Quotes from Louise Penny

he wondered whether it was always the young who were brave. And the old grew fearful and cowardly. Was

The mixture of cafe au lait and impatience was producing an exquisite vibration.

Chief Inspector Gamache chose men and women for his team who might also be afraid, but had the courage to rise above it.

We live in a world of guided missiles and misguided men,' said Myrna. 'Dr Martin Luther King, Junior.

Who is it, exactly, you have needed all these years to forgive,

You're catastrophizing, allowing fear into the driver's seat. You're reacting to things that haven't happened and behaving as though they have, or are inevitable. Focus on what is actually happening, here and now.

That was often the equation, give up the few to save the many. From a distance it seemed so simple, so clear. And yet, from a distance you might see the big picture, but not the whole picture, you missed the details. Not everything was seen, from a distance.

And may your days be good and long upon this earth.

there are generally three parties to child abuse. The abused, the abuser and the bystander. One parent does it but the other knows it's happening and does nothing.

You know, don't you," Armand said, "that almost every parent feels like you do at some stage. Wishes they could go back to a carefree life. I can't tell you how often Reine-Marie and I looked at Daniel and Annie throwing tantrums and wished they were someone else's children

These are young people, Madame Gamache. They're gifted, and many are fragile, having been marginalized most of their lives for being creative. We live in a society that doesn't value being different. When they come here, to art college, it's probably the first time in their lives they feel they belong. Safe. Not just valued, but precious.

She didn't really let go of everything. Most things, yes. But some she secretly held and hugged and would visit in moments when she needed to be comforted by the unkindness of others.

To enjoy a freedom they no longer took for granted.

And good men are very threatening to not good men.

Now there is no more loneliness. Go now to your dwelling place / To enter into the days of your togetherness

They'd evaded the monster. Instead, it had devoured a frightened child.

In Beauvoir's experience Darwin was way wrong. The fittest didn't survive. They were killed by the idiocy of their neighbors, who continued to bumble along oblivious.

I'm not sure if you realize that mathematics isn't linear. It's a curve. And in the brightest, most nimble minds, it arcs around to meet philosophy, music, art." She laced her fingers together. "They're intertwined. If you listen to Bach, it's as much a work of math as music.

his son in Paris and left a message with

I'm Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec." "Voyons," he heard a loud whisper, "I told you it was him." A scattering of "Holy shit" was also heard.

It would be insane not to be afraid. To worry. The very thing you just admitted is what will make you a great father to your daughter. We're all afraid. Of something bad happening to our children. Of not being there when they need us. Of not being enough. We all want to pull the sheets up over our heads some days and hide.

And now it is now, and the dark thing is here.

one thing about hate. It bound you for ever to the person you hated. Murder wasn't committed out of hate, it was done as a terrible act of freedom. To finally rid yourself of the burden.

the most powerful, spectacular thing is that the solution rests with us as well. We're the only ones who can change our lives, turn them around. So all those years waiting for someone else to do it are wasted.