First Line Friday

FIRST LINE FRIDAY...First lines have always intrigued me since I heard an author say that writing the first sentence is, by far, the most difficult part of writing a novel. The reasoning was that a first sentence can make the reader continue reading or cause the book to be tossed aside. So, go to your To Be Read Pile, choose as many books as you want and share the first line. Be sure to include the title and author so that if your reader also finds it intriguing, they can find the book. Also, share your thoughts about the first line. Does it draw you in? Is it...exciting...thought provoking...scary...funny?


"The last camel collapsed at noon."
The Key to Rebecca
Ken Follett

Shouldn't this be the final sentence? It seems that whatever journey is being taken, would be over if the last camel has died.

This is a novel by one one of my favorite authors, Ken Follett. I had always known about it but had no idea it involved one of my favorite novels, Rebecca. I love that novel so it'll be interesting how it "plays" into a WWII thriller.

From Follett's website..."North Africa in the summer of 1942 and Rommel seems unbeatable. His secret weapon is Alex Wolff, master spy, and a deadly code buried in the pages of du Maurier's novel, Rebecca. Crossing the blazing Sahara, Wolff enters Cairo to steal British military plans. His pursuer, Major Vandam, engages the lovely Elene to lure him into range. As Rommel's troops come closer to victory, the pursuit continues across the desert to a startling, explosive confrontation.
Ken's view
After the success of Eye of the Needle, my publishers would have liked me to write another World War Two spy story every year for 25 years. But I was only 29, and not ready to be put in a box. I was very firm that I was going to write anything that caught my fancy and the fancy of my readers. However, while researching Eye of the Needle, I had come across a wonderful true story.
There was a spy ring based on a house boat in Cairo in 1942 which involved a belly dancer and a British major she was having an affair with. The information at stake was crucial to the battles going on in the desert. The code used by the spies was based on one of the great suspense novels of all time, Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier. The spycatcher in the story is trying to find the key to the Rebecca code. The Key to Rebecca was my third bestseller. After that, I really started believing that I was a success."