26 Quotes by Clare Mackintosh

Such a small impact on the world, yet the very centre of my own.

It’s reactive, not proactive. We shouldn’t be sitting back, waiting for intelligence to come to us: we should be out there looking for it.

Variety is important. Even the finest steak becomes dull when you eat it all the time.

Everything has changed. The instant the car slid across the wet tarmac, my whole life changed. I can see everything clearly, as though I am standing on the sidelines. I can’t go on like this.

I don’t trust my instincts anymore – they’ve been wrong so many times before – and so the safest thing to do is to stay well away.

It’s like when two people have the flu,” Blair says. “They know how the other feels, but they’re too sick to nurse each other. They both need to get better first.

Freeze or reheat. Thinking of you. I still don’t know who it’s from. Many of the condolence cards that arrived after my parents’ deaths came with stories of the cars they’d sold over the years. Keys handed to over-confident teens and over-anxious parents. Two-seater sports cars traded for family-friendly estates. Cars to celebrate promotions, big birthdays, retirements. My parents played a part in many different stories.

They reach the quiet street where home lies just around the corner, its seductive warmth a welcome sight.

We are programmed to care long after we need to.