"The Woods" Hook

Throughout all of my years of writing, I have always been told that the hook to a story is perhaps the most important part. In my book, The Woods, I immediately wanted to read the entire book after reading the first two or three pages of the novel. "I was sitting in an elementary school gymnasium, watching my six-year-old daughter, Cara, nervously navigate across a balance beam that hovered maybe four inches off the floor, but in less than an hour, I would be looking at the face of a a man who'd been viciously murdered," (Coben, 4). (The quote was on page four because that is where the book actually started). After reading this at Half Price Books, I walked straight to the counter and purchased the novel. The hook leaves you many questions to ponder about and creates lots of tension within the writing right off the bat. Is he the one who killed the man? You will only find out if you read on. And I couldn't have gone home without that book not knowing who committed the crime.