“
Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me.
“We would be surprised to find that,” I call back.
”
”
Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
“
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))
“
This is Detective Ashford Ishikawa. Who am I speaking with?”
“My name is Jack Ludefance. I’m a private investigator from Santa Rosaria and I’ve been retained by Cindy Hastings through her lawyer, Mr. Hooks, to investigate her father’s murder. Is there way we can get together to talk?”
“Why? What are we going to talk about, Mr. Ludefance?”
“As I said, Detective Ishikawa, I’ve been hired to investigate the case. I’ve read the police reports. My hat is off to you. Very thorough work.”
“Just doing my job. If you’ve read them, and I won’t ask how you got them, I’ll ask you again, what is there for us to talk about?”
“Detective, I’m not trying to do your job and I’m not asking you to do my job. This is of mutual interest to both of us. The sooner we solve the crime the better, yes? Think of it this way. I’m your helper.
”
”
Behcet Kaya (Appellate Judge (Jack Ludefance, #3))
“
He stares at me in blankly. “Are you accusing me of not caring for your sister?” he asks.
“If I truly believed you didn’t care for Taryn, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
He gives a long sigh. “Because you’d murder me?”
“If you’re playing with Taryn, Madoc will murder you; I won’t even get a chance.”
I sheath my knife and head toward the door.
“Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me.
“We would be surprised to find that,” I call back.
”
”
Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
“
We always look for the signs we missed when something goes wrong. We become like detectives trying to solve a murder, because maybe if we uncover the clues, it gives us some control. Sure, we can’t change what happened, but if we can string together enough clues, we can prove that whatever nightmare has befallen us, we could have stopped it, if only we had been smart enough. I suppose it’s better to believe in our own stupidity than it is to believe that all the clues in the world wouldn’t have changed a thing.
”
”
Neal Shusterman (Challenger Deep)
“
No regrets. We live our lives forwards, not backwards. So always make the best of what's in front of you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
If you have any sort of personality, someone will eventually want to kill you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Have you ever shot anyone before?’ Rosie asks Steve, while snapping through Amy’s cable ties. ‘No,’ says Steve. ‘But the Coldplay T-shirt made it easier.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Steve is grateful that at least he feels loved. Because if you don’t feel loved, it’s difficult to feel anything at all.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Do you know how to pick loc–’ Rosie’s question is interrupted by Amy taking a large rock and smashing one of Scroggie’s back windows. ‘Ah, I see you do.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Shall we see about solving another gruesome murder, my love?
”
”
Kerri Maniscalco (Capturing the Devil (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #4))
“
Amy smiles. She loves Adam to the moon and back too, and decides she should tell him.
Same.
She is a romantic fool sometimes.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Everyone is taking the best shot they’ve got, and some shots are just luckier than yours. Anytime you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you have to check yourself. You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
(I am still not entirely sure what vicars are, since we don’t have them over here. I think they’re like cozy priests? As far as I can tell, they primarily exist in order to solve murders or be murdered on British crime shows.)
”
”
T. Kingfisher (A House with Good Bones)
“
There are friendships forged in fire, which end up disappearing like smoke, and other casual, nodding friendships, which will stay with you for the rest of your life.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
I know many people enjoy your books, and surely they can’t all be wrong?
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
The only way anyone can afford to buy a house these days is to have bought it fifteen years ago.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Murder, other than in the most strict forensic sense, is never soluble. That dark human clot can never melt into a lucid, clear suspension. Our detective fiction tells us otherwise: everything is just meat and cold ballistics. Provide a murderer, a motive and a means, and you have solved the crime. Using this method, the solution to the Second World War is as follows: Hitler. The German economy. Tanks. Thus, for convenience, we reduce the complex events.
”
”
Alan Moore (From Hell)
“
Tell that boy that we are detectives, and we have solved FIVE MURDER CASES!’ snarled Daisy. I looked at her, astonished – apparently, she can tell when the Detective Society is being demeaned in any language.
”
”
Robin Stevens (A Spoonful of Murder (Murder Most Unladylike, #6))
“
And, despite his assiduous preparation, it had taken him by surprise. You can think something often enough, but you will never be prepared for your heart disintegrating.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
What unfortunate timing. If she’d known she was going to die this morning, she would have ordered the pancakes.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Everyone is vulnerable. For some people, for Steve, it comes out as fear, avoiding situations where the vulnerability is exposed. For others, for an awful lot of people these days, vulnerability comes out as anger, pushing away anything that feels like it might pierce their shell. Steve watches
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
I love you as a sheriff searches for a walnut / That will solve a murder case unsolved for years / Because the murderer left it in the snow beside a window / Through which he saw her head, connecting with / Her shoulders by a neck, and laid a red /Roof in her heart. For this we lived a thousand years; / For this we love, and we live because we love, we are not /Inside a bottle, thank goodness!
----- from "To You
”
”
Kenneth Koch
“
Niema didn't think in straight lines,' she says eventually. 'She solved problems by coming at them from right angles, seeing things we'd never have thought about. Your question shouldn't be why she did it. It should be what problem was she trying to solve?
”
”
Stuart Turton (The Last Murder at the End of the World)
“
You may not have recognized me,’ says Max. This, he has learnt, is politer than ‘Don’t you know who I am?
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
I never take offense,” says Tony. “Saved me a lot of time over the years.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
It’s South Carolina,” says Carlos. “Sweating’s what we do.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
if you don’t feel loved, it’s difficult to feel anything at all.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Any time you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you have to check yourself. You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
If you look at the stars, the sky seems full. But if you look at the darkness, the sky seems empty.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
He doesn’t get casinos or infidelity. Why earn money, just to lose it, and why look for love, just to betray it?
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
one rule in life: if you see a door, walk through it.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
It’s not every daughter-in-law who will high-five you when you’ve shot a drug dealer in a Coldplay T-shirt, is it?
