“You know that thing about Death Be Not Proud? Well, Fear Be Not Proud either. And Fear Be Not Elegant. What Fear be is stumbling, bumbling flight, crashing through brush, slip-sliding on pine needles, sloshing through puddles that are always deeper than you expect.”

“What I like about cooking is that, so long as you follow the recipe exactly, everything always turns out perfect. It’s too bad there’s no recipe for happiness. Happiness is more like pastry—which is to say that you can take pains to keep cool and not overwork the dough, but if you don’t have that certain light touch, your best efforts still fall flat.The work-around is to buy what you need. I’m talking about pastry, not happiness, although money does make things easier all around.”

“You're crazy about me, Elliot ...""You know how I know, Elliot?" ..."I know how you feel because I feel the same way.”

“He went through the cupboards, found the olive oil, and started upstairs again. He glanced down at the green and gold label and had to bite back a laugh at the words Extra Virgin.That about summed it up.”

“It’s more believable that a cop would get involved in solving these murders. I mean, you’re talking about writing a series. How believable is it that this Hollywood gossip columnist is going to keep stumbling on all these murders?”

“You don't look so hot, Adrien." "Yeah, well I'm having a bad heart day."His upper lip curled in a semblance of a smile. "Tell me about it.”

“Guy was saying, “What the hell is it about you that attracts murder and mayhem?""Something in my body language?"He groaned. “That was bad—even for you.”