Nooks & Crannies Quotes

“It's dreadfully tiresome to keep one's true self hidden" -Hattie”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“I know names aren’t important. It’s the person behind them.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“If you want to know the true personality of a person, Tibbs, never go by how they treat you. Go by how they treat the butler and the maid.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“If only life were a book, and I could choose precisely what part I played.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Because spite could be a slow poison to the heart. If there was a lesson to be learned from Hattie, it was that forgiveness was a blessing. It would be a hard, stubborn thing to harbor ill feelings forever, even toward those who deserved it...”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“A man needs but two things: a reliable moral compass to guide him and a strong dose of integrity to see him through all manner of troubles," Pensive said, raising his untensil with a wink. Tibbs stared doubtfully at the fork and said, "That not integrity. That's boiled potato with cream sauce." Pensive paused before answering, taking a delicate bite and dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "Nary a whit of difference, Tibbs, " he said decidedly. "Nary a whit.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“The trouble with disagreeable people, Tibbs, is that the majority of them seem to be either one's direct relations or part of one's daily job. Present company excluded, of course" -Inspector Percival Pensive”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“It was an exact fit, and for the briefest of moments, she had the odd wish that she could be key-shaped and could find a space where she fit so perfectly.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Family, it seemed, was not always a matter of who one was born to or even who one's parents were. A person's *family*, Tabitha realized, was the thing that held them up, so that life could still be illuminated in the darkest of times. A family member could be a mouse. A family member could be an Inspector that nobody would ever meet outside that pages of a novel. Depending on the circumstance, a family member might even be discovered in a person you just met.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“In fact, if there was one thing Tabitha had learned from the weekend thus far, it was that people had all sorts of facades about them, covering tucked-away bits of badness and goodness. Fear and courage. Helplessness and hope.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Stressful situations cause alterations in behavior that reveal true character, Tibbs. If a person gradually begins acting like someone else altogether, you may very well find that they *are* someone else altogether" -Inspector Percival Pensive”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“The very rich and those who long to be so, Tibbs, are often odd birds, who only dirty their cages when others aren’t looking. Astonishingly foul, the habits some people keep secret. —”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Love, Tabitha Crum, is to be earned, not given away to just anyone like a festering case of fleas. She”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“A proper guardian wants only health and happiness for their child, even if that means they stray from the paths we try to set for them. A lesson learned too late for me, due to a mistake I don't intend to repeat. Some parents try to create small versions of themselves - a ploy at an extended life, I suppose. But a child is ultimately and always their own person with their own choices. (pg. 313)”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Tabitha stared at him. "Oliver, do you think your mother and father love you? Do they tell you that?"

He looked embarrassed. "Yes, of course."

Wiping a hand on the side of her apron, Tabitha tapped a finger to Oliver's temple so that her words would stick. "Then they are perfect parents, no matter their shortcomings in understanding. (pg. 222)”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Could life change you and turn you cold without your permission? Or was it a matter of whether you let it?”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“...don't let anyone tell you that you're a dirty thing. Or an unwanted thing. Or a useless thing, do you hear me? (pg. 150)”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“And she meant it. If there was one thing that kept Tabitha Crum going during the days and brought her comfort throughout nights, it was a flicker of hope that she kept burning despite her misfortunes. It was a small hope really.

