“
          She stabbed the earth with her big fork as if she could make Cookie Mac’s blood sprout from it.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (The Alchemy Fire Murder (Mary Wandwalker #2))
       
        
          “
          Mary’s hands clenched. She’d been through fire, what with a murder, and white supremacists. And what about Caroline, who had gone undercover to rescue the Scroll’s Key Keeper? Where were the College’s thanks for that?
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (The Alchemy Fire Murder (Mary Wandwalker #2))
       
        
          “
          But this Scroll too has magical properties. From the moment I first saw it, the paper warmed to my touch. I know it came alive as I held it. Did you know there’s a serpent on the back? Some say it’s a dragon. It winked at me. Its lashes are gold.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (The Alchemy Fire Murder (Mary Wandwalker #2))
       
        
          “
            Mary fought a savage impulse to slam the door on the couple. But they were too interesting to ignore in the circumstances of the murder. She caught sight of Richard spitting out a mouthful of hair.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (Murder on Family Grounds (Mary Wandwalker #3))
       
        
          “
          Falconers,” she continued, sternly. “Pull yourselves together. People are dying. The police don’t have the family history to solve murders forty years apart.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (Murder on Family Grounds (Mary Wandwalker #3))
       
        
          “
          He desperately tried to think of a story to explain his involvement in her sudden appearance, without mentioning the book of magic in his possession. 
 
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Three Witches and the Master)
       
        
          “
          Mary tried to look reassuring. “It’s a house party, he said,” she directed at the Falconers, “Sir Viktor’s holding a house party for the convenience of the police. It’s like an old-fashioned mystery novel.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (Murder on Family Grounds (Mary Wandwalker #3))
       
        
          “
          He wanted a stiff drink to get through the evening, for he knew they’d be wailing, and her family coming unglued.
          ”
          ”
         
        Carolyn M. Bowen (Legacy of Shadows: An International Crime Thriller (The Family Legacy Series))
       
        
          “
          Where’s everybody? I thought you had started production.”
“They’ve got a day off, but don’t worry you’ll see the machinery is here.”
But Brown was worried. As they entered the canteen, the lights came on
automatically. There was nobody there.
“What’s going…...” but he never finished the sentence. Brown felt a sharp pain on the
side of his head and everything went black.
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
       
        
          “
          George’s utterance of the nest and the trap belonged to a bigger mystery she did not yet understand. One day I will, she promised herself. She would stake her life that those last words from her son would be solved by her. They were steppingstones into… whatever the wind and the stars and the valiant trees held for her.
          ”
          ”
         
        Susan  Rowland (Murder on Family Grounds (Mary Wandwalker #3))
       
        
          “
          Books are keys that open many doors.
          ”
          ”
         
        James Rollins
       
        
          “
          Life was better than he expected with his new Italian family inheritance, and it felt good to take a deep breath without fear of someone attacking him or his family.
          ”
          ”
         
        Carolyn M. Bowen (Legacy of Shadows: An International Crime Thriller (The Family Legacy Series Book 2))
       
        
          “
          Do as little harm to others as you can; make any sacrifice for your true friends; be responsible for yourself and ask nothing of others; and grab all the fun you can. Don't give much thought to yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow, live in the moment, and trust that your existence has meaning even when the world seems to be all blind chance and chaos. When life lands a hammer blow in your face, do your best to respond to the hammer as if it had been a cream pie.
          ”
          ”
         
        Dean Koontz
       
        
          “
          I told you she was doing all four of 'em.
          ”
          ”
         
        Kyle Keyes (Under the Bus)
       
        
          “
          Are you really a reporter?” asked Brown.
“You already asked me that. Come back to Levita, take the pardon.”
 “I doubt I’ll live long enough to get there,” said Brown bitterly.
“I hope you survive. You are a fighter. And we have the antidote for your habit on
Levita. I suggest you take a vacation. There’s nothing much that’s going to happen here.”
With that she left, leaving Brown more confused than ever.
He was a father, he had a son. And, the Levitians had a cure for his drug-addled body.
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
       
