Quotes from "The Payback" by Simon Kernick:
I absolutely loved this book, hence sharing my favorite quotes out of it.
“Okay,” I said at last, forcing down the sick feeling I was getting in my gut. “I'll do it.” And in that moment, I sealed my fate.” (p. 146)
I absolutely loved this book, hence sharing my favorite quotes out of it.
Goodreads | Amazon | My Review“Looking around furtively, I felt a pang of jealousy. Having been on the run for so long, I was in a state of perpetual loneliness, and it pained me to see the settled, shared lives of other people, because to do so served as a constant reminder of what I hadn't got.” (p. 24)
“The day it all went wrong for me was 11 August 1989. That was the day I killed a man for the first time.” (p. 60)
“It was the members of the public who didn't seem to care what was happening on the streets around them, who hurried on by when they saw crimes being committed, too cowardly to intervene. Sometimes it seemed like the 'them' was everyone, and the 'us' was simply me, a lone copper engaged in a one-man battle against the injustices of the world.” (p. 62)
“I came very close to saying no, and I often wonder how things would have turned out if I had. I'm being honest when I say I truly never wanted to become a murderer.” (p. 65)
“Okay,” I said at last, forcing down the sick feeling I was getting in my gut. “I'll do it.” And in that moment, I sealed my fate.” (p. 146)
“But life has a way of throwing up surprises, and the surprise for me was that I fell in love.” (p. 160)
“I'll always remember how low and empty I felt as I watched Emma disappear out of the door with a grin and a wave, knowing that as long as I lived I could never set eyes on her again.” (p. 169)
“Time slowed, then seemed to come to a complete stop as I realized that this was it. My choice. My crossroads. If I pulled the trigger, I was free. But the price would truly be heavy.” (p. 199)
“There was a hard yet haunted look about Milne. His face was thin; the lines on the heavily tanned skin deep and pronounced; and his pale grey-blue eyes reflected the darkness that he'd inhabited at times these past nine years, and the terrible deeds he'd done. He was still good-looking, but in a brutal, intense way, and with his greying hair and the signs of plastic surgery round his eyes and nose, he easily looked his age.” (p. 212)
“I watched her go in grim, shameful silence. I was a pariah, a man who could expect sympathy from no one. It was a painful thought, but one I'd become used to; yet sometimes I still felt misunderstood. Because the fact was, I had a conscience. I'd always had one.” (p. 225)
“We made the easy choices, Tomboy. Now it's time to make the hard ones.” He just had time to see the tears in my eyes, and then I pulled the trigger, sending him hurtling over the edge and into the oblivion. (p. 278)
“This wasn't the time for regrets. For the first time in a long time, it felt like I was doing the right thing.” (p. 229)
“Emma. I started thinking about her again, as I did so often, but forced the thoughts aside. I couldn't change the past. It was gone. Finished with. All I could do now was change the future.” (p. 230)
“Now was my chance to make them pay for their sins. Whatever it cost me.” (p. 231)
“He gave her a sardonic smile, which made him look surprisingly handsome, and for a fleeting moment Tina could see what he must have been like when he was a young man, before the corruption set in, with his life and career stretching ahead of him.” (p. 388)
“I hate this world sometimes. The fact that it's so full of wicked, greedy, selfish people, and even when you lock them up, more keep appearing to take their place, in this never-ending, pointless cycle.” (p. 395)
“The night was quiet and peaceful, and above us a crescent moon shone down from a starry sky. It was the kind of night for relaxing with a beer in good company, not for killing.” (p. 400)
“I shut my eyes, feeling an overwhelming fatigue that seemed to envelop all other thoughts, and I knew it was over. The end of a bloody, wasted life.” (p. 420)
“It was a pleasure to know her, even if it was for barely forty-eight hours. So much has happened in that time. My life has gone from thoughts of a long and contented retirement to thoughts of my imminent death.” (p. 442)
“And I think back over my life. My childhood; my long, infuriating, but sometimes happy career as a copper. And then the descent into corruption that led me ultimately to this place, where I will die a lonely death.” (p. 442)
“Time slowed, then seemed to come to a complete stop as I realized that this was it. My choice. My crossroads. If I pulled the trigger, I was free. But the price would truly be heavy.” (p. 199)
“There was a hard yet haunted look about Milne. His face was thin; the lines on the heavily tanned skin deep and pronounced; and his pale grey-blue eyes reflected the darkness that he'd inhabited at times these past nine years, and the terrible deeds he'd done. He was still good-looking, but in a brutal, intense way, and with his greying hair and the signs of plastic surgery round his eyes and nose, he easily looked his age.” (p. 212)
“I watched her go in grim, shameful silence. I was a pariah, a man who could expect sympathy from no one. It was a painful thought, but one I'd become used to; yet sometimes I still felt misunderstood. Because the fact was, I had a conscience. I'd always had one.” (p. 225)
“We made the easy choices, Tomboy. Now it's time to make the hard ones.” He just had time to see the tears in my eyes, and then I pulled the trigger, sending him hurtling over the edge and into the oblivion. (p. 278)
“This wasn't the time for regrets. For the first time in a long time, it felt like I was doing the right thing.” (p. 229)
“Emma. I started thinking about her again, as I did so often, but forced the thoughts aside. I couldn't change the past. It was gone. Finished with. All I could do now was change the future.” (p. 230)
“Now was my chance to make them pay for their sins. Whatever it cost me.” (p. 231)
“He gave her a sardonic smile, which made him look surprisingly handsome, and for a fleeting moment Tina could see what he must have been like when he was a young man, before the corruption set in, with his life and career stretching ahead of him.” (p. 388)
“I hate this world sometimes. The fact that it's so full of wicked, greedy, selfish people, and even when you lock them up, more keep appearing to take their place, in this never-ending, pointless cycle.” (p. 395)
“The night was quiet and peaceful, and above us a crescent moon shone down from a starry sky. It was the kind of night for relaxing with a beer in good company, not for killing.” (p. 400)
“I shut my eyes, feeling an overwhelming fatigue that seemed to envelop all other thoughts, and I knew it was over. The end of a bloody, wasted life.” (p. 420)
“It was a pleasure to know her, even if it was for barely forty-eight hours. So much has happened in that time. My life has gone from thoughts of a long and contented retirement to thoughts of my imminent death.” (p. 442)
“And I think back over my life. My childhood; my long, infuriating, but sometimes happy career as a copper. And then the descent into corruption that led me ultimately to this place, where I will die a lonely death.” (p. 442)
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