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Every criminal wants to tell the truth eventually. Enough of the truth to be seen but not enough of the truth to be convicted.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
don’t do nuance either,” says Max. “Nuance is too woke.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
No matter how limited their powers of reason might have been. still they must have understood that living like that was just murder, a capital crime - except it was slow, day-by-day murder. The government (or humanity) could not permit capital punishment for one man, but they permitted the murder of millions a little at a time. To kill one man - that is, to subtract 50 years from the sum of all human lives - that was a crime; but to subtract from the sum of all human lives 50,000,000 years - that was not a crime! No, really, isn't it funny? This problem in moral math could be solved in half a minute by any ten-year-old Number today, but they couldn't solve it. All their Kant's together couldn't solve it (because it never occurred to one of their Kant's to construct a system of scientific ethics - that is, one based on subtraction, addition, division, and multiplication).
”
”
Yevgeny Zamyatin (We)
“
But Steve has learnt you must never resent other people for their happiness. Everyone is taking the best shot they've got, and some shots are just luckier than yours. Anytime you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you have to check yourself. You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Though we might have precious little
It's still precious
I like that song about this wonderful world
It's got a sunny point of view
And sometimes I feel it's true
At least for a few of us
I like that world, it makes a wonderful song
But there's a darker point of view
But sadly just as true
For so many among us
Though we might have precious little
It's still precious
In the sweetest child there's a vicious streak
In the strongest man there's a child so weak
In the whole wide world there's no magic place
So you might as well rise put on your bravest face
I like that show where they solve all the murders
An heroic point of view
It's got justice and vengeance too
At least so the story goes
I like that story, makes a satisfying case
But there's a messy point of view
That's sadly just as true
For so many among us
In softest voice there's an acid tongue
In the oldest eyes there's a soul so young
In the shakiest will there's a core of steel
On the smoothest ride there's a squeaky wheel
Though we might have precious little
It's still precious
”
”
Rush
“
report for the upcoming wedding. “If we’re going to be sneaking into New Beijing Palace while Levana is there, why don’t we just assassinate her? Not to be all cold-wired murderer about it, but wouldn’t that solve a lot of our problems?
”
”
Marissa Meyer (Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, #3))
“
Steve stops by the window of the estate agent and peers through the glass. If he was moving to the village today, he wouldn't be able to afford it. The only way anyone can afford to buy a house these days is to have bought it fifteen years ago.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Steve has learned you must never resent other people for their happiness. Everyone is taking the best shot they’ve got, and some shots are just luckier than yours. Anytime you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you have to check yourself. You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Serves me right for mixing marijuana and tequila.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me. “We would be surprised to find that,” I call back.
”
”
Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
“
Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,' Locke calls after me.
'We would be surprised to find that,' I call back.
”
”
Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
“
Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder," Locke calls after me.
"We would be surprised to find that," I call back.
”
”
Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
“
We live our lives forwards, not backwards, so always make the best of what's in front of you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
She is in danger of relaxing. Feels it creeping up on her. Amy hates relaxing. Too much time to think. She prefers to do.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
What does she fear? Amy feels like she got all her fears out of the way in childhood. If the worst possible things have happened to you already, what can the world do to you?
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
According to Wikipedia, she is actually five years younger than she was seven years ago. Rosie likes to think of herself as "age-fluid.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
What Steve doesn’t like, increasingly as he gets older, is the noise of other people.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
at the very least, you made it through to the end. Unless you are one of those people who reads the acknowledgments first, in which case I honestly believe you are a dangerous sociopath.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
for an awful lot of people these days, vulnerability comes out as anger, pushing away anything that feels like it might pierce their shell. Steve watches people on TV sometimes, shouting the odds about this, that, or the other, railing against the truth of reality, and he always sees the pain first. They have lost someone, or they never had someone, and so now they have lost themselves.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
You like to feel safe, and you like to feel prepared?” “Yes.” “I see,” says Rosie. “And how is all that working out for you?” “It’s working out well,” says Steve, but the question has hit home. His world has become so small.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
But unlike the apologists who struggle to make historical sense of Mark’s scenario, we really don’t need to waste much speculation trying to solve these difficulties – since there’s a bigger problem with the entire set-up. Perhaps the single biggest historical difficulty with the customary releasing of a prisoner at Passover (Mark 15:6) … is that we have no corroborating evidence whatsoever that this “custom” ever existed. Neither the Jews, the Romans nor Pilate himself ever had a custom of freeing prisoners on Passover (or any other day), not that an occupational governor would ever have offered to release a convicted murderer and anti-Roman insurrectionist even if that were the case. Christians have spent years scouring Roman and Jewish records in search of supporting evidence to justify the historical veracity of this so-called Privilegium Paschale, to no avail (see Nailed, pp. 97-99).
”
”
David Fitzgerald (Jesus: Mything in Action, Vol. I (The Complete Heretic's Guide to Western Religion, #2))
“
After writing an email, a text, anything really, you can simply run the whole thing through ChatGPT and it instantly deletes your personality. It flattens you out, irons your creases, washes you away, quirk by quirk, until you disappear.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
When will it all cave in? The sky, I mean; our networks; our intricate pretensions. We were too good at what we did, at being fruitful, at multiplying, and now there’s too much breathing. We eat dangerous foods, our shit glows in the dark, the cells of our bodies turn on us like sharks. Every system is self-limiting. Will we solve ourselves as the rats do? With war, with plagues, with mass starvation? These thoughts come with breakfast, like the juice from murdered fruits. Your depression, my friend, is the revenge of the oranges.
”
”
Margaret Atwood (Good Bones and Simple Murders)
“
But Steve has learned you must never resent other people for their happiness. Everyone is taking the best shot they’ve got, and some shots are just luckier than yours. Anytime you feel your unhappiness turning into bitterness, you have to check yourself. You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
”
”
Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))
“
When we tell ourselves that misogyny is simply an import from overseas, we are saying that it’s just not a problem here. David Cameron probably shouldn’t be too quick to insinuate that extreme misogyny is a foreign import to the British Isles. When the Office of National Statistics shows that, on average, seven women a month in England and Wales are murdered by a current or former partner,13 and 85,000 women are raped in England and Wales alone every year,14 we know that this is simply not the case. Misogyny is not a problem that can be solved with closed borders, nor a crash course in Received Pronunciation. It exists in the psyche of what it means to be a man in every country.