        
          “
          Donde, he offered a piece of candy to a little
   boy.
          ”
          ”
         
        Kyle Keyes (Under the Bus)
       
        
          “
          Stand in the machine there, let’s see what state your internal organs are in. The images
will be projected on screen, and I can go through the diagnosis with you, step by step.”
Brown did as he was told and soon images of his vital organs appeared on the screen.
 As you can see, your heart is slightly enlarged and your lungs and kidneys are not in
good shape either. Have you been experiencing any pain lately?”
“Not that I can think of. What can you do to help?”
“Difficult to say, you see you are dying” said the Doctor. You can see the
discolouration in your kidneys.” Brown strained his eyes.
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
       
        
          “
          I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I am still puzzled about your motives
though. Was it revenge against Zedan for rejecting you?”
“You insult me. It seems that you think of everybody in the same lowly terms you
think of yourself. If there is anybody I should hate for Zedan rejecting me, it should be
you. He was only doing what is expected of him in our society.”
“You mean you don't hate me?” This was a new revelation to Brown. It worried him.
He was used to hate, he could deal with it, but this he could not understand, he had used
the girl ruthlessly and yet she did not hate him.
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
       
        
          “
          Nothing looked disturbed…yet everything felt that way. The guy was on the bed, calmness itself, as though he’d decided on a moment’s lie-down and just zizzed off.
          ”
          ”
         
        Michael Wyndham Thomas (The Erkeley Shadows)
       
        
          “
          I’ll tell the Chief and he’ll squash you like the little flea-ridden castrated cock you are.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.G. Russo (The Cases Nobody Wanted (O'Shaughnessy Investigations Inc. Mystery Series Book 1))
       
        
          “
          It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Ito finally, who had been keeping very quiet
up to this point.
“Indeed. How much will it cost?” asked Brown
“About twenty million Interplanetary Credits,” said Demba. “A modest investment for
a man of your means.”
“Indeed,” said Brown again. That was all the money he had, which started to strike
him as strange, when his thoughts were interrupted.
“We’ll arrange a visit to the mine,” said Ito. “Show you the place itself.”
“Indeed,” said Brown. Or had he said that? The strange waking memory he had fallen
into started to become repetitive. Reality started to flow back in.
Diamonds, thought Brown. All those diamonds in that mine.
          ”
          ”
         
        Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
       
        
          “
          Routine had become rhythm. Rhythm had become identity.
          ”
          ”
         
        D.L. Maddox (The Dog Walker: The Prequel (A Dog Walker Novel #4))
       
        
          “
          The computer began to titter. ‘Well it’s a long story honey, but the concise version is this. Talalia has been a bad girl. She was grounded for six months after her last trip.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Bodies’, she said. ‘Lots of them’. She glanced over her shoulder to where Sally was hidden, then back to Nathan, and whispered. ‘Small ones’.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          We might even make this after all,’ he hollered, but the craft didn’t reply.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          If any of them fail me, I will flush them from an airlock into the pit of space, like an unwanted turd. Do I make myself clear?
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          This is your last chance, and I mean it. Now get me to my ship,’ he told the device. A moment later he vanished from the Grand Plaza, and the mayhem that still continued unabated.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          For the thousandth time, Nathan wondered why you didn’t need some kind of basic parenting skills certificate to have kids.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          Sally wiped the blood from Anderson’s mouth with her sleeve. She spoke to him, but also loud enough for all to hear. ‘Go find your son, Mr Anderson. This is our war now.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          Well at least one of you present here today, has the scaly green balls to give me an honest answer,’ he said, as he broke into a hearty lizard laugh.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          You’ve enlarged your original mission parameters. That’s what happens in war.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          He would at least be remembered in his cultures history books. Destroying two of his emperors revered structures, on the same day, would not go unmentioned.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          I can imagine,’ laughed Bab’s. ‘It’s not every day of the week you meet a female lizard with nail varnish, lipstick and the scent of Channel Number Five.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Amazing, isn’t it? You have the intelligence to navigate some unfathomable distance across the void. And yet you are too dim to understand the language of the species you encounter upon your arrival.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Isn’t this exciting!
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Nathan ran a palm over his forehead. He was on a mission with Taliban terrorists. His old sarge would be puking in his grave. He’d always maintained that the enemy of your enemy was still your fucking enemy.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          I'm giving serious thought into eating yor wife” - Hannibal Lecter
          ”
          ”
         
