G.A.(A.)F.S., aka, "You had me at 'Hello' "

My local paper's Sunday Book Review section (wow, hope I'm still able to say "my local paper" and "book review section" five years from now, but that's for another blog . . .) features "Grabbers," first sentences from books that, you guessed it, grabbed their attention.  Whether the first sentence compelled further reading is left to the reader.

So the following are my own Grabs At (Almost) First Sentence (had to include "almost" in this acronym as sometimes it's the first paragraph, not just the first sentence):

"Jeff Winston was on the phone with his wife when he died."  Replay by Ken Grimwood

"There are four words Fanny Ness wished she had never spoken.  These four words were not ones that cause obvious heartbreak like, 'We must operate immediately' or 'I want a divorce,' but because they were spoken, they nearly (literally) blew Fanny's chances for a normal life.  Four innocent words addressed to a beefy teenager standing behind a counter patterned with smudges: 'One Burrito Suprema, please.' "  The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik

"In the middle of my marriage, when I was above all Hugh's wife and Dee's mother, one of those unambiguous women with no desire to disturb the universe, I fell in love with a Benedictine monk."  The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

" 'I smell trouble,' Bernie said. Better stop right there.  Not that I doubt Bernie. The truth is I believe everything he says. And he has a nice big nose for a human.  But what's that saying?  Not much."  Thereby Hangs A Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn