A bottle of wine. A family-sized packet of Nacho Cheese Flavoured Tortilla Chips and a jar of hot salsa dip. A packet of cigarettes on the side (I know, I know). The rain hammering against the windows. And a book. / What could have been lovelier?
-- Narrator (Crouch End, London)

Importance: Susan’s description of the plans she made to stay home and read Conway’s latest novel, her ritual, shows the joy she finds in reading.

Somehow she had got tangled up in the wire. She had tripped and fallen down the stairs. There was nobody else in the house. The doors were locked. What other explanation could there be?
-- Narrator (One: Sorrow)

Importance: Even though Dr. Redwing feels uncomfortable about the circumstances of Mary’s death, she tries to convince herself that it was nothing more than an unfortunate accident.

But in the end she’d had to accept that she was seriously contemplating a sin much more...
-- Narrator (One: Sorrow)