        Thomas  Harris
       
        
          “
          Ok, first things first,’ said Amercron assertively, ‘Bab’s where are we exactly?’
 There was another of those silences, which in his current adrenalin fuelled state, he hadn’t the patience for. ‘Well?’
 ‘Well Honey, were in space.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Nathan had to admit it was a highly effective war strategy. You didn’t need an army; just a way to turn the native, indigenous creatures against each other, wait until there was no serious resistance, and then move right in.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          It was then, that the most ridiculous idea in the entire history of the universe entered his cranium. He had absolutely no idea where it came from. He blinked several times, at the magnitude of its absurdity.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          I call my accent Frenglian. A wee bit of French mixed with English and Sicilian." She emitted a small chuckle at her new made-up word.
          ”
          ”
         
        Alyssa Hall (And Then I Heard the Quiet)
       
        
          “
          Yep. God’s giving me a second chance at motherhood as a
“thank you” for killing a bunch of scumbags. He’s looking down and
thinking, “Well done, Susie. You’ll make a fine mommy.
          ”
          ”
         
        J.K. Franko (Eye for Eye (Talion #1))
       
        
          “
          The snake you don’t kill today may kill you tomorrow.
          ”
          ”
         
        J.K. Franko (Killing Johnny Miracle)
       
        
          “
          Karen was radiant in a beautiful blue gown. Even her mother, for once, had said so. “Not just pretty, honey—you reek of class. Like Princess Grace from Morocco,” she’d said, beaming at her daughter.
          ”
          ”
         
        J.K. Franko (Killing Johnny Miracle)
       
        
          “
          Anderson’s soul was turbulent. Sick at heart and restless, the two-bedroom apartment he shared with his wife had become too small, too cramped, too closed in. He could no longer endure its restraint.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          He knew what he was doing – justifying an atrocity. But in war, that’s what always happened. Your red lines – those you swore to defend at all costs when you signed up – shifted, until finally none worth fighting for remained. PTSD wasn’t just about what happened to you; it was about what you did.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          Time and space are incalculable, there measure is infinite. The formulas that explicate their workings, have all but been explained away. But there is one thing that remains, and always will. 
 ‘The occurrence of events in the absence of any obvious intention or cause.’
Chance.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.R. Merrydew (Inara (Godfrey Davis, #3))
       
        
          “
          Ten years old. Seemed perfectly normal, which under the circumstances, according to the doctor who first interviewed him, meant he probably wasn’t. Years later that would be amended. “He has a talent for violence.
          ”
          ”
         
        William Kely McClung (Black Fire)
       
        
          “
          The reality of what was happening sank in. How and why had he ended up here? Why had Bevin and Charles been murdered?
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          Attractive, blonde, skinny, a little slutty, and… well, I kind of talked to her about you. She’s already keen. You should be able to slide straight into second base.’ Mags laughed again. Nathan didn’t. It had been a while. And then some. He glanced over to the wardrobe. Maybe the dark blue shirt.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          No one else could share his quandary. His agonies were a mixture of shame, of loss fueled by profoundly rooted fury—solitary burdens he had carried with him like pockets of sorrow weighing him down, forcing him to become stronger. When the Devil was gnawing at him, he’d withstood the pain.
          ”
          ”
         
        Tom  Baldwin (Macom Farm)
       
