a telephone
And a red balloon
And a picture of-
The cow jumping over the moon
And there were three little bears sitting on chairs
And two little kittens
And then the murders began.
(Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown )
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#173
Below me, this foolhardy specimen in Nevsky Square must be an optimist. And then the murders began. (The Magadan Gambit, Bernard Packer)
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#174
I have so enjoyed writing this book and the process of going right back to the beginning and rethinking cooking techniques and how to simplify them. And then the murders began.
Mary Berry's 'How to Cook'.
Mary Berry's 'How to Cook'.
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#175
A told B and B told C, "I'll meet you at the top of the coconut tree!"
And then the murders began.
And then the murders began.
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#176
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.
(Great Gatsby)
(Great Gatsby)
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#177
On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool, In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool, He was splashing...enjoying the jungle's great joys...When Horton the elephant heard a small noise. And then the murders began.
Horton Hears A Who! By Dr. Seuss
Horton Hears A Who! By Dr. Seuss
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#178
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.
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#179
The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood ... and then the murders began. (Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera)
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#180
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring,not even a mouse
And then the murders began...
And then the murders began...
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