"Abdullah: "Tell me about this Wizard Howl of yours."
Sophie: "He's the best wizard in Ingary or anywhere else. If he'd only had time, he would have defeated that djinn. And he's sly and selfish and vain as a peacock and cowardly, and you can't pin him down to anything."
Abdullah: "Indeed? Strange that you should speak so proudly such a list of vices, most loving of ladies."
Sophie: "What do you mean, vices? I was just describing Howl. He comes from another world entirely, you know, called Wales, and I refuse to believe he's dead!""
— Diana Wynne Jones (Castle in the Air)

""Another dead body. Every year it is the same. Every year, another dead body..."
"
— Elizabeth Peters (Lion in the Valley)

"I don't think she realized how much she cared for him, or he for her, until the end. Hasn't someone said a woman may be known by the men who love her enough to die for her? (If they haven't, I claim the credit myself.)"
— Elizabeth Peters (The Ape Who Guards the Balance)

"The cat Horus shot out from under the table and headed for the door, his ears flattened and his tail straight out. There he encountered Abdullah, who had been waiting for us on the verandah and who had, I supposed, been alarmed by Emerson's shouts and hurried to discover what disaster had prompted them. The cat got entangled in Abdullah's skirts and a brief interval of staggering (by Abdullah), scratching (by Horus) and swearing (by both parties) ensued before Horus freed himself and departed. "
— Elizabeth Peters (The Ape Who Guards the Balance)