        
          “
          His shrill cries flood the forest like light engulfing a silhouette.
          ”
          ”
         
        Nelou Keramati
       
        
          “
          We raced around, drinking and shouting out the windows into the night, finding parties to sneak into or bars that never closed. We wandered the night without fear, went skinny dipping in Central Park Lake at 3 a.m., and found dark clubs playing deafening EDM to dance to until we collapsed.
          ”
          ”
         
        Alan    Bradley (The Sixth Borough)
       
        
          “
          As Blake turned around to continue his walk back to Main Justice, he spotted one of the tourists taking his picture. “Don’t waste your film!” Blake yelled at the man. “I’m not that important!” But the $500 stuffed in the photographer’s back pocket argued otherwise.
          ”
          ”
         
        Chad Boudreaux (Scavenger Hunt)
       
        
          “
          After so many successes on the battlefield, I learned one lesson too late. Standing alone, I defeated many external enemies. But alone I could not defeat the enemies that were inside of me.
          ”
          ”
         
        Stephen  Alder (Deehabta’s Song)
       
        
          “
          He had always been so careful, never revealed his true identity. But somehow, they’d fingered him, and his life had changed forever—for the worst. He couldn’t help but think that someone in the Central Intelligence Agency had turned on him. One of his own.
          ”
          ”
         
        Chad Boudreaux (Scavenger Hunt)
       
        
          “
          There was nothing between the ranch and the nearest town except a windy, two-lane mountain road edged with pine trees, meadows, cliffs and boulders. No Dairy Queen, no Circle K, nothing.
          ”
          ”
         
        Cricket Rohman (Colorado Takedown (The McAllister Brothers, #1))
       
        
          “
          I uncover hidden truths, I don’t pander to other’s notions of how the events of the world should come out.
          ”
          ”
         
        Isabeau Vollhardt (The Casebook of Elisha Grey)
       
        
          “
          Sitting down on the bed, my mind went blank again. I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. Dad is dead. My father is dead and I will never be able to talk to him again. I opened my eyes and checked the time. Almost 6am.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Body In The Woods (Jack Ludefance, #2))
       
        
          “
          Sometimes he talked silently to himself, repeating the same thoughts. How long has the persistent brother been eluding me? How long has he had an arrangement with my wife? Am I not the humiliated one? Trusting them both?
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          Haven’t you ever done something you regretted when you woke up the next morning?” Steven asked.
I didn’t want to tell him how many times.
          ”
          ”
         
        M.S.M. Barkawitz (Feeling Lucky)
       
        
          “
          I hardly think so. If I was ashamed, I wouldn’t have testified on your behalf, admitting the truth that I was your father in front of the United States Naval Court. But, I don’t think now is the time to discuss these matters.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          A scream pierced the sky, a child’s, so loud he dropped his cup, his right hand ready to reach for a weapon that wasn’t there. A survival reflex from another city, another part of the world. He tried to relax, but the scream had been real. Not like the whining wail he loathed, not even the shocked cry of a kid who’d just hurt himself. This scream had mortal fear in it. After three tours in Afghanistan, he knew the difference.
          ”
          ”
         
        Barry Kirwan (When the children come (Children of the Eye, #1))
       
        
          “
          Counselor Bingham and I looked inside, then looked at each other. He counted. Then I counted. There were thirteen mobile phones in the box, two of them were Android. The rest were all iPhones.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          We work in the city of Würzburg, which is between Frankfurt and Nürnberg. Eric and I are in military intelligence.
          ”
          ”
         
        Karl Braungart (Lost Identity (Remmich/Miller, #1))
       
        
          “
          He used his large shoulders and movements to impose his dominance over others as he strutted around but his facial expressions were a giveaway to people like Maeve who was born into a gritty group of native born fighting Irish. While many saw him as a man who worked his way up to power and influence and attained success that others fail to achieve, she saw him as a sham. He didn’t acquire loyalty by goodwill, but by corruption, fear, and loathing.
          ”
          ”
         
