“We were aiming for a cross between Kafka and Orwell, which just goes to show how dangerous it can be when your police officers are better read than you are.” — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. They like to imagine tense conversations going on behind the venetian blinds and unshaven, but ruggedly handsome, detectives working themselves with single-minded devotion into the bottle and marital breakdown. The truth is that at the end of the day, unless you've generated some sort of… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share
“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 Copy Share Image
Coffee arrived and the espresso was excellent, like an aromatic electric fence. — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“Peter Grant,’ I said. ‘Recent arrival, slacker and man of very little fame.” — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
“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 Copy Share Image
“Right from the start Abigail used to moan and fidget as her hair was relaxed or braided or thermally reconditioned, but her dad was determined that his child wasn’t going to embarrass him in public. That all stopped when Abigail turned eleven and calmly announced that she had ChildLine on speed‑dial and the next person who came near her with… — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share
“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 Copy Share Image
It's a sad fact of modern life that if you drive long enough, sooner or later you must leave London behind. — Ben Aaronovitch Copy Share Image
