“Statistics show that the nature of English crime is reverting to its oldest habits. In a country where so many desire status and wealth, petty annoyances can spark disproportionately violent behaviour. We become frustrated because we feel powerless, invisible, unheard. We crave celebrity, but that’s not easy to come by, so we settle for notoriety. Envy and bitterness drive a new breed of lawbreakers, replacing the old motives of poverty and the need for escape. But how do you solve crimes which no longer have traditional motives?”

“My father Bill had a problem with Christmas. Although he appears in old photographs to possess a whippy, muscular frame, he was actually a frail man and usually managed to cause some kind of drama just before the festivities began.”

“His unique skill had always been to absorb the talents and knowledge of others, use what he needed and discard the rest. He never allowed anyone to get to close. He kept the world at arm's length in order to look down on it.”

“Yes, he wanted to do the right thing, but perhaps this time the right thing was something different.”

“Life is a very beautiful dream, he thought. I'm so glad I chose not to wake up from it just yet.”

“I hate the endless admonishments of a nanny state that lives in fear of its lawyers. While colonies of dim-witted traffic wardens swarm about looking for minor parking infringements, nobody seems to notice that our very social fabric is falling apart.”

“What humanity wants most is crude sensation.Really? I thought what humanity wanted most was dignity.”

“The Victorians lost a few workers in everything they built, rather like a votive offering.”

“The clouds of night opened like ink blossoming in water.”

“She had a smile that could put a froth on a cup of coffee, and she knew it.”

“It was true that the city could still throw shadows filled with mystifying figures from its past, whose grip on the present could be felt on certain strange days, when the streets were dark with rain and harmful ideas.”