        A.G. Russo (The Cases Nobody Wanted (O'Shaughnessy Investigations Inc. Mystery Series Book 1))
       
        
          “
          Fringe winds from Hurricane Lori rushed in, carrying dust and debris. It blew through the highceilinged, chandeliered lobby and back into the wide open doors of the elegant and intimate dining room. White linen tablecloths fluttered and napkins flew in the air, sending plates and silverware crashing to the floor.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          Trace, a cattle rancher, and Hannah, a vegetarian, had nothing in common until the accident.
          ”
          ”
         
        Cricket Rohman (Colorado Takedown (The McAllister Brothers, #1))
       
        
          “
          …You’re throwing us away because you’re afraid to let yourself fall in love. You’re searching for something that isn’t real. You’re not Eric Stone. He’s your protagonist. Eric Stone is make-believe and life isn’t an adventure novel.
          ”
          ”
         
        Diane L. Kowalyshyn (Crossover (Cross your Heart and Die, #1))
       
        
          “
          He would tell you to leave?”
“Yes. He is…was a rude man, but it didn’t bother me. I was used to it. As I said, I’d gotten used to Mr. Hines. He is…was, despite his rudeness, a good boss. He never questioned me or my brother on how much we spent on the house. If there was something that needed fixing, he’d instruct my brother on what was to be done.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Body In The Woods (Jack Ludefance, #2))
       
        
          “
          His blazing red filly switched leads and spurted forward, flattening out and making up ground. Francine left the other horses behind and lunged after Miss Smith. Was there enough track left for her to catch the leader?
          ”
          ”
         
        Paul A. Barra (Strangers and Sojourners: A Big Percy Pletcher thriller)
       
        
          “
          The CID official said to the Russians, “I didn’t know contractors worked on weekends. Why are you two here today?
          ”
          ”
         
        Karl Braungart (Counter Identity (Remmich/Miller, #2))
       
        
          “
          I bade her ‘night night,’ and I was already waiting to meet her.
          ”
          ”
         
        Kumar Kinshuk (Ritualistic Murder (The Kanke Killings Trilogy #0))
       
        
          “
          A GREENHEAD is what Mary called me—SWAT!
          ”
          ”
         
        Tom  Baldwin (Macom Farm)
       
        
          “
          Ackx must have owed him big time,” Q said in his drawly Clint Eastwood voice. “A favour like that doesn’t come cheap.” 
Bonnyman spat into the fire. “A favour like that is only made between psychosis and a lust for power.
          ”
          ”
         
        Frank  Lambert (Xyz)
       
        
          “
          There were no clues left by the murderer inside the judge’s chambers. No fingerprints. Nothing. The only thing found that was out of the ordinary was a single strand of long auburn hair on the window ledge. A single strand of hair from an unknown female. All dead ends. From my initial perspective, the police were as thorough as they could have been.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Appellate Judge (Jack Ludefance, #3))
       
        
          “
          Swamp.”
“Yeah, Hiker?”
“What’s bothering you besides this new case?”
I looked at him. How did he know? My recollections of my days at the naval academy came flooding back.
“Bothering me?”
“Yeah. Don’t make me repeat myself.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          And now Anderson stood looking at his father. His hands were trembling with eagerness, extending toward him, wanting his father to embrace him. He wanted to love it back to life for all those lost times, for all those times of hope. “Permission to sit, sir?
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Murder on the Naval Base)
       
        
          “
          My friend and business partner, Gerald Peyton was 12 minutes late to the funeral. I’d reminded him it started at 2 p.m. “Yeah, yeah, Frank,” he said. “I’ll be there. Just be sure you make it.” Well, here I sat on my thumbs, and he was the no-show. He stopped at a bar and got sloshed, I thought.
          ”
          ”
         
        Ed Lynskey (Death Car (P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery #7))
       