”
”
Reni Eddo-Lodge (Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race)
“
The cooker’s so old you’ve got to lean all the way inside and light it with an actual flame, risking certain death in the process. I know better than to bring up replacing it, because it’s a discussion we’ve had too many times over the years. Mum thinks it’s retro and cool. I, on the other hand, work hard not to think of Sylvia Plath every time I look at it.
”
”
Kristen Perrin (How to Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files, #1))
“
And the son bursting into his father's house, killing him, and at the same time not killing him, this is not even a novel, not a poem, it is a sphinx posing riddles, which it, of course, will not solve itself. If he killed him, he killed him; how can it be that he killed him and yet did not kill him--who can understand that? Then it is announced to us that our tribune is the tribune of truth and sensible ideas, and so from this tribune of 'sensible ideas' an axiom resounds, accompanied by an oath, that to call the murder of a father parricide is simply a prejudice! But if parricide is a prejudice, and if every child ought to ask his father, 'Father, why should I love you?'--what will become of us, what will become of the foundations of society, where will the family end up? Parricide--don't you see, it's just the 'brimstone' of some Moscow merchant's wife? The most precious, the most sacred precepts concerning the purpose and future of the Russian courts are presented perversely and frivolously, only to achieve a certain end, to achieve the acquittal of that which cannot be acquitted. 'Oh, overwhelm him with mercy,' the defense attorney exclaims, and that is just what the criminal wants, and tomorrow everyone will see how overwhelmed he is! And is the defense attorney not being too modest in asking only for the defendant's acquittal? Why does he not ask that a fund be established in the parricide's name, in order to immortalize his deed for posterity and the younger generation? The Gospel and religion are corrected: it's all mysticism, he says, and ours is the only true Christianity, tested by the analysis of reason and sensible ideas. And so a false image of Christ is held up to us! With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you,' the defense attorney exclaims, and concludes then and there that Christ commanded us to measure with the same measure as it is measured to us--and that from the tribune of truth and sensible ideas! We glance into the Gospel only on the eve of our speeches, in order to make a brilliant display of our familiarity with what is, after all, a rather original work, which may prove useful and serve for a certain effect, in good measure, all in good measure! Yet Christ tells us precisely not to do so, to beware of doing so, because that is what the wicked world does, whereas we must forgive and turn our cheek, and not measure with the same measure as our offenders measure to us. This is what our God taught us, and not that it is a prejudice to forbid children to kill their own fathers. And let us not, from the rostrum of truth and sensible ideas, correct the Gospel of our God, whom the defense attorney deems worthy of being called merely 'the crucified lover of mankind,' in opposition to the whole of Orthodox Russia, which calls out to him: 'For thou art our God...!
”
”
Fyodor Dostoevsky (The Brothers Karamazov)
“
I walked out just like her, you bitch. If I walked out, it would be my condemnation of him. I would be the reason he gave up and put a gun to his head and fed the blood-lusting mud of Bodymore. I don’t know what it is about this place that makes people desperate.
Desperate for a future.
Desperate for money.
Desperate for someone else.
It’s always everything we don’t have that’s going to solve that desperation.
”
”
Ian Kirkpatrick (Bleed More, Bodymore (Bodymore #1))
“
Oedipus the murderer of his father, the husband of his mother, Oedipus the solver of the riddle of the sphinx! What does the secret trinity of these fatal events tell us? There was a very ancient folk belief, especially in Persia, that a wise magus could be born only out of incest. Looking at Oedipus as the solver of riddles and the lover of his own mother, what we have to interpret immediately is the fact that right there where, through prophecy and magical powers, the spell of present and future is broken, that rigid law of individuation and the essential magic of nature in general, an immense natural horror — in this case incest — must have come first as the original cause.
For how could we have compelled nature to yield up her secrets, if not for the fact that we fight back against her and win, that is, if not for the fact that we commit unnatural actions? I see this insight stamped out in that dreadful trinity of Oedipus’s fate: the same man who solves the riddle of nature — of that ambiguous sphinx — must also break the most sacred natural laws when he murders his father and marries his mother. Indeed, the myth seems to want to whisper to us that wisdom, and especially Dionysian wisdom, is an unnatural atrocity, that a man who through his knowledge pushes nature into the abyss of destruction also has to experience in himself the disintegration of nature.
”
”
Friedrich Nietzsche (The Birth of Tragedy)
“
I do not wish you to be in danger, pretty Kate. You should leave me.”
“Quit saying that—”
“It grows dark soon—”
“Are there predators on the ice?”
He shifts—or tries to—and winces. “No. Not at night. Too many dangerous cracks in the ice.”
“You mean, the animals are too smart to cross, but we did it? Are you fucking serious?”
“It was safe until you pushed me.”
I bite back my hysterical response, because okay, I did push him. It’s not solving anything to bicker right now. I’ll murder him when we’re both nice and safe.
