Katie Gayle > Quotes

“On a country lane, if you found yourself stuck behind a slow cow, you could just give it a sharp tap on the bum and it would move out of your way. But you couldn’t do that with a slow walker in London. Pip had discovered the hard way.”
― Katie Gayle, The Kensington Kidnap

“squeamish”
― Katie Gayle, An English Garden Murder

“It was rather like being enveloped in a very large wave and tossed about so you didn’t know which way was up, and when you finally came up for air, you were sort of dazed.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder in the Library

“Wednesday”
― Katie Gayle, An English Garden Murder

“Much as she liked Nicky, Julia found that she always came out of a conversation with her with a renewed appreciation of peace and quiet.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder on a Country Walk

“People's ability to delude themselves never failed to amaze her”
― Katie Gayle, The Museum Murder

“bought”
― Katie Gayle, Murder in the Library

“People go mad with weddings. It’s like some sort of crazy arms race – bigger, better, more elaborate. And then you factor in the pressure and the emotions…’ Julia thought about how even mild-mannered and perfectly reasonable Christopher had gone a bit Groomzilla over their big day.”
― Katie Gayle, A Country Wedding Murder

“A poet (Julia could not, just this instant, recall which poet it was) had written: ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’ The answer, it turned out, was, ‘Yes, Mr Poet, since you asked, it can be very far behind, in England, at least. So don’t get your hopes up.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder on a Country Walk

“But still, I said some horrible things. They might have been the last”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Fete Murder

“The words struck ice into Pip's heart. No! No little things, she wanted to shout. Little things are where it all unravels. Little things are where it all goes pear-shaped! Do not come here with your little things! Pip's life was a long list of disasters that had started with 'one little thing.”
― Katie Gayle, The Museum Murder

“But she was ready to embrace uncertainty, and risk disappointment.”
― Katie Gayle, A Country Wedding Murder

“It was one of those English summer days that had decided it was just going to be autumn, and there’s nothing you can do about it. She went back inside and had her lunch at the kitchen table,”
― Katie Gayle, Murder at the Inn

“Did you ask him what he was doing?’ ‘No. It’s not my business. Or is it? Maybe it is? You see, this is the sort of thing I don’t really know.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder at the Inn

“Det var en sak att köpa ett hus med ett nedgrävt lik i trädgården, men ett helt annat att köpa hus av en mördare.”
― Katie Gayle, An English Garden Murder: Julia Bird Mysteries, Book 1

“Like many a good plan, this one was foiled in the execution.”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Fete Murder

“Well, he’s a good boy, mostly. And even when he’s not he’s a dear.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder on a Country Walk

“humour”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Theatre Murder

“A large group of birders had taken over three tables of the Buttered Scone. Even Julia, a non-tweeter – or was it twitcher? – could identify them by their appearance and habits. Their colouration was distinctive. They were kitted out in sombre earthy tones of brown and green, with sensible walking shoes, also commonly brown. In the winter months, they were adorned with large puffy outer layers to protect them from the cold. In summer, long sleeves guarded against the sun. The female of the species had sensibly cut hair, all the better to spot the birds, Julia presumed. The males were often bespectacled, and even more often bearded. Further clues – and key differentiators from the more common hikers and ramblers – were the presence of high-end binoculars around the neck, and birding books stuffed into pockets or, in this case, laid on the table of the Buttered Scone.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder at the Inn

“Now, let’s see what you have in the freezer there. I honestly can’t bear the thought of making supper again. Every bloody night, isn’t it? Forever. Relentless. I mean, what kind of a system is that?”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Fete Murder

“Don't you worry about Epiphany, she's a good girl. Yes, she makes a lot of mistakes, very many indeed, and yes, there have been many, many disappointments and disasters, but at the end of the day, her many failures add up to a good girl”
― Katie Gayle, The Museum Murder

“It was her unscientific opinion that once you’ve slept with one ear open for the sound of a baby, you never quite get over it. It’s the end of your trouble-free sleep for life.”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Fete Murder

“Only the luckiest, most privileged dogs with the most generous owners get Good-Dog-Go Free-Range Gold-Dusted Unicorn-based Truffle-Dipped Treats.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder on a Country Walk

“Extreme ironing.’ ‘What?’ ‘Oh, it’s a thing, I saw it on YouTube. Ironing in remote and dangerous locations. Mountain tops and so on.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder in the Library

“It was the kind of cat that, despite being of regular proportions, seemed to channel mass from the ether, and pin you down with its weight.”
― Katie Gayle, A Village Fete Murder

“Arabella clearly had no idea how to interview a prospective employee. Pip had been to lots of interviews, and she knew that the clueless interviewers were the worst. Although in fairness, they were also the most likely to give her a job”
― Katie Gayle, The Museum Murder

“In Pip's experience, nobody was above gossip; some people were just excluded”
― Katie Gayle, The Museum Murder

“You are a wonder of efficiency, Julia,’ she told herself. Usually, she addressed her random comments to the dog, but in his absence, she talked to herself. She wasn’t sure which indicated more robust mental health.”
― Katie Gayle, Murder on a Country Walk

“Vincent”
― Katie Gayle, An English Garden Murder

“Having passed on the information she had gleaned, Julia had no further distractions to delay the inevitable and unenviable task of cleaning Jake. While she had been on the phone, the mud had dried, and she was hopeful that it might be brushed off, so she wouldn’t have to get a hosepipe or a bucket of warm water and dog shampoo. It all seemed rather exhausting, and she found herself gazing around the kitchen looking for a task to further delay the dog cleaning. If she left him outside long enough, maybe the mud would fall off on its own. He would be a self-cleaning dog, like those mysterious self-cleaning ovens.”
― Katie Gayle, A Country Wedding Murder