Favorite Quotes from the Vicky Bliss Books

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I have quotes from the individual books below, but I thought it would be interesting to start with Vicky’s and John’s opposing viewpoints on thievery.

John

“‘Oh yes, but the law is so dull, isn’t it? I’m afraid you have a very medieval idea of right and wrong. Many people do. They still tend to punish crimes against property more severely than crimes against people. Now I support the old Robin Hood ideal,’ Smythe said, warming to his subject. ‘I honestly do not feel that anything I have done is reprehensible. Dishonest, no doubt, but not immoral. A simple redistribution of wealth, no more. No widows and orphans have been deprived, no struggling old couples have been robbed of their sole means of support, no one has been injured…’”

— Street of the Five Moons, p. 153

Vicky

“‘It’s a question of integrity,’ I stuttered. ‘Honesty. Everybody lies these days, from politicians and statesmen to the people who repair my car and my radio. Everybody has a specious excuse for chiseling the other guy. It’s got to stop somewhere. I know the arguments, I’ve heard them. “If these people weren’t basically dishonest, we wouldn’t be able to cheat them; and besides, the ignorant cruds don’t deserve to own beautiful things, they can’t even tell the difference between the real and the fake.” The critics have been rooked too, plenty of times, but that is beside the point. The point is that if you have a skill, or a talent, or a body of knowledge, you are obliged to use it honestly, obliged to yourself! There is no difference between a man who robs a little old lady who is living on social security and a swindler who cheats a nasty, greedy oil millionaire. He is still a crook. And I’m sick and tired of crooks.’”

— Street of the Five Moons, p. 198-199


From Borrower of the Night:

“‘Oh,’ I said. ‘You’re so sweet to little helpless me. I don’t know how to thank you. I’m just all a-twitter…”
– Vicky, p. 172

“But as I lay on the bed, smoking one cigarette after another in reckless defiance of every health regulation…”
– Vicky, p. 187

“We must have the police. And a doctor. And on the top of the keep, behind this place, you will find several people who need to be transported to the Schloss. And–could I have a drink?’”
– Vicky, p. 229


From Street of the Five Moons:

“He might be a fat, self-indulgent little lecher, but he was also a fat, self-indulgent, cultivated little lecher.”
– Vicky, p. 63

“‘Will he kiss her or kill her?’ I gasped. ‘Tune in tomorrow and hear the next – ‘”
– Vicky, p. 150

“There was a stream at the bottom of the hill. Naturally we rolled into it. If there was a natural obstacle on the hillside that we missed, I would be surprised.”
– Vicky, p. 179

“‘Besides it isn’t fair to have a villain whom the reader doesn’t meet till the very end.’”
– Vicky, p. 224


From Silhouette in Scarlet:

“I didn’t wonder why he was in disguise; the mere fact that he preferred not to be noticed was reason enough to publicize his presence. I opened my big mouth and yelled, ‘Hey, John. John Smythe! Hi, there, John.’”
– Vicky, p. 13

“I had not risked myself because I was in love with him. I had always known John for what he was–a corrupt, unscrupulous man with the morals of a tomcat–and I’m not referring to the cat’s sexual habits, but to its own interests ahead of everyone else’s. I didn’t love that man; I didn’t even like him. The one I loved was the guy with the perverse sense of humor and the peculiar brand of courage and the occasional streak of quixotry and the clever, twisty mind. But that man was part of the other, buried so deep it was hard to be certain he existed.”
– Vicky, p. 209


From The Camelot Caper*:

“‘We can’t fight ’em,’ yelled Mrs. Hodge, ‘They’ve got tommy guns. Maybe bombs.’”
– p. 39

“‘An American. The accent, plus the off-the-cuff psychological analysis of people you’ve just met…’”
– David, p. 55

“‘She can’t be drunk,” Sam said firmly. ‘Not on our mead. It’sh–excuse me–non-intocshicating.’”
– p. 116

“‘How are you going to get the money to renovate the place?’ Jess demanded.
Her cousin [John] smiled at her.
‘Oh, I’ll find it,’ he said gently. ‘Don’t worry about that.’”
– p. 307

*not technically part of the series