Alison James > Quotes

“and the two of you started dating… he proposed on New Year’s Eve and you married in April of the following year.’ I nod, twisting the wedding ring on my finger. ‘And, just to confirm, you had no suspicion that he was anyone other than Dominic Stephen Gill?’ I think back to the little anomalies. The tiny signs that I was only too happy to ignore. ‘No, not at all,’ I say. ‘I’d be more than happy to take a lie detector test to that effect.’ For Christ sake, why did you say that? I ask myself. What do you think this is, an episode of Law and Order? DS Sutherland’s sorrowful expression returns, as he closes the cover of the file. ‘That won’t be necessary, Ms Palmer.’ April arrives, with its cloud of blossom and canopy of acid-bright greenery. I sign the documents selling my interest in Comida Catering Ltd and bank a substantial sum of money. I attend my first antenatal ultrasound appointment as Alice Palmer, having first removed the rings from my left hand and shoved them into the back of a drawer. And I receive a Metropolitan Police compliment slip, with three handwritten words Please See Attached. The attached is a formal document, a ‘Recorded Crime Outcome’, confirming that there would be sufficient evidence to charge the individual using the alias Ben MacAlister with the murder of Dominic Stephen Gill, if said individual were still alive. A check of the envelope reveals nothing more. I take out my phone and”
― Alison James, The Man She Married

“appears”
― Alison James, Happily Ever After

“Not every puzzle is intended to be solved. Some are in place to test your limits. Others are, in fact, not puzzles at all…”
― Alison James, Lola Is Missing

“private investigator’s page again. On”
― Alison James, The Man She Married

“flour”
― Alison James, Now She's Gone

“Yep. It’s pretty much all I do care about.”
― Alison James, Perfect Girls

“Go see who it is, Kez,’ says Liam. ‘And if it’s anyone official, get rid of them.’ Keren opens the door to a middle-aged woman, holding flowers and what looks like a lunchbox. She’s wearing the sort of jeans Keren’s mum wears, and a flowery top. Her shoulder-length blonde hair is wispy and untamed, and her face has a sort of faded prettiness. Keren looks down at the stranger’s feet, which have unvarnished nails emerging from battered Birkenstocks. Imagine not painting your toenails, Keren thinks. The woman smiles broadly and holds out the flowers and the plastic box. ‘Hi, I’m Jane Headley. We live at number five: my husband Fergus and I. I just wanted to come and say welcome to Sycamore Gardens,”
― Alison James, The New Couple

“her”
― Alison James, The Man She Married

“the”
― Alison James, Now She's Gone

“like”
― Alison James, The Woman in Carriage 3

“busy,”
― Alison James, The New Couple

“The internet is the playground of the fake and the fucked-up.”
― Alison James, The Man She Married

“me banned from the dating apps, which led to me picking up Pearl Liu in a bar. Which in turn led to having to leave my home country and settle eleven thousand miles away, entrenched in a marriage I never really wanted. And the craziest thing about it is that, looking at her now, I’m not even in the slightest bit attracted to the woman. All this, and for what? I go back to the car and sit at the wheel with my face in my hands. My bag of tools is pretty useless to me now. Yes, I could break into the house when they’ve all gone to bed and figure out which is Holly’s room. But with two other adults in the house, the chance of me being caught is pretty high. Holly will fight back; I know that from my previous encounter with her. Plus, there’s an alarm on the exterior wall of the property. Not to mention the dog. And if the cops are called, I’m quite certain Holly will tell them who I really am. It’s no use – this side trip to Queensland has been a waste of time. And there’s no way I can stay over here until Holly decides to return to Sydney. That will have Alice straight on the phone, possibly checking up on the hospital where Simon is supposed to be staying, or even flying to South Africa to join me. A gear shifts in my head as I head back to the airport at Maroochydore.”
― Alison James, The Man She Married