Crime Story Quotes

“He mixed his sacred medicines and smudged. Afterward, he sat there for a moment to allow the smoke to come into his body and spirit. This one act connected him, even if briefly, to himself and to what he believed was the spirit world. In that space he offered thanks to those who had come before him and asked for help in this world, not just for himself but for anyone who might be struggling this morning.”
― Mike Martin, Too Close For Comfort

“Saskia groaned again. She threw back her bed covers, the last vestiges of sleep leaving her. It would be evening in Lyon. Clarissa would be expecting to hear from her. A call-in at least once every 24 hours was part of several protocols Clarissa had established. The instruction at the end of the conversation, “Give the dogs a pat for me”, reassured Clarissa that all was well. Leave the words out, replace any one of the words in the sentence with another or not place a call in a 24-hour period, and Clarissa would alert authorities. In her younger years, Clarissa had served in the British army. Her experiences in those years had caused the trauma she now lived with, though she used her expertise by teaching her three partners basic self-defence, how to operate firearms and how to wield weapons. She also programmed their watches and phones to enable her to constantly track their whereabouts, explaining, “I want to know that my three charges are safe”.
Another protocol was to always check accommodation venues for listening devices. Saskia did this before calling Clarissa.
“Clarissa. Ça va?”
“What have you to report?”
― Miriam Verbeek, The Forest: A thrilling international crime novel

“What about a man in your life?” he asked, surprising me. “It’s time for you to consider that possibility, don’t you think?”
― Steven Decker, INNOCENT AGAIN: A LEGAL THRILLER

“The joey, large-eyed and gangly in the way of almost all young animals, frisked about. He – she – it (Saskia couldn’t tell what sex) batted its front paws at its mother – who straightened from her feeding with a look of resigned patience to fend off the tiny fists before reaching out and enfolding the youngster in her arms. The joey melted into her embrace, touching its nose against her mouth. Saskia took several photos, letting out a small “oooh!” at the cuteness of the interaction. The youngster hopped away and leapt into the air with twists that could be for no other reason than the joy of doing them. Suddenly, it returned to the doe and, once again, interrupted her grazing by thrusting its head into her pouch.”
― Miriam Verbeek, The Forest: A thrilling international crime novel

“Stepping back, Anika smiled at her prisoners and clicked open the Zippo. Its flame hopped to life. Wasting no time, she underhand-tossed the lighter through the air. It hit the middle of its target, and the banner exploded into flames. ”
― Chad Boudreaux, Homecoming Queen

“Quite," Detective Vidal pronounced as though he'd learned his English in a British finishing school. "Even Madame Rachel, who sat right beside, could not tell.”
― Theasa Tuohy, Mademoiselle le Sleuth

“She wore her fear like armor, polished and invisible.”
― Yarro Rai, Vice and Virtue

“Anna how could you?” Mary’s fists waved about as if underwater. “You’ve made an A.I. Dee? Are you insane? The damage that man has caused, his criminal nature, how could you? He murdered Agnes, his own mother, for god’s sake.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders