Tense Quotes

“Josh's heart soared as he got a taste of the power and endurance in his elk body.”
― Lisa Kaniut Cobb, Down in the Valley

“Legends were mostly bullshit, even his own, but they sometimes could be useful.”
― William Kely McClung, Black Fire

“The Alchemy Scroll works on the heart,” he said. “It plants words as I plant stones. The Scroll-maker is my brother. He paints the mysteries of God while I, guided by the Mother, built the new Hall as a door to heaven,” he said.”
― Susan Rowland, The Alchemy Fire Murder

“Mary stared at the dreamlike happenings on the page. Human figures faced each other; the man’s head was a golden ball with rays reaching up to huge stars and out to the distant mountains; the woman’s silver head was sickle-shaped and surrounded by birds like eagles with white beaks. Some of the black letters glowed because they had tips like tiny flames.”
― Susan Rowland, The Alchemy Fire Murder

“Victor's tortured eyes blazed down at her, and for a moment she was afraid.  Then he leaned down and dissolved into tears in the arms of Celena who was only six.”
― Barbara Sontheimer, Victor's Blessing

“Nearing the Riefler's big red brick house he could see the yellow light spill out on the galerie Yvonne had insisted her German husband wrap around the house.  There was a tightening in Victor's chest.  It happened to him whenever he got close to the Riefler's house, or church on Sunday- anytime he thought he might catch a glimpse of Celena.”
― Barbara Sontheimer, Victor's Blessing

“I'm afraid!" She cried breaking free from his embrace.
But this time, he refused to let her go.  "No, no, no, you're not afraid of me!  What am I...a foot and half taller than you and out weigh you by 130 pounds, how could you possibly be afraid of me!" He laughed.”
― Barbara Sontheimer, Victor's Blessing

“Life was better than he expected with his new Italian family inheritance, and it felt good to take a deep breath without fear of someone attacking him or his family.”
― Carolyn M. Bowen, Legacy of Shadows: An International Crime Thriller

“Oh, so now I'm getting in trouble for things I didn't tell anyone I didn't know?”
― Lisa Kaniut Cobb, Down in the Valley

“If he could blush through his fur, he would have.”
― Lisa Kaniut Cobb, Down in the Valley

“We’re so very sorry about this latest murder. Ignore Simon’s levity.”
― Susan Rowland, Murder On Family Grounds: A Mary Wandwalker Mystery

“Mary tried to look reassuring. “It’s a house party, he said,” she directed at the Falconers, “Sir Viktor’s holding a house party for the convenience of the police. It’s like an old-fashioned mystery novel.”
― Susan Rowland, Murder On Family Grounds: A Mary Wandwalker Mystery

“With Finn, Vic, and Maeve shooting darts at him, Buster thought better of bellyaching and took off down the street with Finn.”
― A.G. Russo, O'SHAUGHNESSY INVESTIGATIONS, INC.: The Cases Nobody Wanted

“It was time to start thinking of darker things.”
― William Kely McClung, Black Fire

“Saskia.” A hand covered hers.
Saskia frowned. It was irritating enough that she only had one hand to work with. She didn’t need to have the movement of that one impeded as well. “I’m in the middle of – Oh! Tania! What – I thought you were in Canberra.”
“I was yesterday. I returned this morning.”
“Yesterday?” Saskia turned from staring at Tania to staring at her computer and the table. A half-empty mug of something sat next to a partly eaten sandwich and a mostly empty glass of water. “Oh,” she sat back in her chair. “I do this sometimes. I get caught up in things.”
Her gaze fell on the lines and boxes on the monitor’s screen. She sat forward, her surroundings disappearing from her awareness again. “Tania, I think I’m close to figuring it out.”
Tania’s hand, still on Saskia’s, squeezed gently. “Good. But now you need to take a rest.”
“No. I can finish this. I’m on a roll.”
“Yes. You can roll again later.”
“Look! I think I’ve almost worked it out.” She tugged her hand from under Tania’s and pointed to her computer screen, which showed a bank statement. “Look at these transactions. I can match them to –”
Tania peered at the screen. “Whose statement is that?”
― Miriam Verbeek, The Forest: A new Saskia van Essen crime mystery thriller

