Book Review: The Very Nice Box

"She took another bite. She felt a small residual guilt over having left Jaime downstairs, but she would give herself this — this small pleasure. She would allow herself to drop her sad lunch into an Accommodating Garbage Bin. She would allow herself the gift of a well-assembled medium-rare cheeseburger. She would allow herself the coveted position of the corner table of the cafeteria. And she would allow herself to once again feel a small but perceivable joy at the fact that Mat had clearly not wanted to discuss work — he had simply wanted to eat lunch with her."

Book Review: The Way the Light Bends

“Freya fitted her hand in between ivy stems to press against the curvatures of stone. Lowering sunlight shone directly into her eyes from the very edge of the bell tower, and for a moment she was blinded, the space beyond the doorway turned into gold and vermillion. And for that moment, for a brief moment of light and secrets, Freya almost believed that she could step through the arch into some hidden place, and find her sister.”

Book Review: At Bertram’s Hotel

“Even at Bertram’s, thought Miss Marple, happily, interesting things could happen…”

Book Review: The Whisper House

“It’s only as Rose glances back at the house that she sees the pale face of the boy peering down at them from a window at the very top of the house. He's smiling. An involuntary swoop of something icy encircles her insides as if she has drunk chilled water too fast.”

Book Review: No Secrets

“It seemed to her that every time she tried to put her powers to good use, some supernatural overseer punished her for daring to rise above her station. So what was the point of a gift like hers if it led only to misery?”

Book Review: The Last Battle

"All round them the wood was very quiet. Indeed it was far too quiet. On an ordinary Narnia night there ought to have been noises — an occasional cheery 'Goodnight' from a Hedgehog, the cry of an Owl overhead, perhaps a flute in the distance to tell of Fauns dancing, or some throbbing, hammering noises from Dwarfs underground. All that was silenced: gloom and fear reigned over Narnia."

Book Review: Murder in Mesopotamia

"'Pull yourself together, man,’ said Dr Reilly quietly. ‘I know it’s a shock, but it’s got to be faced. The murderer didn’t come from outside — so he must have come from inside. It looks as though Mrs Leidner must have been murdered by a member of your own expedition.'"

Book Review: The Magician’s Nephew

"This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. It is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our own world and the land of Narnia first began."

Book Review: Countdown to a Killing

"A brief editorial intervention. It was suggested by some, during the editorial process, that by this point in the correspondence the reader may be finding the material rather light, and inconsistent with the notion of a ‘countdown’ to a ‘killing’ … Accordingly, we think it reasonable to urge all readers to keep their eye on …

Book Review: Confidence

"…how did we come to be the only people who knew what was really going on? It was because, while the world’s media were focused on the fate of the Voyniche Casket, we began looking for Lisa Lee."