“Peter Grant,’ I said. ‘Recent arrival, slacker and man of very little fame.” — Ben Aaronovitch Slacker Copy Share Image
“Like young men from the dawn of time, I decided to choose the risk of death over certain humiliation.” — Ben Aaronovitch Death Copy Share Image
If you find yourself talking to the police, my advice is to stay calm but look guilty; it's your safest bet. — Ben Aaronovitch Advice Copy Share Image
“I think becoming a wizard is about discovering what's real and what isn't.” — Ben Aaronovitch Wizard Copy Share Image
That which does not kill us has to get up extra early in the morning if it wants to get us next… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“A civilizáció és bürokrácia egy másik kulcsfontosságú jellemzője a tehetetlenség.” — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“There’s always a secret door,” I said. “That’s why you always need a thief in your party.” — Ben Aaronovitch Thief Copy Share Image
Coffee arrived and the espresso was excellent, like an aromatic electric fence. — Ben Aaronovitch Coffee Copy Share Image
The motto of West African cooking is that if the food doesn't set fire to the tablecloth the cook is being stingy… — Ben Aaronovitch Cooking Copy Share Image
“You'll need lots of chips to go with that lot." "And salt too, ha ha." "Ha ha." "We aren't going around to… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“I think you’re going to find Marcus Aurelius particularly useful.’ ‘For what?’ I asked. Nightingale hesitated. ‘Quoting, mainly,’ he said. ‘And thus… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“Hyde Park Corner is what happens when a bunch of urban planners take one look at the grinding circle of gridlock that… — Ben Aaronovitch City Copy Share Image
The clever people at CERN are smashing particles together in the hope that Doctor Who will turn up and tell them to… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“I texted Nightingale to let him know our change in disposition and then I picked up my Pliny, because nothing says stuck… — Ben Aaronovitch Change Copy Share Image
“The bungalow was a hideous red-brick structure built, if I had to guess, in the early 1980s by some hack architect who’d… — Ben Aaronovitch Architecture Copy Share Image
“We'd considered wearing uniform but Lesley said, what with her mask and everything, she'd look like a plastic cop monster from Doctor… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“I suspected Molly wanted the pictures to send to her friends on Twitter and Facebook, the ones that I was not supposed… — Ben Aaronovitch Friendship Copy Share Image
“She had the startled-rabbit look that civilians get after five minutes of helping the police with their inquiries. If they stay calm… — Ben Aaronovitch Guilty Copy Share Image
“We decided to go back to basics and put the frighteners on some snouts." "Really?" "We adopted a proactive intelligence-gathering policy utilising… — Ben Aaronovitch Bureaucracy Copy Share Image
“Fish and chip night was a Kumar family tradition that dated back to when Jaget was courting his wife and they used… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
Landscaping is the great cardinal sin of modern architecture. It's not your garden, it's not a park - it's a formless patch… — Ben Aaronovitch Architecture Copy Share Image
“The Metropolitan Police has a very straightforward approach to murder investigations, not for them the detective’s gut instinct or the intricate logical… — Ben Aaronovitch Gut instinct Copy Share Image
Despite my mum being from a small village in the middle of a forest, I'm not a country person. I don't like… — Ben Aaronovitch Bacon Copy Share Image
“I'd been too intent on the room to hear her coming up the stairs. Leslie said that the capacity not to notice… — Ben Aaronovitch Dance Copy Share Image
“When I was a kid I used to drink from the tap all the time. I'd run back into the flat all… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“The railway hit Harrow on the Hill in 1880 and it’s been downhill ever since, culminating in one of those formless red… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“MY DAD says that being a Londoner has nothing to do with where you’re born. He says that there are people who… — Ben Aaronovitch Londoners Copy Share Image
“Ghosts, I was thinking, memories - I wasn't sure there was a difference.” — Ben Aaronovitch Ghosts Copy Share Image
Somebody doesn't know they're not in Kansas anymore,' said Stephanopoulos. — Ben Aaronovitch Kansas Copy Share Image
“It’s strictly constables, sergeants, and lunatics. We’ll keep the kettle on for you.” — Ben Aaronovitch Police Copy Share Image
“We were aiming for a cross between Kafka and Orwell, which just goes to show how dangerous it can be when your… — Ben Aaronovitch Humor Copy Share Image
“culminating in one of those formless red brick shopping centres which artfully combines a complete lack of aesthetic quality with a total… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
When you're a boy your life can be measured out as a series of uncomfortable conversations reluctantly initiated by adults in an… — Ben Aaronovitch Adults Copy Share Image
“Your ghost,' she said, 'Nicholas Nickleby. Do you think he might still be at the crime scene?' 'How should I know?' I… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“The rest of the band faded down to almost nothing while my dad did his best Bill Evans impression — except hopefully… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“Which meant I spent my spare time learning theory, studying dead languages and reading books like Essays on The Metaphysical by John… — Ben Aaronovitch Books Copy Share Image
The first rule about a black woman’s hair is you don’t talk about a black woman’s hair. And the second rule is… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“which artfully combines a complete lack of aesthetic quality with a total disregard for the utilitarian function for which it is built.” — Ben Aaronovitch Beauty Copy Share Image
It's a police mantra that all members of the public are guilty of something, but some members of the public are more… — Ben Aaronovitch Guilty Copy Share Image
