“We late-lamented, resting here, Are mixed to human jam, And each to each exclaims in fear, ‘I know not which I am!’ ” —Thomas Hardy, “The Levelled Churchyard,” 1882”
―
Deborah Crombie,
To Dwell in Darkness
“She watched as he put a few ice cubes in a heavy glass, then expertly curled a strip of grapefruit rind from one of the fruits in a bowl on the bar top. "This must be a favorite," she commented, nodding at the supply of grapefruit nestled in the bowl along with the usual lemons and limes.He poured a generous measure from the black bottle and handed it to her with a cocktail napkin. "See for yourself."Gemma wasn't in the habit of drinking gin neat, so she sniffed, then took a tentative sip. The flavors exploded in her mouth- coriander and juniper and lime and... grapefruit. "Oh, wow," she said, when her eyes stopped watering. "That is amazing. I'm converted.” ― Deborah Crombie, A Bitter Feast
“summit of Notting Hill, across the street from the faded elegance of St. John’s Church. Once Dawn had loved this Victorian house with its pale yellow stucco, its superbly proportioned rooms and beautiful appointments, and for a moment she mourned the passing of such an innocent pleasure. Tonight the windows were dark as she turned into the drive, the blank panes mirroring her car lights. She had managed to beat Karl home, then; she would have a few minutes’ respite. Turning off the engine, she reached for her parcels, then paused, squeezing her eyes shut.” ― Deborah Crombie, And Justice There Is None
“After a moment, Callery shrugged. “We’ll go in, then, the two of us, with Weeping Myrtle here.” He nodded towards the café. “It’s Moaning Myrtle,” Kincaid corrected, feeling a flicker of surprise at Callery’s Harry Potter reference. He didn’t seem the fantasy type. And somehow he couldn’t imagine that this man had kids.” ― Deborah Crombie, To Dwell in Darkness
“You can only do things one day at a time, sport. Sometimes life is so bloody that's the only way you can get through it. But the good bit about living one day at a time is that when nice things happen, you enjoy them more than people who are always thinking about the past or the future.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“support,” he added, gesturing at his ankle,” ― Deborah Crombie, To Dwell in Darkness
“realized he wasn’t the one” ― Deborah Crombie, Water Like a Stone
“He said the words flatly, with an ease born of years of practice, yet it still amazed him that such simple sentences could contain such betrayal.” ― Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green
“Kincaid wondered what universal formula required that a person should sit down to receive bad news. Was it merely a precaution against fainting or falling, or had it become a kind of foreshadowing, effective in easing the shock?” ― Deborah Crombie, A Share in Death
“Gemma searched for a moment, then gave a laugh” ― Deborah Crombie, Water Like a Stone
“… to the great Spirit and Fountain of life, all things, in both space and time, must be present … action, once begun, never ceases … thus the past is always present, although, for the purpose of fitting us for this mortal life, our ordinary senses are so constituted as to be unperceptive of these phenomena.—CATHERINE CROWE,FROM THE NIGHT-SIDE OF NATURE” ― Deborah Crombie, A Finer End
“jutting bosom, and closer acquaintance had done nothing” ― Deborah Crombie, Dreaming of the Bones
“to part with it, that is,” Otto added with a twinkle born of long association with dealers.” ― Deborah Crombie, And Justice There Is None
“Friends come and go, Lewis, but the things you learn will always be yours, to use as you will.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“I’ve always thought that exceptional beauty was as great an affliction as any physical handicap—perhaps more so. It is so difficult for the beautiful person, male or female, to develop a good character, isn’t it? The odds are stacked against them from the start.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“London? Funny way to spend a holiday, if you ask” ― Deborah Crombie, A Finer End
“Men often substitute anger for grief, because anger is the only emotion they’re taught it’s acceptable to feel.” ― Deborah Crombie, Dreaming of the Bones
“still” ― Deborah Crombie, A Bitter Feast
“It’s fashionable these days to pooh-pooh the Golden Age crime novel as trivial and unrealistic, but that was not the case at all. It was their stand against chaos. The conflicts were intimate, rather than global, and justice, order and retribution always prevailed. They desperately needed that reassurance. Did you know that Britain lost nearly a third of its young men between 1914 and 1918? Yet that war didn’t physically threaten us in the same way as the next—it stayed safely on the European Front.” ― Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green