        
          “
          Why was bail denied?”
“This is a very small town. The professor was a very popular man, despite some of the reasons why. Besides that, Stella is, at this moment, the most hated women around these parts. It’s far safer for her to be in jail.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Boss? While I have the drone up, can I go further out and see what’s there?”
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”
I turned off the tablet and started packing up when Rudy yelled, “Boss! Boss!”
“Why are you shouting? I’m right here. I can hear you, Rudy.”
“Boss! You gotta see this!
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          The caption reads, “Emperor Andon-Roon enjoys a surge in popularity after brokering a peace deal with Caderyn after twelve cycles of war.” For some reason this evokes strong emotions in her—deep sorrow, anger—and she stares at the screen transfixed, as if straining to find herself in the story.
          ”
          ”
         
        Stephen  Alder (Deehabta’s Song)
       
        
          “
          It was golden hour in Tarrytown. An incandescent sun cast long shadows that pointed in unison toward nightfall. Birds sang. But their melodies were drowned out by crescendos of cicadas’ chattering. 
Not to be outdone, the wind came and went in gusts, rising up and across the hills from the lake below. As it did, it blew through the trees agitating the millions of leaves in the canopy, the rustle and crackle of which drew the eyes upward, where an infinite canvas of burnt orange and purple was visible through the branches of proud oaks.
          ”
          ”
         
        J.K. Franko (The Trial of Joe Harlan Junior (Talion #0.5))
       
        
          “
          Unbeknown to her, that Louisiana background secretly intimidated my urgency to drop to a knee and produce a ring. Or maybe, I wanted to see her raise a chicken from the dead. Rumors had assured me, her tribe was capable of voodoo, spells, and such. Well, those were my on-going issues toward matrimony.
But on the other hand, Deya couldn’t wait to meet the kin folks. Yes, I knew what visions of family meant to her, butsadly, I wasn’t it. Still, I had to risk her involvement as a potential rope out of hell.
          ”
          ”
         
        Author Harold Phifer (My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift)
       
        
          “
          The summer of 2019 had overstayed its welcome in Florida,
lingering well into September. As if to make a point about global
warming, the rabid sun scorched the waters of Biscayne Bay for
weeks, generating a haze of humidity that blurred the line between
the windless sea and the sky above. Not to be accused of playing
favorites, the sun’s rays beat down on the land with equal spite,
pummeling grass, palms, and bushes into limp submission. The
heat weaponized asphalt roads and cement sidewalks, the shimmery
mirages above them a clear warning to all living things to stay away
or burn.
          ”
          ”
         
        J.K. Franko (Eye for Eye (Talion #1))
       
        
          “
          And there it was. Just like that I had my next case and my curiosity was piqued. Connecting to the ship’s Wi-Fi, I did a Google search of Judge Russell Hastings of Tallahassee, Florida.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Perusing just a few of the hundreds of listings it became quickly apparent that the judge was both well-known and well-respected. The murder of a high-profile appellate judge in his own chambers was a mystery that had baffled the Tallahassee police for over a year. There were pictures of the judge and his family; including a beautiful wife and three grown daughters.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Appellate Judge (Jack Ludefance, #3))
       
        
          “
          I opened my eyes to the sound of my phone ringing. The bedside clock read 10:05 PM. Rudy’s name displayed on my phone.
“Rudy? Where are you?”
“Boss, I’m okay, really. It’s just that my car broke down. I’m near a city called…hold on a sec, a city called Beaumont, Texas.”
“But you’re alright? Where’s your car right now? What’s wrong with it?
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Junior finds what he’s seeking in a swale between two ridges. He glasses down at the elk from a hillside aflame with autumn color. The animal strides through the clearing about five hundred yards due east, dipping its head now and then to nibble on receding grass that soon will disappear for the winter.
          ”
          ”
         
