49
" Well, all those are just things, aren’t they? Possessions or activities. Things we do, things we care about. But there’s something behind them all that ties them all together into my life, who I am, what I am. With Keith, you never knew. He was a cipher. For example, I’m sure he loved his family, but he never really showed it or spoke much about it. I don’t know what really mattered to him. He never talked about hobbies or anything like that. I don’t know what he did in his spare time. It’s more than being private or secretive, it’s as if there was a dimension missing, a man with a hole in the middle. "
― Peter Robinson , Dry Bones that Dream (Inspector Banks, #7)
50
" structure, Banks noticed, high cheekbones and a strong jaw, with pale, freckled skin. She sat with her legs curled under her and her hands resting on the arms of the chair. ‘Coffee?’ asked Dr Wong. Chelsea declined the offer, but Banks and Winsome said yes. ‘I’m not fetching it for you myself, you understand,’ Dr Wong said. ‘I wouldn’t stoop that low.’ ‘I don’t care who gets it,’ said Banks, ‘as long as it’s black and strong.’ Dr Wong smiled. ‘I just wanted you to know.’ Then she left the room. Banks smiled at Chelsea, who seemed wary of him. ‘Doctors,’ he said, with a shrug. She nodded, and a hint of a smile flitted at the corners of her lips. ‘I know this is tough for you,’ Banks went on, ‘but I’d like you to tell me in your own words, and in your own time, exactly what happened in the Maze tonight, and my friend Winsome over there will write it down. You can start with why you were there.’ Chelsea glanced at Winsome, then at "
― Peter Robinson , Friend of the Devil (Inspector Banks, #17)
52
" Their lovemaking had been a little tentative at first, but that was only to be expected. It never happened in real life the way it did in movies, with both lovers exploding together in a climax of Wagnerian proportions as fireworks burst, orchestras crescendoed and trains rushed into tunnels. That was pure Monty Python. In real lovemaking, especially with people new to one another’s bodies, there are disappointments, mistakes, hesitancies. If you can laugh at these, as Banks and Annie had, then you are halfway there. If you find yourself looking forward to the hours of practice it will take to learn to please one another more, as Banks did, then you are more than halfway. Afterward, skin warm and damp and tangy with sweat, she had rested in the crook of his arm and he knew then that he wouldn’t wake with a burning desire to be alone. Just for the briefest of moments he gave in to a wave of paranoia and wondered if this was a trap Riddle had set for him. A new approach. Give him enough rope to hang himself. "
― Peter Robinson , In a Dry Season (Inspector Banks, #10)