”
”
Ruby Dixon (Barbarian's Lady (Ice Planet Barbarians, #13))
“
It pains me to admit it, but I am somewhat less brilliant than TV supersleuths—and, with all due respect, so are many of my forensic colleagues. We’re not geniuses, and our gadgets can’t answer every question or pinpoint every perpetrator. But even though TV sometimes creates unrealistic expectations about the swiftness and certainty of murder investigations, some shows have done a great service by spotlighting the role forensic scientists—even ordinary, real-life ones—can play in bringing killers to justice. And these shows do get a lot dead right: Crime scene investigation is absolutely crucial to solving a crime. Surprisingly,
”
”
William M. Bass (Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales)
“
The member of the Nazi hierarchy most gifted at solving problems of conscience was Himmler. He coined slogans, like the famous watchword of the S.S., taken from a Hitler speech before the S.S. in 1931, “My Honor is my Loyalty”—catch phrases which Eichmann called “winged words” and the judges “empty talk”—and issued them, as Eichmann recalled, “around the turn of the year,” presumably along with a Christmas bonus. Eichmann remembered only one of them and kept repeating it: “These are battles which future generations will not have to fight again,” alluding to the “battles” against women, children, old people, and other “useless mouths.” Other such phrases, taken from speeches Himmler made to the commanders of the Einsatzgruppen and the Higher S.S. and Police Leaders, were: “To have stuck it out and, apart from exceptions caused by human weakness, to have remained decent, that is what has made us hard. This is a page of glory in our history which has never been written and is never to be written.” Or: “The order to solve the Jewish question, this was the most frightening order an organization could ever receive.” Or: We realize that what we are expecting from you is “superhuman,” to be “superhumanly inhuman.” All one can say is that their expectations were not disappointed. It is noteworthy, however, that Himmler hardly ever attempted to justify in ideological terms, and if he did, it was apparently quickly forgotten. What stuck in the minds of these men who had become murderers was simply the notion of being involved in something historic, grandiose, unique (“a great task that occurs once in two thousand years”), which must therefore be difficult to bear. This was important, because the murderers were not sadists or killers by nature; on the contrary, a systematic effort was made to weed out all those who derived physical pleasure from what they did. The troops of the Einsatzgruppen had been drafted
”
”
Hannah Arendt (Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil)
“
and endless inconvenience. But have I not heard you say often that to solve a case a man has only to lie back in his chair and think? Do that. Interview the passengers on the train, view the body, examine what clues there are and then—well, I have faith in you! I am assured that it is no idle boast of yours. Lie back and think—use (as I have heard you say so often) the little grey cells of the mind—and you will know!” He leaned forward, looking affectionately at his friend. “Your faith touches me, my friend,” said Poirot emotionally. “As you say, this cannot be a difficult case. I myself, last night—but we will not speak of that now. In truth, this problem intrigues me. I was reflecting, not half an hour ago, that many hours of boredom lay ahead whilst we are stuck here. And now—a problem lies ready to my hand.” “You accept then?” said M. Bouc eagerly. “C’est entendu. You place the matter in my hands.” “Good—we are all at your service.” “To begin with, I should like a plan of the Istanbul-Calais coach, with a note of the people who occupied the several compartments, and I should also like to see their passports and their tickets.” “Michel will get you those.” The Wagon Lit conductor left the compartment. “What other passengers are there on the train?” asked Poirot. “In this coach Dr. Constantine and I
”
”
Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10))
“
The detective thinks he is investigating a murder or a missing girl but truly he is investigating something else all together, something he cannot grasp hold of directly. satisfaction will be rare. Uncertainty will be your normal state. Much of your life will be spent in the dark woods, no path visible, with fear and loneliness your only companions.
But answers exist. Solutions wait for you, trembling, pulling you to them, calling your name, even if you cannot hear. And when you are sure that you have been forgotten, and that every step has been wrong, and that the woods are swallowing you whole, remember this: I too was once in those woods, and I have emerged to give you, if not a map or a path, hopefully at least a few clues. Remember that I, if no one else, know you are there, and will never give up hope for you, not in this lifetime or the next. And the day I came out of the woods I saw the sun as I had never seen it before, which is the only consolation I can offer as of now.
I believe that someday, perhaps many lifetimes from now, all will be explained, and all mysteries will be solved. All knowledge will be free for the taking, including the biggest mystery of all - who we really are. But for now, each detective, alone in the woods, must take her clues, and solve her mysteries herself.
- Jacques Silette, Detection
”
”
Sara Gran (Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #2))
“
The third stream is the one which has elicited the most criticism. It is referred to as Practical Kabbalah. By that, we mean people who use the Kabbalah for their own personal purposes, as a way to exploit the secret knowledge to which they have access in order to control nature and man’s fate. Practical Kabbalah appeals directly to supernatural forces and sometimes even makes them solve the problems of the one calling upon them. These include attempts to foretell the future, to converse with the dead, to heal the sick, to banish evil spirits and the evil eye, and of course to acquire wealth, respect, and/or the love of a man or a woman. That, too, is a dangerous game to play.
”
”
Nathan Erez (The Kabbalistic Murder Code (Historical Crime Thriller #1))
“
My client comes into the courtroom with baggage because we do not have the presumption of innocence in America. Truth is, we have the assumption of guilt, and it starts the minute somebody is arrested. Nobody says “an innocent person was arrested today on suspicion of murder.” What happens is the Chief of Police, the District Attorney, and everybody else who is looking to get on television has a press conference and says “We have solved a crime. We have arrested and have in custody the person who did it. He will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” And then a lawyer comes along at some point and either says “no comment” or “my client’s not guilty,” but nobody believes, so my job as a lawyer is to try to level the playing field.
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Frank Luntz (Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear)
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[Booker T. Washington's] doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.
The South ought to be led, by candid and honest criticism, to assert her better self and do her full duty to the race she has cruelly wronged and is still wronging. The North—her co-partner in guilt—cannot salve her conscience by plastering it with gold. We cannot settle this problem by diplomacy and suaveness, by “policy” alone. If worse come to worst, can the moral fibre of this country survive the slow throttling and murder of nine millions of men?
