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"It's a great comfort for him having Mr. Bateman. Such an earnest young man - and so conscientious." "Marvellously conscientious," agreed Jimmy. "Oswald thinks a lot of Mr. Bateman's judgment. He says that Mr. Bateman is always right." "That was one of his worst characteristics years ago," said Jimmy feelingly. Lady Coote looked slightly puzzled.

"I'm not. I'm what's called a thoroughly nice girl." "Only to those who don't know you - who are taken in by your delusive appearance of meekness and decorum." "I like your long words." "All out of crossword puzzles."

A look of intense relief passed over Bill's face. A fatuous look settled down there instead - a look which made Bundle earnestly long to kick him.

"Shut up, you damned fool," said Jimmy. "Haven't you got any tact?" "Of course I've got tact," said Bill. "I'm a budding diplomatist. All diplomatists have tact." "Ah!" said Jimmy. "You must be still in what they call the larval stage."

The Irish Republican Army comes to NYC.

"Nothing doing. You go to bed and sleep." "Oh!" said Bundle. "That's not very exciting." "You never know," said Jimmy kindly. "You may be murdered in your sleep whilst Bill and I escape scot-free."

"Nonsense," said Lady Caterham. "I knew George Lomax when he was so high." She indicated a quite impossible height.

This is a thriller about the Irish Republican Army.

The author, Stef Penney, suffered from agoraphobia while writing this book. Although it is set in Canada, she never traveled there during the writing. She did all of her research in the libraries of Edinburgh and London.

". . . I never have thought much of the motto 'Safety First.' In my opinion half the people who spend their lives avoiding being run over by buses had much better be run over and put safely out of the way. They're no good."

When I finish this one, I intend to read the previous book in this short series ("The Secret of Chimneys") featuring Superintendent Battle.

The end is in sight. I'm coming home, Jesus!

The pain is almost over.

"Well," said Bundle. "Great Aunt Louisa died in your bed. I wonder you don't see her Spock hovering over you." "I do sometimes," said Lord Caterham, shuddering. "Especially after lobster."

"The room was empty save for his hostess, and her reproachful gaze gave Jimmy the same feeling of discomfort he always experienced on catching the eye of a defunct codfish exposed on a fishmonger's slab."

"Maria looks at him with those appraising eyes--like a farmer assessing a horse for broken wind. She'll never find a husband if she looks at all men like that, he thinks, irritated."

Coming down the home stretch (and none too soon).

Will this book ever end?

Quotable quote: "But the other vitality is still there, that rancorous, sardonic, wonderful insistence on the right to dissent, to question, to object, to raise holy hell and, in direct extremity, to laugh the self-appointed squad leaders off the face of the earth with great whoops of dirty disdainful glee. Suppress friction and a machine runs fine. Suppress friction and a society runs down." --Travis McGee