Broken Ground Quotes

“Her anger was a memory now. She didn't believe in bearing grudges.
She believed in killing them where they lay.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“them”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“It was a busy time of day in Aleppo. Parents stopping by for a coffee on the way to picking up the kids from school; the self-employed sneaking out for a break from their own four walls; a quartet of pensioners who met every day to while away an hour playing dominos; and the Syrian refugees who had nowhere else to go that had the feel of home. There wasn’t a free table, and Karen ended up on a stool at the counter. She wasn’t in the mood for more coffee, so she ordered a sparkling water and a couple of ma’amoul. Amena served her, gesturing to the star-shaped pastries studded with almonds and sesame seeds. ‘Fresh baked this afternoon,’ she said. ‘Dates or figs?’ Amena smiled. ‘Dates, how you like them.’ Karen bit into the pastry and savoured the burst of flavour that filled her mouth. ‘Oh, that’s the business,”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“Art is always an exchange, like love, whose giving and taking can be a complex and wounding matter, according to Michelangelo. Ali Smith, Artful”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“So few women made it to the top of the tree and for every one of them who understood the importance of solidarity, there was one ready with an axe to chop any other contender off at the knees. It wasn’t just lonely at the top. Sometimes it was lonely all the way from the ground up. She held her arms out at her sides and gave her hands and wrists a good shake. The physical action made her feel as if she’d shucked off the encounter with the Dog Biscuit. She knew it wasn’t that simple and that it would return to plague her later, but for now, she’d parked those complicated emotions. She was an investigator; time she did some investigating. Jason was out in the field trying to track down camper van records from 1995. The least she could do was try to come at the case from a different angle.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“She didn’t believe in bearing grudges. She believed in killing them where they lay.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“Once you lose touch, it’s easy for it to stay lost.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“My body’s a temple to a different god from hers.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“Right now, there are far more descendants of the Scottish diaspora scattered around the world than there are living in Scotland.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“to do with the map. Still, better safe than sorry. He stuck the map and the letter back into the envelope and put it in his inside pocket. A quick reconnaissance revealed the cottage had a back door leading to a tiny yard which in turn gave on to a narrow lane that led back towards the river. Far less chance of being spotted than if he went out the front door. In less than a minute, he was walking along the bank of the Coquet, a man with nothing more on his mind than a riverside stroll on a pleasant morning. Nobody would have guessed how bitter was his disappointment. 50 2018 – Edinburgh”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground

“suit. As he spoke, the door opened on a young man who looked like he’d spent much of his life in front of a mirror. His hair was immaculately shaped, held in place by the kind of product urban barbershops made their profits from. His goatee was trimmed and groomed with the same precision.”
― Val McDermid, Broken Ground