The leaves had fallen from the trees and lay crisp and crackling beneath his feet. Picking one up he marveled, not for the first time, at the perfection of nature where leaves were most beautiful at the very end of their lives.

What did falling in love do for you? Can you ever really explain it? It filled empty spaces I never knew were empty. It cured a loneliness I never knew I had. It gave me joy. And freedom. I think that was the most amazing part. I suddenly felt both embraced and freed at the same time.

Foolish people are never harmless. Stupidity accounts for as many crimes as anger and greed.

But you want murderous feelings? Hang around librarians," confided Gamache. "All that silence. Gives them ideas.

The question that haunted every investigation was 'why'.

Her voice was slightly accented but her French was perfect. Someone who'd not just learned the language but loved it. And it showed with every syllable. Gamache knew it was impossible to split language from culture. That without one the other withered. To love the language was to respect the culture.

I'm just like this. I have no talent for choosing my battles. Life seems, strangely, like a battle to me. The whole thing.