7 of Our Favorite First Lines in Crime Fiction

FirstLines_NovelSuspectsWe’ve all heard the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but we have to start somewhere. And when there are as many intriguing crime novels releasing every day as there are now… I don’t know about y’all, but the books need to get my attention pretty much immediately. I want the first line to grab me by the collar, sit me down, point a finger in my face and say, You will fall in love with me. These are our favorite first lines, in random order, that do just that:

 

Mary Kay McBrayer is the author of America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster. You can find her short works at Oxford American, Narratively, Mental Floss, and FANGORIA, among other publications. She co-hosts Everything Trying to Kill You, the comedy podcast that analyzes your favorite horror movies from the perspectives of women of color. Follow Mary Kay McBrayer on Instagram and Twitter, or check out her author site here.