J.R. Ellis > Quotes

“We should never judge, really; we never know the full circumstances and it’s easy to become”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“Think, Carter. Use the “little grey cells”, as Agatha Christie’s Poirot says in the stories. All the great detectives spent time reflecting on the case. Remember Sherlock Holmes playing his violin far into the night.’ ‘And injecting himself with cocaine?’ interjected Steph. ‘You won’t be doing that, will you, sir?’ she asked cheekily. ‘No,’ replied Oldroyd. ‘The similarities between myself and Conan Doyle’s creation are few, apart from our brilliantly perceptive minds.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“this had originally been the HQ of the famous Halifax Building Society, before mutuality had largely been abandoned in the greedy years since Thatcher. Carter smiled at his boss’s political reference but it meant little to him; he couldn’t remember the time before Thatcher.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Quartet Murders

“Who said that a well-educated person was not someone who knew the answer to every question, but someone who knew where to find the answer?”
― J.R. Ellis

“Well, in those days, and I think Steph was probably the same – I used to believe that criminals were evil people. “Catch and lock ’em up” was my attitude. But you’ve taught us to think differently: that people who do bad things are mostly damaged themselves and maybe they were trapped in circumstances where another person might have behaved in the same way. Something pushed them over the edge. You know what I mean, sir?”
― J.R. Ellis, The Brewery Murders

“meetings, health and safety, catering, training and maintenance. Skilled professionals were involved, such as the capable woman before them now. He imagined that disagreements between the practical, business-oriented people like her and the romantic enthusiasts might be a common occurrence. ‘Would you say the atmosphere amongst the staff and supporters at the railway is good at the”
― J.R. Ellis, The Railway Murders

“It’s always important not to easily accept what you’re told, or sometimes what appears to be before your eyes. Magicians misdirect you into thinking something is real when it isn’t.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Brewery Murders

“There’s nothing the ghoulish public like more than gawping at the scene of a murder.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“hair. ‘Police,’ announced Andy. ‘We’re”
― J.R. Ellis, The Otley Murders

“The villagers were used to pothole rescues and the occasional accidental death. Murder was a different matter, especially of a man known as the local rogue. This was no outsider’s crime where the body had been brought in and dumped. This, in all likelihood, had been committed by one of them.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“They’re still doing it nearly twelve hundred years later and claim not to have ever missed a night.’ ‘How many times is that, then, sir?”
― J.R. Ellis, The Murder at Redmire Hall

“who’d known her boss a long time and had learned to read his moods.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Nidderdale Murders

“paucity”
― J.R. Ellis, The Quartet Murders

“injuries”
― J.R. Ellis, Murder at St Anne's

“We should never judge, really; we never know the full circumstances and it’s easy to become self-righteous. We should always think: “There but for the grace of God”.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“And though she be but little she is fierce.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Royal Baths Murder

“It hasn’t been easy.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Murder at Redmire Hall

“clothes, was damp and when Oldroyd”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“You don’t go around accusing people of murder without being pretty certain of your ground.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“How dreary-swift with naught to travel to is time?”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“Police were like the rest of officialdom generally: they interfered with your work and made things difficult with their regulations and bureaucracy.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“he’d”
― J.R. Ellis, The Whitby Murders

“Surrounding it was an awesome landscape, indifferent to human affairs.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“Power structures were always the same: everyone gets kicked by the people above them and then kicks the person below, especially in an organisation like the police force where rank is all-important.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“but murder:”
― J.R. Ellis, The Body in the Dales

“Iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve”
― J.R. Ellis, The Royal Baths Murder

“nightmare”
― J.R. Ellis, The Nidderdale Murders

“followed me out. There was an”
― J.R. Ellis, The Railway Murders

“gantry”
― J.R. Ellis, The Quartet Murders

“Those years of neglect couldn’t be changed, and he wondered how many more men of his generation had missed their children growing up due to an obsession with their job.”
― J.R. Ellis, The Nidderdale Murders