Great first line. Maybe not the most original in the world, but then whose are these days, now that 80 billion plus brains have thought upon this earth since the beginning of thinking? And that's not including dolphins.
Yet there's a twist: That first line is not a metaphor. It is literal, which makes it a little more original than originally thought.
The woman's ruined corpse lay against the far wall of the small office. The killer had moved her from the center of the room; she had been dragged to the back wall and left propped up, slouched with her head lolled to one side.
This is how crime novels should start, with a crime, and not with some troubled detective character drowning in a bottle of cliche angst or with cute verbiage and even cuter sunscapes. With a crime comes questions. No mincing words here. The crime and description are gruesome and warns the reader of what to expect. Mood and tone established while plot races forward.
But what else do you expect from an author publishing his first book? He/she has to make their opening lines work. No space for word cream floating on the top of a previous-body-of-work latte. First time authors make their sentences work their butts off.
First thing said:
"She's here."
Meaning that by page 3 Jonah has revived the mutilated corpse of a murder victim, and it starts talking...
Verdict: Cool (I want more)
Sincerely,
Theodore Moracht
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