The opening lines/paragraph of a book should draw you into the story quickly. This is especially true of mysteries and thrillers. We’ve all heard the “it was a dark and stormy night” line but we need to think of that line when diving into our manuscripts.
I say this as I am working on ideas for my next series. One opening line that came to mind was “Why are there so many flies in this abandoned shed?” Flies I have been told are the first thing you would notice if there’s a dead body in the shed.
Another one I liked and planned to use at some time is “I buried my husband a year ago yet here he was, standing on my front porch.” I really want to take that one somewhere.
Here are a couple openings from books in my Lamb’s Bay Mysteries series. The Lamb’s Bay Mysteries (9 book series) Kindle edition (amazon.ca)
“It was 10 days before Christmas and the clock said it was 1:00 a.m. Silent night? No way. Somewhere a car alarm was ringing, my dog was barking like a maniac and my phone was vibrating and dinging away.” (Criminals at Christmas)
“I stared at the front door of my new home. It was sitting wide open letting the breeze blow dead leaves into my foyer. Some of them had landed on the pair of feet sticking out onto the bungalow’s porch.” (Late at the Library)
“Patsy Roberts was missing and I was wearing her dress.” (Woes at the Wedding)
What are some of your favorite first lines from a book?