        C. Matthew Smith (Twentymile)
       
        
          “
          As soon as the first ring finished, I heard his voice, “Hello, Boss! Do we have a case?”
I had to laugh. Rudy was, to say the least, a strange young man for many reasons, but he’d become invaluable to me in helping solve my last three cases.
“Your presumption is correct, Rudy. Yes, we have a case. It’s just your kind of job and I need you here ASAP.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Kowkosvki? You handling this?”
“I am.”
The suit turned and stared at me with his dark eyes. “Detective Hayden. I take it you’re the shooter?”
“I am.”
“And you are?”
“Jack Ludefance. I’m a PI hired by Mr. Kingsley to investigate the murder of Professor Zambear.”
“Oh, yeah, I heard about you. Who’s in the bedroom?”
“Rudy Orkut. My computer tech.”
“Computer tech, huh? Any idea who this dead body is?”
“Not a clue.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Quite a memory, Mr. Ludefance. I’m impressed. Did you at any time during this encounter think about the fact that the now dead person was there to steal the iPhones with the four billion in cryptocurrency?”
“It occurred to me.”
“And you still took aim and shot him?”
“Detective, there was a gun pointed at me. Yes, I shot first. And I’d do the same thing again.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Mr. Hooks?”
“Mr. Ludefance? Pleasure to meet you and thank you for coming in.”
As he extended his hand to me, I noticed the girl at the desk staring at my face. Hooks looked back at her staring and must have given her a look of some kind.
“Mr. Ludefance, this is my secretary, Cholia.”
She stood up and continued to stare at my scar. Black hair, cute face, maybe five-foot-four at the most, and a little on the plump side with rosy cheeks. Young. Very young. Looked like a teenager to me. Or was I just getting ‘older?
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Appellate Judge (Jack Ludefance, #3))
       
        
          “
          Cairo. An inter-services game of cricket was in progress in the lush grounds behind him as Powell made his way through the grand portal of the Gezira Sporting Club. It was a hot and humid day and Powell was dripping with sweat. A fellow officer had given him a lift for part of the way but he had had to walk the last mile. Uniformed Egyptian attendants bowed and guided him through the lobby towards the bar, where he could see his host with a drink already in hand.
          ”
          ”
         
        Mark   Ellis (The French Spy)
       
        
          “
          Robinson had thoroughly enjoyed her evening at the opera. Her only previous experience had been a performance of Wagner, to which the Assistant Commissioner, an avid Wagnerian, had taken her a year before. It was a strange but admirable British characteristic, she had thought at the time, how little antagonism was directed against the great artistic creations of the enemy, even of Richard Wagner, the great idol of Hitler.
          ”
          ”
         
        Mark   Ellis (The French Spy)
       
        
          “
          Unbeknown to her, that Louisiana background secretly intimidated my urgency to drop to a knee and produce a ring. Or maybe, I wanted to see her raise a chicken from the dead. Rumors had assured me, her tribe was capable of voodoo, spells, and such. Well, those were my on-going issues toward matrimony.
But on the other hand, Deya couldn’t wait to meet the kin folks. Yes, I knew what visions of family meant to her, butsadly, I wasn’t it. Still, I had to risk her involvement as a potential rope out of hell.
Meantime, we pressed onward to my dreaded hometown. I must have counted all the hog farms, catfish ponds, livestock yards, and chicken barns along our route. Being a country boy, I knew the smells, stinks, and how to identify them all. Yet dealing with my relatives and the death of Aunt Kathy were different kinds of shit to take in.
          ”
          ”
         
        Author Harold Phifer (My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift)
       
        
          “
          Dearie, I’m not going to speak for other people.” Megan manoeuvred her lips into a smile, but her eyes stayed cold. “Now. What else would you like to see me about?”
“Do you think things will go backwards if the Rowlands push for change?”
“It’s not my place to judge that, but I’ll tell you this for nothing. The Rowlands aren’t the only ones with a vested interest in everything around here. They might own it on paper, but folks make their living here, and if the Rowlands threaten that, they’ll get more than they bargained for.”
Something in Megan’s tone caused Saskia to tense. The smile that Megan continued to hold on her lips seemed now an image of threat.
          ”
          ”
         
