Susan Rowland > Quotes

“Mary was under water. She’d been under water for a long time. Rhiannon was there. No, it was just her severed head talking. The murdered girl’s hair billowed out from under the torc.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Anna did say the wife of Lir had left her?” whispered Mary.
“Yes,” said Caroline. “She said, ‘for now.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Janet showed her teeth. “Time to get real, Sarah. No more human sacrifices, got it?”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Don’t we know any. . .er. . .cheap lawyers?”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“So, Mr. Jeffreys,” she inquired of the human bluebottle, “you went to the gym?”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Trust the body of your enemy. The body does not lie. Most people,” she’d looked directly at Mary, “most people do not know how to make the body lie.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“What about that old coot?” Janet looked suspicious. Mr. Jeffreys was from the world of officialdom she despised.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Sure didn’t expect to see that kind of assault, here in Oxford,” said another. “Seems like such a quiet town.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“No sleeping in the places of death.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“There was no city, no London, just beacon fires on all three sacred mounds.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Wife of Lir eat horse.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Take it away,” she pointed at the green milk in a normal tone. “Anna and wife of Lir. Both must stay.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“This must be what dying is like. She tried wiggling a bony finger to attract Rhiannon. She wanted to ask her: is this what it was like?”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“I EAT THE DARK”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“[B]ehind the mother fighting for her son’s life was the priestess of the forest and the cup.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“She was oozing backwards into the tree. Her bones were going to mate with the grain of the wood. I am becoming part of the forest.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“The Torc— and the crone— go to the underworld via the sacred well and the river.”
― Susan Rowland, The Sacred Well Murders

“Mary continued. “Irina flying, Mr. Dee, takes us to meeting you over Swan Lake at Greenwich. You were to act the sorcerer, the man magicking girls into swans. You are a sorcerer, you say. Did you turn Irina Prince into a swan? Did you make her believe she could fly?”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Mary chimed in: “The Dee of Shakespeare’s time was famous, a sorcerer with political allies all over Europe. He did horoscopes to advise the Queen about her enemies.”
“Thanks to the little runt sounding off to the press, I’m well aware of Dr John Dee,” snarled Robbin’ Robin. “Did you know our Billy Dee says he can conjure spirits from the Parliaments as far back as his namesake in the 1560s? That’s how the PM won the damn election. Dead politicians popped up at Dee’s command. They begged my colleagues to vote for my rival ‘to save the nation’.” Robbin’ Robin did the air quotes that so irritated Mary.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Anna how could you?” Mary’s fists waved about as if underwater. “You’ve made an A.I. Dee? Are you insane? The damage that man has caused, his criminal nature, how could you? He murdered Agnes, his own mother, for god’s sake.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“I know more than you think about Billy Dee. The bastard claims descent from Dr John Dee of Queen Elizabeth’s Court.”
“You mean Elizabeth 1st, not our late queen?” Caroline had to shout over the rising waves.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Ballet is harsh magic,” said Dee… “We work young bones until they sprout feathers. Flesh evaporates in sweat. Ballet consumes the body to free the soul,” Dee continued. “We all become swans. Some never turn back. The ballet Swan Lake is the wind under our feet, the air on which we ascend.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“I see the fat woman is right. I saw how you looked at him – Billy Dee. He’s your lover. Compared to my harmless affairs that man’s a monster.”
“I AM NOT FAT,” yelled Caroline. Something glittered in her eyes. Anna hissed, and Mary remembered that she carried a concealed knife.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Irina wants to fly into the storm,” the gel hissed. “Told us she would. I sent for help. She made a weird sort of scream. Like an animal or a great bird.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“I saw a man on Westminster bridge,” she yelled through chattering teeth. “He had a rope and untied the last knot, looking straight at us. You never undo the last knot of three. Weather magic,” she added, with a glance at the skeptical Mr. Jeffreys. He put his head in his hands.
“A terrible thing,” continued Caroline, yelling at Mary. “At Holywell they are doing reverse spells – trying to drain the energy from that hurricane in the Atlantic.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“You’re wrong, Mr. Jeffreys. This Swan Lake is not giving up human bonds but finding release from human chains. The prince and swan princess get to live out their love in nature. The palace is what they need to escape from.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Not your usual conman, Edward Kelley,” Anna remarked, putting Caroline’s phone on the bed. “Our Dee’s link to Renaissance Kelley is part of what I’ve been doing with John and Linda. While you slept, Mary, we discovered how in the 1500s Edward Kelley and John Dee toured Europe. Their magical performances kings and emperors produced a sensation.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Doesn’t matter how you feel,” said Janet. “It’s not about whether it’s fair. You’ll find the killer because you’re the only one on Holywell island who can.”
― Susan Rowland, The Swan Lake Murders

“Same sorcerer. Different problem. Better pay,” said Mr. Jeffreys, succinctly.”
― Susan Rowland