It was the hope that life could and deserved to be better for her. It was a hope that one day, wherever that version of her life was, it would present itself in a way that allowed her to leap and cling and claim it so adamantly that it could never let her go or push her away. (pg. 23-24)”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Do you know, I was rather excited about this whole weekend, and now I can't wait to get home. Feed the cats, write school papers. That sort of thing."
Tabitha said nothing. She had no home to return to.
"Don't you want to go home? That's right, though, you said you would be leaving the country."
"Just my parents are leaving. I'm orphanage bound," Tabitha told him, studying the kitchen tiles. "I'm to be a washer girl at Augustus Home."
"A washer girl?" Oliver blinked, incredulous. "You can't mean it."
Tabitha kept her eyes focused on the red squares, observing how they fit neatly together to form a single unit of floor. Her parents had taken away her ability to fit in anywhere. She felt the boiling sensation in her belly again, and she finally recognized it. It wasn't sadness or fear or guilt. It was anger, and it wanted very badly to be released.
"No, I don't believe you." Oliver shook his head. "Nobody is that horrible."
"They are," Tabitha affirmed quietly. "They are horrible, horrible people and even worse parents." She stared at him in wonder, letting a hot rush course through her. "Do you know that's the first time I've said that aloud?" Her heartbeat quickened. "And I think perhaps they deserve my disfavor. They've earned it, the same way I tried for years to earn their love.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“You want us to love you, is that right? Love, Tabitha Crum, is to be earned, not given away to just anyone like a festering case of fleas.
She'd been seven when her mother had made the comparison of love and irritable itching. Tabitha remembered the statement quite well because it was the same year children at school had suddenly gotten it in their heads that she had a case of head lice. That had been a difficult time and nobody had gotten close to Tabitha since. Of course, with the addition of a pet mouse over the last year, her lack of friendship could perhaps be further explained by the misapprehension that she spoke to herself. Pemberley was a most excellent consultant in all matters, but he tended to stay out of sight, so Tabitha could somewhat understand the slanderous comments.
Or it might have been the unfortunate, uneven unattractive, blunt-scissored haircut her mother was so fond of giving her.
Or it could have been the simple truth that making friends can be an awkward and a difficult thing when it's a one-sided endeavor and you've a pet mouse and you've been painted as odd and quiet and shy, when really you're just a bit misunderstood.
In any case, nobody at St. John's seemed lacking for companionship except her. But Tabitha reminded herself that there were far worse things than not having friends. In fact, she often made a game of listing far worse things:
• eating the contents of a sneeze
• creatures crawling into her ear holes.
• losing a body part (Though that one was debatable depending on the part. An ear or small toe might be worth a friend or two.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“The Times
Exclusive Reveal of Windermere Six
Thanks to an anonymous source, the Times is pleased to share an exclusive list of the six children who were transported yesterday evening to Hollingsworth Hall, the magnificent and secluded home of Camilla Lenore DeMoss, the Countess of Windermere. They are, in no particular order:
Oliver Appleby: Heir to the Appleby Jewelry fortune. This young chap is known to be an excellent student who also excels at rowing and cricket.
Viola Dale: The Dales are well known throughout London for their dedication to social reform and relief for those in distress. Young Viola has been a presence on the charitable event circuit since the age of two.
Frances Wellington: Miss Wellington's parents are internationally known art collectors who have an impeccable eye for up-and-coming talent in sculpture and painting. They also delve into gems of historical value. Frances is privately tutored, and her deliciously expensive introduction to London society is already being buzzed about.
Barnaby Trundle: Young Barnaby attends school in South London. His father works in the textile industry. One of his teachers says Barnaby is "occasionally quick-tempered with other boys in his form."
Edward Herringbone: The Herringbones are close acquaintances with the aforementioned Dales, their own admirable interests lying mainly in reducing poverty by increasing educational opportunities. Edward has been called "an indubitable library of a boy" by one of his teaching masters at St. Stephen's.
Tabitha Crum: Miss Crum's father is employed by the Wilting Bank of South London. A neighbor of the family says that the lucky child "talks to herself" and calls the Crums "socially famished.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“There are only three motives for all crimes. Tibbs: money, power, and love. Sometimes those things get muddled together, of course, and you could argue that hunger is a bloody good motivator as well, but one might lump that in with love of self or love of others or love of food, and---well, never mind all that. Pass the pickled radishes. - Inspector Percival Pensive, The Case of the Gilded Guardian”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“A person's family, Tabitha realized, was the thing that held them up, so that life could still be illuminated in the darkest of times. A family member could be a mouse. A family member could be an Inspector that nobody would ever meet outside the pages of a novel. Depending on the circumstance, a family member might even be discovered in a person you just met.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“... whenever you were in a fix or at a crossroads in an investigation, there were always two choices: to do nothing and worry, or to take some sort of action and deal with its associated risks.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“Though the rain had pitter-pattered, then pelted the carriages during the drive had stopped, the ground was wet and boggy, sucking at feet as though hoping to keep anyone from ever leaving the estate.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“The horses came to an abrupt halt, jolting the children so that they were torn from their seats and flung together like trapped trout.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies

“When hope has left your side, carry on with the assumption that it simply went to fetch a quick bite to eat and will return shortly.”
― Jessica Lawson, Nooks & Crannies