        Miriam Verbeek (The Forest: A thrilling international crime novel (Saskia van Essen crime thrillers))
       
        
          “
          Not to change the subject, but…you do realize you’ve been going over the speed limit for quite a few miles? Never mind. And thank you Professor Ludefance. Somehow, I think this lecture is meant for me, but I have a lot more interchange of material and energy with my environment than most.”
“In a physical sense, you’re not decaying at all, you’re a very vibrant young woman. The decay I’m speaking about for you is emotional. As for the professorship, that very lecture was given to me from a Turkish friend who had inherited a great deal of wealth and didn’t know what to do with himself. I learned this from him. As for you, you interact with your environment, but you are predatory, fearless, irritable, and listless. You’re getting no emotional feedback.”
“And just where do you suggest I go to look for ‘emotional feedback,’ Mr. Professor?”
“Aha. That’s the catch. You can’t. It’s not that mechanical. You merely have to be receptive and hope it comes along.”
“Meanwhile, I’m being ground down by the second law of thermodynamics.”
“In a sense, yes.”
“Thank you so much, Professor. I never would have known.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Appellate Judge (Jack Ludefance, #3))
       
        
          “
          Excuse me, Mr. Ludefance. Just so you are aware, we are a tightknit group here. We all had knowledge of what happened prior to midnight. You can speak to all of us if you want, but you’ll be hearing the same story. It’s what happened between midnight and eight AM that’s very much in question. Not one officer on that shift saw or heard anything unusual. But if you wish to speak to any of the officers from that shift, we can arrange for you to do so. Now, I suppose you can start with Officer Harrington here. When you finish with her, I’ll call Rhodes. He doesn’t live that far away. The other officers are here on campus.
          ”
          ”
         
        Behcet Kaya (Uncanny Alliance (Jack Ludefance PI Series))
       
        
          “
          Since that night a couple of weeks ago when Valerie had stayed with
him, they had barely separated. The stories of Rabbit’s Revenge droned
on and on talking of the impending doom of the planet and the international
scientific community’s various attempts to determine a course of
action to prevent it.
For Jeremy, however, each passing day left him feeling more and
more certain he was missing something. It was just a nagging little sensation
that lingered like an itch on the back of his neck. With Valerie
now firmly implanted in his life, it was a wonder he even thought about
it at all, but during his quiet moments and when he awoke in the mornings
or even during his more intense workouts, the sensation crept back
up on him. It seemed to center around the experience of having his life
pass before his eyes, but beyond that it was just nebulous.
And annoying.
          ”
          ”
         
        Jody    Summers (The Mayan Legacy)
       
        
          “
          Saskia.” A hand covered hers.
Saskia frowned. It was irritating enough that she only had one hand to work with. She didn’t need to have the movement of that one impeded as well. “I’m in the middle of – Oh! Tania! What – I thought you were in Canberra.”
“I was yesterday. I returned this morning.”
“Yesterday?” Saskia turned from staring at Tania to staring at her computer and the table. A half-empty mug of something sat next to a partly eaten sandwich and a mostly empty glass of water. “Oh,” she sat back in her chair. “I do this sometimes. I get caught up in things.”
Her gaze fell on the lines and boxes on the monitor’s screen. She sat forward, her surroundings disappearing from her awareness again. “Tania, I think I’m close to figuring it out.”
Tania’s hand, still on Saskia’s, squeezed gently. “Good. But now you need to take a rest.”
“No. I can finish this. I’m on a roll.”
“Yes. You can roll again later.”
“Look! I think I’ve almost worked it out.” She tugged her hand from under Tania’s and pointed to her computer screen, which showed a bank statement. “Look at these transactions. I can match them to –”
Tania peered at the screen. “Whose statement is that?
          ”
          ”
         
        Miriam Verbeek (The Forest: A thrilling international crime novel (Saskia van Essen crime thrillers))