Read any good first sentences lately? "I am shown into a small, drab room, told to sit down and wait."

"I am shown into a small, drab room, told to sit down and wait."

I love this first sentence because it makes me want to know more. Who showed this person into the room? How old it this person? Where are they? What are they waiting for? Are they a man or woman? How long will they have to wait?

Tatiana de Rosnay wrote this first sentence to start her book A Secret Kept. The story revolves around the Rey family told from the perspective of Antoine Rey, a recently divorced architect. His journey takes him back to his childhood and forgotten memories which lead him to investigate the secrets of his families' past

Antoine's perspective and actions are so honest it sometimes hurts to read it, yet anyone who has tried to dig up the past knows the desire for the truth outweighs the pain.

After the first sentence, de Rosnay continues: "Six empty brown plastic chairs face each other on tired linoleum. In a corner, a fake green plant, shiny leaves coated with dust. I do as I am told. I sit down. My thighs tremble. My palms feel clammy, my throat parched. My head throbs. I think, I should call our father now, I should all him before it gets too late. But my hand makes no effort to grab the phone in the pocket of my jeans. Call our father and tell him what? Tell him how?"

This intriguing paragraph paves the way for the rest of the de Rosnay's adventure. Readers, writers and family historians alike will be glued to the Rey family history from the first sentence until the end on page 303. I love this book not only for it's great first sentence, but for the raw emotion it evokes as a seeker of the truth investigates his family's history and relationships.