Opening Lines (Again)
A recent SleuthSayers posting by Barb Goffman about good first lines, drew me back to my previous postings (and others) about opening lines. Since I've said enough about the importance of opening lines, I thought I'd share the opening lines of my recently published books and short stories, opening lines which worked for me. NOVELS: HARDSCRABBLE PRIVATE EYE (Jun 2022) I DROP THE uncut gemstone back into the leather bag with the others and tell her, “Emeralds. Every one.” NEW ORLEANS HEAT (Mar 2023) The body hung from the low branch of a live oak in the Bayou Sauvage swamp about thirty yards from Chef Menteur Road. Detective Jacques Dugas swatted a mosquito on his neck and studied the scene before drawing a quick diagram with a pencil in his small leather-bound notebook. SMOOTH (Sep 2023) THE BURGLAR CROSSED the warehouse like a cat, with purposeful, careful steps, keeping his low-beam flashlight pointed to the floor in front of him. SHORT STORIES: The First Annual Atchafalaya Coyote Hunt: or, Is There a Sleuth in The House Black Cat Mystery Magazine Issue 11, Mar 2022 I always wanted to be a sleuth. Pfft! As if. The Obsidian Knife The Book of Extraordinary Femme Fatale Stories, Mango Press, Jul 2022 Damn car wouldn ’t start. Blue Moon Over Burgundy Black is the Night , Maxim's Jakubowski's Cornell Woolrich Antho, Titan Books, Oct 2022 Tom steps into the dark bedroom and waits just inside the door for his eyes to adjust The Other French Detective Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Vol. 67, Nos 11 & 12, November/December 2022 “Ah, here is our French detective now,” Captain Joe Rathlee called out from his office door as Detective Jacques Dugas came into the Detective Bureau. A Jelly of Intrigue Edgar and Shamus Go Golden Anthology, Down & Out Books, Dec 5, 2022 A woman trying not to look beautiful stepped into my office a little after nine a.m. Of Average Intelligence Black Cat Weekly #85 April 15, 2023 “No offense, Officer Kintyre. But I’m smarter than you.” When Baby Cows Go Bad Mystery Magazine , June 2023 Issue “Baby cows attacked me,” says the student sitting on the other side of my desk A Pretty Slick Guy Black Cat Weekly #92 June 3, 2023 Billy found the trunk release button and popped open the trunk A Dirty, Dimly-lit Place Black Cat Mystery Weekly #103, August 20, 2023 The woman sat at the last table near the side door where the dull lights in the cantina could not reach her and even the moonlight outside was blocked by the leaves of the banana trees. The Little Iréne Escapade Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Vol. 68, Nos 9 &10, September/October 2023 A shadow beyond the smoky glass portion of my office door had me fold my newspaper and pull my feet off the desk before the door opened and a heavy-set man stepped in, looked around the big office The Split Man Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Vol. 68, Nos 11&12, November/December 2023 The body lay in two pieces, neatly sliced at the waist, the top portion face down, the bottom portion turned upward. That's all for now, www.oneildenoux.com