“She watched as he put a few ice cubes in a heavy glass, then expertly curled a strip of grapefruit rind from one of the fruits in a bowl on the bar top. "This must be a favorite," she commented, nodding at the supply of grapefruit nestled in the bowl along with the usual lemons and limes.He poured a generous measure from the black bottle and handed it to her with a cocktail napkin. "See for yourself."Gemma wasn't in the habit of drinking gin neat, so she sniffed, then took a tentative sip. The flavors exploded in her mouth- coriander and juniper and lime and... grapefruit. "Oh, wow," she said, when her eyes stopped watering. "That is amazing. I'm converted.” ― Deborah Crombie, A Bitter Feast
“summit of Notting Hill, across the street from the faded elegance of St. John’s Church. Once Dawn had loved this Victorian house with its pale yellow stucco, its superbly proportioned rooms and beautiful appointments, and for a moment she mourned the passing of such an innocent pleasure. Tonight the windows were dark as she turned into the drive, the blank panes mirroring her car lights. She had managed to beat Karl home, then; she would have a few minutes’ respite. Turning off the engine, she reached for her parcels, then paused, squeezing her eyes shut.” ― Deborah Crombie, And Justice There Is None
“After a moment, Callery shrugged. “We’ll go in, then, the two of us, with Weeping Myrtle here.” He nodded towards the café. “It’s Moaning Myrtle,” Kincaid corrected, feeling a flicker of surprise at Callery’s Harry Potter reference. He didn’t seem the fantasy type. And somehow he couldn’t imagine that this man had kids.” ― Deborah Crombie, To Dwell in Darkness
“You can only do things one day at a time, sport. Sometimes life is so bloody that's the only way you can get through it. But the good bit about living one day at a time is that when nice things happen, you enjoy them more than people who are always thinking about the past or the future.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“support,” he added, gesturing at his ankle,” ― Deborah Crombie, To Dwell in Darkness
“realized he wasn’t the one” ― Deborah Crombie, Water Like a Stone
“He said the words flatly, with an ease born of years of practice, yet it still amazed him that such simple sentences could contain such betrayal.” ― Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green
“Kincaid wondered what universal formula required that a person should sit down to receive bad news. Was it merely a precaution against fainting or falling, or had it become a kind of foreshadowing, effective in easing the shock?” ― Deborah Crombie, A Share in Death
“Gemma searched for a moment, then gave a laugh” ― Deborah Crombie, Water Like a Stone
“… to the great Spirit and Fountain of life, all things, in both space and time, must be present … action, once begun, never ceases … thus the past is always present, although, for the purpose of fitting us for this mortal life, our ordinary senses are so constituted as to be unperceptive of these phenomena.—CATHERINE CROWE,FROM THE NIGHT-SIDE OF NATURE” ― Deborah Crombie, A Finer End
“jutting bosom, and closer acquaintance had done nothing” ― Deborah Crombie, Dreaming of the Bones
“to part with it, that is,” Otto added with a twinkle born of long association with dealers.” ― Deborah Crombie, And Justice There Is None
“Friends come and go, Lewis, but the things you learn will always be yours, to use as you will.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“I’ve always thought that exceptional beauty was as great an affliction as any physical handicap—perhaps more so. It is so difficult for the beautiful person, male or female, to develop a good character, isn’t it? The odds are stacked against them from the start.” ― Deborah Crombie, Kissed a Sad Goodbye
“London? Funny way to spend a holiday, if you ask” ― Deborah Crombie, A Finer End
“Men often substitute anger for grief, because anger is the only emotion they’re taught it’s acceptable to feel.” ― Deborah Crombie, Dreaming of the Bones
“still” ― Deborah Crombie, A Bitter Feast
“It’s fashionable these days to pooh-pooh the Golden Age crime novel as trivial and unrealistic, but that was not the case at all. It was their stand against chaos. The conflicts were intimate, rather than global, and justice, order and retribution always prevailed. They desperately needed that reassurance. Did you know that Britain lost nearly a third of its young men between 1914 and 1918? Yet that war didn’t physically threaten us in the same way as the next—it stayed safely on the European Front.” ― Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green
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