The rest of the band faded down to almost nothing while my…

“He was from Yorkshire, or somewhere like that, and like many Northerners with issues, he'd moved to London as a cheap alternative to psychotherapy.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“There’s always a secret door,” I said. “That’s why you always need a thief in your party.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

This I know for a fact: the reason African women have children is so that there's someone else to do the housework.

— Ben Aaronovitch

It's a sad fact of modern life that if you drive long enough, sooner or later you must leave London behind.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“The mark was from the glue that once held a folder into which a library card would have fitted back in the day when…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Right from the start Abigail used to moan and fidget as her hair was relaxed or braided or thermally reconditioned, but her dad was…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“My mum translated this in her head to "witchfinder," which was good because like most West Africans, she considered witchfinding a more respectable profession…

— Ben Aaronovitch

What do you think you're doing?

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Peter Grant,’ I said. ‘Recent arrival, slacker and man of very little fame.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Fuck me,' I said to Toby. 'We're living in Isengard.”

— Ben Aaronovitch

Coffee arrived and the espresso was excellent, like an aromatic electric fence.

— Ben Aaronovitch

“Something round and dirty and white was resting near my foot. It was a skull. I picked it up. ‘Is that you, Nicholas?’ I…

— Ben Aaronovitch

The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. They like to imagine tense conversations going on behind…

— Ben Aaronovitch

“I left in a hurry before he could change his mind, but I want to make it clear that at no point did I…

— Ben Aaronovitch

You know, your species [humans] has the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched only by its ingenuity in trying to destroy itself.

— Ben Aaronovitch