Great First Line - Chinaman's Chance

The pretender to the Emperor's throne was a fat thirty-seven-year-old Chinaman called Artie Wu who always jogged along Malibu Beach right after dawn even in summer, when dawn came round as early as 4:42.

Chinaman's Chance by Ross Thomas

The beginning of a great book full of scoundrels, villains, double-crossing, and a really twisty, fun plot ... just like all Ross Thomas books.