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W.E.B. Du Bois (The Souls of Black Folk)
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You think this is a game?” I snap, pointing at Stanwin’s body. “A puzzle, with disposable pieces. Solve it and we get to go home.” He frowns at me, as if I’m a stranger who’s asked directions to a place that doesn’t exist. “I don’t understand your concern.” “If we solve Evelyn’s murder in the manner you’re suggesting, we don’t deserve to go home! Can’t you see? These masks we wear betray us. They reveal us.” “You’re babbling,” he says, searching Stanwin’s pockets. “We are never more ourselves than when we think people aren’t watching. Don’t you realize that? It doesn’t matter if Stanwin’s alive tomorrow; you murdered him today. You murdered a man in cold blood, and that will blot your soul for the rest of your life. I don’t know why we’re here, Daniel, or why this is happening to us, but we should be proving that it’s an injustice, not making ourselves worthy of it.” “You’re misguided,” he says, contempt creeping into his voice. “We can no more mistreat these people than we could their shadow cast upon the wall. I don’t understand what you’re asking of me.” “That we hold ourselves to a higher standard,” I say, my voice rising. “That we be better men than our hosts! Murdering Stanwin was Daniel Coleridge’s solution, but it shouldn’t be yours. You’re a good man. You can’t lose sight of that.” “A good man,” he scoffs. “Avoiding unpleasant acts doesn’t make a man good. Look at where we are, what’s been done to us. Escaping this place requires that we do what is necessary, even if our nature compels us otherwise. I know this makes you squeamish, that you don’t have the stomach for it. I was the same, but I no longer have the time to tiptoe around my ethics. I can end this tonight and I mean to, so don’t measure me by how tightly I cling to my goodness, measure me by what I’m willing to sacrifice that you might cling to yours. If I fail, you can always try another way.” “And how will you live with yourself when you’re done?” I demand. “I’ll look at the faces of my family and know that what I lost in this place was not nearly as important as my reward for leaving it.” “You can’t believe that,” I say. “I do, and so will you after a few more days in this place,
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Stuart Turton (The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle)
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A Conversation with the Author What was your inspiration for The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle? Inspiration is a flash-of-lightning kind of word. What happens to me is more like sediment building. I love time travel, Agatha Christie, and the eighties classic Quantum Leap, and over time a book emerged from that beautiful quagmire. Truthfully, having the idea was the easy part, keeping track of all the moving parts was the difficulty. Which character was the most interesting to write, and in which host do you feel Aiden truly flourishes? Lord Cecil Ravencourt, by miles. He occupies the section of the book where the character has to grapple with the time travel elements, the body swapping elements, and the murder itself. I wanted my most intelligent character for that task, but I thought it would be great to hamper him in some way, as well. Interestingly, I wanted to make him really loathsome—which is why he’s a banker. And yet, for some reason, I ended up quite liking him, and feeding a few laudable qualities into his personality. I think Derby ended up getting a double dose of loathsome instead. Other than that, it’s just really nice seeing the evolution of his relationship with Cunningham. Is there a moral lesson to Aiden’s story or any conclusion you hope the reader walks away with as they turn the final page? Don’t be a dick! Kind, funny, intelligent, and generous people are behind every good thing that’s ever happened to me. Everybody else you just have to put up with. Like dandruff. Or sunburn. Don’t be sunburn, people. In one hundred years, do you believe there will be something similar to Blackheath, and would you support such a system? Yes, and not exactly. Our prison system is barbaric, but some people deserve it. That’s the tricky part of pinning your flag to the left or right of the moral spectrum. I think the current system is unsustainable, and I think personality adjustment and mental prisons are dangerous, achievable technology somebody will abuse. They could also solve a lot of problems. Would you trust your government with it? I suppose that’s the question. The book is so contained, and we don’t get to see the place that Aiden is escaping to! Did you map that out, and is there anything you can share about the society beyond Blackheath’s walls? It’s autocratic, technologically advanced, but they still haven’t overcome our human weaknesses. You can get everywhere in an hour, but television’s still overrun with reality shows, basically. Imagine the society that could create something as hateful as Annabelle Caulker.
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Stuart Turton (The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle)
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In October 2004, seven Milwaukee police officers sadistically beat Frank Jude Jr. outside an off-duty police party. The Journal Sentinel newspaper in Milwaukee investigated the crime and published photos of Jude taken right after the beating. The officers were convicted, and some reforms were put in place. But the city saw an unexpected side effect. Calls to 911 dropped dramatically—twenty-two thousand less than the previous year. You know what did rise? The number of homicides—eighty-seven in the six months after the photos were published, a seven-year high. That information comes from a 2016 study done by Matthew Desmond, an associate social sciences professor at Harvard University and New York Times bestselling author of Evicted. He told the Journal Sentinel that a case like Jude’s “tears the fabric apart so deeply and delegitimizes the criminal justice system in the eyes of the African-American community that they stop relying on it in significant numbers.” With shootings of unarmed civilians being captured on cell phones and shared on the internet, the distrust of the police is not relegated to that local community. The stories of the high-profile wrongful death cases of Tamir Rice in Cleveland or Eric Brown in New York spread fast across the country. We were in a worse place than we were twenty years earlier, when the vicious police officer beating of Rodney King went unpunished and Los Angeles went up in flames. It meant more and more crimes would go unsolved because the police were just not trusted. Why risk your life telling an organization about a crime when you think that members of that organization are out to get you? And how can that ever change?
