A Suitable Vengeance Quotes
"Tina Cogin knew how to make the most of what little she had. She liked to believe it was a natural talent."
"Some floors above the rumble of nighttime traffic, her naked silhouette gargoyled against the wall of her half-darkened room."
"Chuckling at her talent for self-deprecation, she went to the chest of drawers and affectionately appraised her collection of underwear."
"She savoured the sensation—it felt just like a lover’s caress—and heightened her own pleasure by running her hands from ankles to calves to thighs to hips."
"Tina knew that some things ultimately pay for themselves."
"After that experience, sharing so much as a wash basin with another human being had been inconceivable to her."
"A profusion of jet beadwork decorated its bodice. It was a Knightsbridge creation whose cost—mounting on all the other calls upon her finances—had finally precluded the indulgence of travel by taxi for the rest of the summer."
"On Bateman Street, a short distance from the square, she saw the sign she was looking for, swinging above a malodorous Italian restaurant."
"As always, before heading towards Praed Street, she glanced fondly at the smooth stone exterior of her own building, her eyes gliding over the words Shrewsbury Court Apartments which served as epigraph above the double front doors."
"Admitting need would be a step towards admitting addiction. And he wasn’t addicted."
"He was merely an interesting face on which every single feature seemed to argue with all the others to dominate the bony skull beneath it."
"The narrow brass bed that had been hers from childhood stood near the window."
"Scarred tables furnished it, as did tall stools, microscopes, computers, and a variety of equipment for studying everything from blood to bullets."
"The world as she knew it was taking on a new shape."
"The front door slamming far below saved her from having to speak at all."
"Her expression shifted quickly from welcome to surprise, however, and it was only after a fractional hesitation that she stepped back from the door to admit him."
"Living in a void. Living in hell. Are you pleased to know it? Are you satisfied now? Missing you. Wanting you. It was torture. A disease."
"Deborah started to speak, a fist at her lips, as if she were seeking the first horrified words of apology. But St. James felt beyond hearing another word."
"Her words knifed the air, every nightmare come to life."
"Nothing mattered at all, save the need to escape."
"For three years, he had indeed not sent her a message, not a single letter, not a sign of any kind."
"Let me tell you about swans, he had said. When they choose a mate, they choose once and for life."
"What possible triumph had she managed to achieve beyond a brief and blinding vengeance that had as its fountainhead his complete humiliation?"
"Still and all, he was something with it. Master manipulator, king of the world."
"He knew what it meant. But he needed them in Cornwall for Cotter’s sake."
"It was time to join her, Lynley decided. They needed to talk."
"He savoured her presence. Even more, he savoured the fact that she was home."
"Instead, everyone concentrated on passing round platters of prawn salad, cold chicken, asparagus, and artichokes gribiche while completely overlooking the two empty chairs that faced one another at the far end of the table."
"His gaze was fixed on the distant stables where a young man jumped nimbly over the dry stone wall and came across the park at a jog. The sun wove streaks of colour against him as he passed in and out of the shade of the trees."
"I’ve just had lots of practice. You both did great."
"Fast childhood friends, Mark and Peter were of an age. They had spent long years in each other’s company, sharing games and toys and adventures along the Cornish coast."
"Pride was at issue between them, along with anger and guilt and the need to blame."
"Everything about Nancy Cambrey suggested just that sort of destruction. She looked faded, used up, overwashed, overworn."
"I count the Bible as largely responsible for the sinful life."
"Have you any idea what a compliment it is to be enthroned—there’s simply no other word for it, Deborah—in Great-Grandmama Asherton’s bedroom for your engagement weekend?"
"He could see that the blinds in the estate office had been drawn against the afternoon sun. But he had no doubt John Penellin was waiting behind them."
"The early morning air felt damp and cool at last, and the stillness of night amplified the distant sound of the sea."
"Murder doesn’t sound like Mark. Opportunism does."
"I doubt it’s changed much since I was a boy. And then, believe me, there were few enough secrets that the entire population didn’t know."
"A man who liked women, controversy, and practical jokes just about equally."
"Good men have been driven to violence before."
"It’s a possibility. I got the impression that Mick felt it was a significant piece."
"Men relax after intercourse. They feel more important. They let down their guard. They become more honest."
"The implicit message was unavoidable: She had nothing more to tell them."
"A few seasons abandoned and roofs cave in, beams rot, floors disintegrate."
"Whore, are you crazy? Or just so itchy that anyone will do?"
"You’ll be sorry! I’ll make you sorry! I’ll make both of you sorry. I will!"
"Mick’s been here more recently than last April, Tommy,"
"The worst nightmare of a genteel society: Which fork do I use when I eat the shrimp? The rest of life’s problems seem inconsequential by comparison."
"I’ve managed to convince myself that I’ll trip on the stairs or spill a glass of wine down the front of my dress or get caught on the tablecloth and pull off half the dishes when I get out of my chair."
"Not a blister anywhere. Not a hive in sight. As to those freckles, however…"
"The silver?" Sidney looked round from the mirror. "Oh, you mean all the forks and knives? Pooh. Unless people start throwing them, don’t give it a thought."
"Because you’d have to stop acting like such a bleeding little prig and how on earth could you ever manage it?"
"We no longer live in an age where merit is determined by one’s ability to reproduce."
"But we all of us have them. It’s the way of the world."
"What a damned lucky fellow Lord Asherton is."
"I thought it best to tell you about your brother, rather than the police. It seemed to me that you’d know what to do."