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Quote by Joanne Harris

“He was close to her now, close enough to smell her scent, which was like bluebells in the rain, and the aroma of a forest in spring, and the peppery sweetness of petrichor.”

Quote by Joanne Harris

Work

The Moonlight Market

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Author

Joanne Harris
Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is a British author known for her fantasy and literary novels. Born on July 3, 1964, she graduated from the University of Cambridge. Harris's works often blend romance, mystery, and supernatural elements, enjoying great popularity among readers. more

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“Do you really have tentacles?" he asked flatly. "Yes," she said wistfully, through her full mouth. "Really nice ones, too. Long and black. I miss them." The serving boy came in and pretended not to notice the exasperated, obviously not eating prince, and the princess who had to keep chewing ponderously because of the amount of food she still had in her cheek pockets. Off a silver platter the boy took two paper cones- Bretland style, of course- filled with perfectly deep-fried baby squid gleaming in a crispy golden batter. After carefully setting one down in front of each of them, the boy immediately withdrew, trying not to look over his shoulder. The mood in the room was palpably icy. Vanessa looked at the cone with delight, and the moment she swallowed the bread- another large, loud, disgusting gesture that showed the bolus going down her throat in an Adam's apple-y lump- she picked up a squid with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.”

“In this new and luminous world, words like 'glamorie-glass' made sense, and daylight names were shields, designed to hold back the approach of night. The thought of this girl at night conjured up pictures of Van Gogh's Starry Night, and comets, and lightships, and the taste of her skin, torched to silver in the moonlight--- The girl looked amused. It occurred to him that she must be used to men being fools around her. 'I'm Vanessa.' 'Vanessa. Vanessa. I'm Tom,' he said. 'And where are you from, Vanessa?' It was an excuse to keep saying her name, which sounded to him like a cat's-paw of wind across the bright surface of a lake.”

“The combination of qualities required in a police dog – the nose, the biddability, the controllable aggression, the bravery, the talent for distinguishing the toe-rag from the good citizen, the fear-inspiring bark and looking the part – these do not necessarily come with any pedigree, nor do the genes predictably pass on.”

“He is tough as galvanized nails, this dog. I suddenly realize that’s the problem: he’s tougher than I am. All those years on patrol, on SWAT, sweating in that tactical gear, all of it nowhere near the level of discomfort this animal can and will endure to do what he wants to do. Brag isn’t the one who needs to toughen up, it’s me.”

“Once you’re on the Dog Unit, you’ll never want to give it up.’ He was right: it’s the best job in the world. If you think about the most exciting thing you’ve ever done and times it by ten, then think about doing it every day with your best friend and getting paid for it, that’s what being a police dog handler is like. It’s the best game of hide and seek ever. Every dog owner knows how much fun it is to play with your dog. I knew if I worked hard and passed out with flying colours, I’d be able to play with my dog every single day and get paid for it. Yes, there’s a cost and a risk to chasing baddies but, ultimately, to your dog it’s a game.”

“I hid behind a wall and looked inside: there were three adult men getting changed and throwing money around like they were in some Hollywood movie. Shocked and delighted, I couldn’t contain my excitement: ‘Bloody hell, Theo, you’ve found them, you’ve bloody found them!’ I whispered and gave him a stroke, my heart pounding. Theo had found the team of armed robbers. What I was feeling inevitably went down the lead. Theo was whimpering, he was expecting the challenges to be issued, but I couldn’t with so many of them. There was a chance he’d fare okay against three but it was unlikely even with the element of surprise on our side.”

“For me it was a huge deal to get that care from so far up the chain and it dawned on me that I couldn’t ever thank Theo enough. Yes, I could treat him and give him lots of love, but he’d never understand the gravitas of what he’d done. He didn’t know the cause and effect. He didn’t know there were kids safe in their beds thanks to him, that kids had their Christmas presents back because of him, that bad people were off the streets and in prison. All because of him”

“Jeff’s first lesson for me was in how to select a good police dog. He had myriad tests he would put dogs through to determine whether they had the right focus and effort to be a good police dog. He explained that the three most important characteristics were that the dog be happy, social, and confident. I found it odd that Jeff started with a happy dog.”