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Billy Jensen (Chase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders)
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They may have been the same rank, but he was still technically her senior — in both age and experience — and sometimes he liked to flex. Make himself look like he gave a damn. She leaned forward, hit the keyboard shortcut to minimise the windows, and got up. ‘Nothing,’ she said, pulling her jacket on. ‘That’s helpful.’ She ignored the comment, downed half her now-tepid coffee and bit lightly into her bagel, holding it between straight white teeth as she powered off her monitor and tucked her chair in. ‘I don’t know why you bother,’ Roper said, flicking a hand at the now-black screen. ‘Not while all this is burning.’ He gestured around the room at the other desks and detectives working away. Dozens of screens were lit, the photocopier was buzzing, the lights were humming, and phones and devices were charging on every surface. She shrugged. ‘If you leave a monitor on standby overnight it wastes enough energy to—’ ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, dismissing her with his hand. ‘And the polar ice caps are melting and penguins are getting sunburn. Come on, we’ve got a murder to solve.’ He walked forward, draining what was left in his coffee cup, and put it down on a random desk — much to the disgust of the guy sitting behind it. Roper swaggered towards the lifts, finally shrugging off the hangover, his caffeine quota for the next hour filled. Once his nicotine level had been topped off, he might actually be capable of some decent police work. Jamie fell in behind him, trying to get her mind off the other missing kids and back on Grace Melver. Whatever the hell was going on, Jamie had a feeling that Grace Melver knew something about it. Whether she realised or not. Chapter 7 She walked with Roper without thinking about it. Jamie had dropped him back at the crime scene after the shelter so he could pick his car up. The medical examiner was there and the scene of the crime officers, or SOCOs, were crawling all over in their plastic-covered boots, snapping photos and putting things in evidence bags. They hadn’t stuck around. It was best to leave the SOCOs do their jobs, and anyway Jamie and Roper had paperwork that needed to be done. Her fingers typed on autopilot now. She’d had her prelim licked before she’d finished her first cup of coffee. Roper headed for his Volvo without asking and got into the driver’s seat. Jamie pulled the door open and got in, closing the door only when he’d cranked the ignition so she could crack the window. The seats were covered
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Morgan Greene (Bare Skin (DS Jamie Johansson, #1))
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Well, we need to do something, and quick.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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Diane had stopped crying over her failed marriage and she’d ceased plotting the demise of her ex-husband ever since we’d handed over the reins for the wedding, exponentially more so since the holidays.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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One moment we’d be discussing tulips, and she’d be lamenting that they only bloomed once a year, and then I’d look at her or I’d touch her and this—this look right here, this dreamy, hopeful look—lit behind her eyes.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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No, no—you don't walk away from me. We're going to talk about thisss right here right now—
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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Presently, he lowered himself to the edge of the kitchen counter, and I stood between his legs. We were more or less at eye level, which made it easier to tend to his face.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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The second we were back in the car,
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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We’ll be fine,” she said unconvincingly, a half-hearted smile on her wobbly lips. “Let me just go freshen up for a minute, splash some water on my face. Then I’ll—I’ll make more tea, okay?
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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Jolly says, 'You see? Mr Pilania, I asked your men to come here, I asked my poor neighbour to come here, to assure you of one thing. Whatever help you need, I will give it. Anything your men require to solve this case, to give this grieving man here the chance of revenge on the scum who killed his daughter, ask me. I am here to help.'
The SSP says quietly, 'Justice. What we promise is justice.'
Jolly says, 'Yes, yes. I agree. But what does Chand want?"
Chand appears not to have heard the question. None of them speak as the father stares out towards the carp pond, the light, playful splash of water from the fountain the only sound in the room.
The SSP rises, hands folded, to take his leave, and Chand says, I want him dead. The man who took Munia from me, he should die.'
Jolly looks away, smiles at Ombir and Bhim Sain. "These policemen are good men,' he says to Chand. I've seen them at work. Early morning, late at night, in summer, in the monsoons, they are out in our village, doing their jobs. I promise you, Chand, this murder will be solved. You will have your vengeance."
Ombir notes that, this time, Pilania does not correct him or speak of justice.
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Nilanjana Roy (Black River)
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could have just killed her straightaway. We know they have no issue with murder. Dead, she solves their problem. Alive, she’s still a pain in their asses. But they might have sweated her for information. If she knew too much about their plan, they could still cancel the whole thing. It could have been the Clan proper. They might be trying to stop the assassination attempt and would have a reason for kidnapping Rebecca, to find out all she knew about the assassination. But I don’t see them killing her.” “Hell,” Victor said, “the police chief himself might even have ordered her kidnapping as a personal matter just to bury her knowledge that he’s a Clan na Gael leader. If that were the case, why would he let her go?” There was no denying Victor’s logic, but the most immediate thing now was the threat to Maureen Brogan and her child. “We need to get to Maureen’s now. She’s in danger. When she’s safe, we can think about Rebecca. Can you arrange for someone to stay with Maureen if we put her in a hotel with the child?” “Of course.” Conor heard Dr. Camp’s voice from behind them in the hallway. “Mr. Dolan, there’s a Detective Flynn down at the information desk. He wants to see you. Should I have the nurse let him up?” So the case is already assigned to Flynn. The last thing Conor needed now was to deal with the murderous detective. “Do me a favor, Doc. Hold him there until I can get dressed and get out of here. Victor and I will find a side door.” *** On the cab ride to Maureen’s flat, Conor tried to get into Flynn’s head. The detective landed this case either because of its relationship to Kevin Dolan’s supposed suicide or because the police chief specifically wanted him on the investigation. In either case, his objective would be to go through the motions of an investigation while protecting himself, the chief of police, and his Clan associates. He would, of course, make certain the kidnapping was never solved. At the same time, he would use the investigation to figure out how much Rebecca and Conor knew about the Clan’s internal problems. Whichever Clan group
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Robert W. Smith (A Long Way from Clare)
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“Many,” sighed Ashuri, “and from various faculties. A considerable number of them are not even registered at the university. They come to register, and I ignore the fact that they are not on the roster. This year, I closed registration after seventy-five students had signed up, but in reality over a hundred attended each lecture. For purely selfish reasons, because of my age, I suppose, I refused to accept any more. I have found lately that Kabbalah has shown signs of a resurgence of interest. As a result, many charlatans earn a fine living from it.” Elijah remembered that he was really on his way to the library. He parted from Prof. Ashuri in his normal awkward, hesitant and apologetic manner, thanking her profusely no less than three times; he would even have bowed down to her if that was what would have enabled him to expedite his exit. However, Prof. Ashuri had one more important observation to make. “I hope that your interest in the Kabbalah will not infect you with that dreaded disease...” she smiled. “What disease do you mean?” “Kabbalistic literature is generally divided into three major streams. The first and most important one is the cosmological, mission-oriented one. Here we find a direct line between ourselves and the Master of the Universes, by way of His influence on all the intermediate worlds. Note the term, ‘Master of the Universes’ in the plural. In this view, there are mutual influences, going from the upper worlds to us, and from us to the upper worlds. All the commandments and all the proper intentions and all the prayers are ultimately aimed at mending those spheres, which were damaged at the time of the Creation. In the language of the Kabbalah, this means repairing those vessels which were broken. “The second stream is Kabbalistic-prophetic. It is an attempt to attain what is known as cleaving to God and to achieve spiritual elevation. This can be accomplished by internal meditation, which includes reciting the Holy Names, internal and external purification, combining sacred letters and repeating them over and over, singing and moving the head, and breathing techniques. This can unite one with the higher worlds. One who does this properly can reach the level of prophecy. There are even books with detailed instructions on how to actually accomplish this and how to ascend to a higher spiritual level. I often hear of students who have embarked on such a course, and it is, indeed, a disease.” “Don’t worry about me. And what about the third stream?” “The third stream is the one which has elicited the most criticism. It is referred to as Practical Kabbalah. By that, we mean people who use the Kabbalah for their own personal purposes, as a way to exploit the secret knowledge to which they have access in order to control nature and man’s fate. Practical Kabbalah appeals directly to supernatural forces and sometimes even makes them solve the problems of the one calling upon them. These include attempts to foretell the future, to converse with the dead, to heal the sick, to banish evil spirits and the evil eye, and of course to acquire wealth, respect, and/or the love of a man or a woman. That, too, is a dangerous game to play.” Prof. Ashuri laughed, but Elijah could not tell whether or not she was serious.