“The caption reads, “Emperor Andon-Roon enjoys a surge in popularity after brokering a peace deal with Caderyn after twelve cycles of war.” For some reason this evokes strong emotions in her—deep sorrow, anger—and she stares at the screen transfixed, as if straining to find herself in the story.”
― Stephen Alder, Deehabta’s Song

“Hannah knelt to get a closer look at the trail of holes. “Last night’s vandal wore stilettos.”
The two men stared at her, confused.
“English, please. You’re talking to country boys.”
― Cricket Rohman, Colorado Takedown

“What is the nature of your emergency?”
“I was assaulted in the street,” Krissa responds.
“What is the location of the assault?”
“At my current coordinates.”
“Do you need medical attention?”
“No, but my attackers do.”
― Stephen Alder, Deehabta’s Song

“Witness also that when we talk about literature, we do so in the present tense. When we speak of the dead, we are not so kind.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“She reached the door to the forbidden room. The door with the light escaping through the cracks. Her hands shook. Her eyes watered from the pull. She panted, her chest visibly moving in and out. Her teeth clenched. She switched off the flashlight, turned the knob, and pushed. ”
― Chad Boudreaux, Homecoming Queen

“Her firm belief was that things would be better in society if there was a periodic ‘social cleansing’ to eliminate those influences that are considered unsavory. She sounds like she’d be fun at parties,” the officer joked.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“Anika nodded, reflecting on her situation as the sirens grew louder. She had some time, but cops, hurricanes, and jealous women weren’t the party favors she’d expected for her homecoming parade.”
― Chad Boudreaux, Homecoming Queen

“Macy said I was different, but I’m only different when I’m drunk. Strange thoughts come into my head then. Thoughts that don’t belong inside an ugly person’s head.”
― Eli Wilde, Orchard of Skeletons

“There was a different smell in the hall. I knew it well enough. Festering death is pungent, but that says nothing about how bad it smells. It saturates the air you breathe with a sickening sweetness that makes you feel like retching until that sweetness is a faded memory. It is an entity that does not belong inside your body.”
― Eli Wilde, Orchard of Skeletons

“Oh yes, how terrible for you. Having to have a staff wait on you, having the world for yours to take due to being born into privilege and being so unbelievably bored at the prospect of living a life of leisure thanks to the genetic lottery you won that you threw it all away for a pursuit of a career that, quite frankly, is not your strong suit, shall we say. Yes. Poor little rich girl. Everything you have now, everything you had lost and walked away from, is of your doing. You just had to maintain a life of decorum. Sorry if the expectations of being proper were unattainable for you. I hadn’t expected that to be outside of your reach.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“Each time she glanced in his direction, she was struck with the fact that this measly slip of a man had had the power to destroy her husband’s career. Every bit of loathing she had for him was there on display for Willum to take in.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“Ma’am.” The officer was already tired of the haughtiness of Ms. Headstrom. “You specifically sought out this particular group of people, who all had a particular criterion of being in the press for unfavorable reasons. Is that correct?”
“Well, not all of them were for unfavorable reasons,” she tried to rationalize. “Some were associated with an unfavorable reason. It was a themed party. That was the theme. That was the only reason. Why else would I have brought them all to the house for a dinner?”
“Exactly.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“Each group seemed to be collected in front of two doors, each looking at the other, and no one looking at Mica. There was one person looking at Mica, but she was unaware that she was being watched.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“It appeared to be from behind us. We were all turned and listening to Barry as he was in the midst of a rant and had all our attentions. The gun shot seemed to come from the area of the foyer.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner

“And I’m a sheriff,” Shuller jumped in. Willum’s demeaner faltered for a moment. It was so minor that it could have been missed by most, but Shuller caught it. The ever-so-slight blanching at the mention of law. Shuller was able to perceive the slight discomfort which concerned him. It was not a good sign to Shuller when someone bristled at the idea he was a sheriff. It never boded well for the type of person he was dealing with if the fact he was a man of law was what made them act oddly.”
― Kathleen Lopez, Thirteen for Dinner