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Nathan Erez (The Kabbalistic Murder Code (Historical Crime Thriller #1))
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Also,” Felix said when Atticus hung up. “I don’t want to harsh anyone’s murder high, but we’re gonna have to clear this with Papa Mulvaney.” The twins exchanged a look then smiled at Atticus in a way that gave Ever the creeps. “Call Aiden,” they said in unison. “If Aiden asks, he won’t say no,” Avi said. “Yeah, Dad gives him anything he wants,” Asa finished. “See?” Zane said. “Problem solved.
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Onley James (Paladin (Jericho's Boys, #1))
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Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder," Locke calls after me.
"We would be surprised to find that," I call back.
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Holly Black (The Cruel Prince / The Wicked King / The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #1-3))
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Her voice was impatient with rage. ‘They say the only deterrent to terror is to kill terrorists. It’s the same argument that dictators have made to murder opponents throughout history. Say it whatever way you want – whether it comes from the mouth of a dictator or as an excuse to repress people of different political views – it’s the same old serpent.’ Halima swept her hand across the evening. ‘All this violence. The idea that killing people solves problems. War is all they know, and they are good at it, so they kill people thinking that war will bring peace. It never brings peace. There is only a pause in the war.’ She was quiet for a moment, struggling with her indignation. ‘They are not a kind people. Some are kind, some are wise, but not the politicians. The opposite of kindness is not cruelty. It is indifference. All this’ – she looked across the bombed city – ‘is indifference. Our suffering isn’t about who we are. It is about who they are. Airplanes and tanks give them the power to be indifferent.’ She sipped her drink, and her voice lowered and softened. ‘Israel’s prime ministers – Sharon, Olmert, Netanyahu – believe they can solve these problems with toughness, but things have changed. The Islamic faith has spread. For better or worse.’ Her hand went to her heart. When she spoke again, her soprano voice was strident. ‘How will they frighten jihadists who love martyrdom?’ She shook her head. ‘God forbid.’ ‘You’re wrong,’ Analise said. ‘Not all Israelis are that way.’ ‘Je le croirai, guard je le verrai.’ She paused. ‘Let them show it.’ She waved dismissively. ‘Beirut survived the Romans, the Ottomans, the French. The land and the people endure. That land has defeated stronger enemies than Israel. Israel is an idea. Ideas come and go. Land endures.’ She lowered her head and looked out at the darkened city. Her words came in quiet lament. ‘The scourge of this land is the curse of revenge.
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Paul Vidich (Beirut Station)
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A few centuries ago, the government of this country became interested in enforcing certain desirable behaviors in its citizens. There had been studies that indicated that violent tendencies could be partially traced to a person’s genes—a gene called ‘the murder gene’ was the first of these, but there were quite a few more, genetic predispositions toward cowardice, dishonesty, low intelligence—all the qualities, in other words, that ultimately contribute to a broken society.” We were taught that the factions were formed to solve a problem, the problem of our flawed natures. Apparently the people David is describing, whoever they were, believed in that problem too. I know so little about genetics—just what I can see passed down from parent to child, in my face and in friends’ faces. I can’t imagine isolating a gene for murder, or cowardice, or dishonesty. Those things seem too nebulous to have a concrete location in a person’s body. But I’m not a scientist. “Obviously there are quite a few factors that determine personality, including a person’s upbringing and experiences,” David continues, “but despite the peace and prosperity that had reigned in this country for nearly a century, it seemed advantageous to our ancestors to reduce the risk of these undesirable qualities showing up in our population by correcting them. In other words, by editing humanity. “That’s how the genetic manipulation experiment was born. It takes several generations for any kind of genetic manipulation to manifest, but people were selected from the general population in large numbers, according to their backgrounds or behavior, and they were given the option to give a gift to our future generations, a genetic alteration that would make their descendants just a little bit better.” I look around at the others. Peter’s mouth is puckered with disdain. Caleb is scowling. Cara’s mouth has fallen open, like she is hungry for answers and intends to eat them from the air. Christina just looks skeptical, one eyebrow raised, and Tobias is staring at his shoes. I feel like I am not hearing anything new—just the same philosophy that spawned the factions, driving people to manipulate their genes instead of separating into virtue-based groups. I understand it. On some level I even agree with it. But I don’t know how it relates to us, here, now.
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Veronica Roth (The Divergent Library: Divergent; Insurgent; Allegiant; Four)
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He stares at me blankly. “Are you accusing me of not caring for your sister?” he asks. “If I truly believed you didn’t care for Taryn, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He gives a long sigh. “Because you’d murder me?” “If you’re playing with Taryn, Madoc will murder you; I won’t even get a chance.” I sheathe my knife and head toward the door. “Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me. “We would be surprised to find that,” I call back.
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Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
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Our love story might’ve been a little mixed up. Some folks might even call it weird. I’d threatened and blackmailed him. We’d become friends. We’d fallen in love. We’d made love. We’d become engaged, sorta. We’d become engaged for real. I’d almost died, a few times. We’d married, waited a year, took a honeymoon, and now we were getting married again.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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This story was ours. We were weird. I was so glad I’d stayed away from the normals, because I wouldn’t have traded being weird with Cletus for being normal with absolutely anyone else. -
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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We all sit in judgment of each other, the bad decisions and evil deeds others make. Perhaps the most difficult of all truths is that no one can ever know, or understand, or share your own.
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Penny Reid (Marriage and Murder (Solving for Pie: Cletus and Jenn Mysteries, #2))
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For the love of Hyacinth the first! Do sit down you pompous, sharp-toothed velociraptors!” Geraldine banged her fist on the table. “We have a murderer in our midst, and the game is afoot. We must solve this mystery before one of our own is found butchered in the night.
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Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
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Your ridiculous family might be surprised to find that not everything is solved by murder,” Locke calls after me.
“We would be surprised to find that,” I call back
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Holly Black (The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2))
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Hugo was murdered, Michael, and we can’t solve it. I doubt seriously if the Tappacola can either.” “Are you suggesting the FBI?
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John Grisham (The Whistler)
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Gertie clapped her hands. “Another murder to solve. Thank God. I was getting bored.” “We just had a head fall off in front of us a few weeks ago at the Halloween festival,” Ida Belle said. “How many people need to be murdered to keep you entertained?
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Jana Deleon (Swamp Sweets (Miss Fortune Mystery, #21))
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It was, but thanks to you, I'm still in one piece. And while there's still a mystery to solve, we need to keep going or the trail will go cold. By the time Inspector Ridley picks it up, it will be frozen
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Merryn Allingham (Murder on the Pier (Flora Steele, #2))
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Do you think your dad—” “Not yet, and no. But the sheriff and some state troopers were over. I heard some stuff. They think the body’s been in there at least ten or fifteen years.” Excited as she was by all the action, it also made her sad. “Can you believe that? Not knowing where your kid has been for the last fifteen years. Not knowing if she’s still alive or dead.” When Laura Lynn and Marcus exchanged a look, she frowned. “What?” “Do you know how many kids die around here? Or go missing?” When Mandy shook her head, Marcus continued. “A lot. Like, a lot a lot.” “How?” she asked. “Why?” “Lots of reasons,” Laura Lynn said. “Cancer. Running away. Murder. There are lots of stories like that. Kids going crazy and sent to insane asylums.” Marcus sat straighter in his chair. “I don’t believe all of them. Jake used to try to freak me out by telling me if I didn’t clean my room, all the kids from the mental hospital would escape and eat me alive.” He glanced to the side and shook his head. “What an asshat.” “Who’s Jake?” Mandy asked. “My older brother. He’s in college now.” Marcus started in on his sandwich, talking through a mouthful of food. “But he said his friend’s brother died that way. Some rare disease or something. Totally incurable.” “That’s pretty weird,” Mandy said. “Maybe that’s what happened to the girl in the septic tank,” Laura Lynn offered. “Maybe she went crazy and fell in.” “And what?” Marcus asked. “Her parents just closed it up and forgot about her? I doubt it.” “Then it was probably murder,” Mandy said. Another thrill went through her, but a twinge of fear followed this one. “We should look into it. Do our own investigation.” Laura Lynn and Marcus both looked down at their plates. Marcus was the first to answer. “I don’t know about that.” “What?” Mandy felt confused. She had figured at least Marcus would be into the idea, even if Laura Lynn wasn’t. “Aren’t you a computer genius? You could help me solve the case! We’d be heroes.” “It’s not worth it.” When he looked up again, he was deadly serious. “A lot of people have gone missing over the years, Mandy. Not just kids. It’s better to just keep your head down. Don’t cause any trouble.” Mandy blanched. When she looked at Laura Lynn for support, she saw her friend nodding in agreement. Mandy sat back in her chair with a huff, the turkey and cheese sandwich untouched. So much for showing Bear she could take care of herself by solving this on her own. 9 Bear pulled his truck next to McKinnon’s cruiser and put it in park. He hopped out and met her around the side of her car. “A graveyard? This is about to get real interesting, or real weird.” “Let’s hope it gets interesting,” McKinnon said. The slam of her door echoed through the surrounding trees, and the two of them trudged their way up a set of steps to the cemetery. Bear had passed it a few times as he’d driven around town. It was the biggest within a twenty-mile radius, but it wasn’t huge. The gravestones were crammed near each other, filling the entire plot of land to the brim. There was a short wrought-iron fence around the perimeter and a plaque that read “April Meadows Cemetery” in block letters. A few trees were scattered around, along with a couple of larger headstones, but most of the markers were small and modest. The paths were skinny and winding, as though they had been an afterthought. “What’re we doing here?” Bear
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L.T. Ryan (Close to Home (Bear & Mandy Logan #1))
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am with my fiancé. He is off playing billiards. He often leaves me at parties. I can get a little lonely. But now I have found you! Perhaps we shall become bosom acquaintances.’ ‘Oh my dear, my bosom is too old to get acquainted with anyone,
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Hannah Dolby (How to Solve Murders Like a Lady)
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You can live with unhappiness, but bitterness will kill you.
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Richard Osman (We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1))