Quotes from Crooked House

Agatha Christie ·  276 pages

Rating: (24.2K votes)


“Curious thing, rooms. Tell you quite a lot about the people who live in them.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“I think people more often kill those they love, than those they hate. Possibly because only the people you love can really make life unendurable to you.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“It is always a shock to meet again someone whom you have not seen for a long time but who has been very much present in your mind during that period.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“Murder, you see, is an amateur crime... One feels, very often, as though these nice ordinary chaps, had been overtaken, as it were, by murder, almost accidentally. They've been in a tight place, or they've wanted something very badly, money or a woman - and they've killed to get it. The brake that operates with most of us doesn't operate with them... They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don't think, in my experience, that
any murderer has really felt remorse... Murderers are set apart, they are 'different' - murder is wrong - but not for them - for them it is necessary - the victim has 'asked for it,' it was 'the only way.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“I've never met a murderer who wasn't vain... It's their vanity that leads to their undoing, nine times out of ten.They may be frightened of being caught, but they can't help strutting and boasting and usually they're sure they've been far too clever to be caught.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House



“But some people, I suspect, remain morally immature. They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don’t think, in my experience, that any murderer has really felt remorse … And that, perhaps, is the mark of Cain. Murderers are set apart, they are ‘different’—murder is wrong—but not for them—for them it is necessary—the victim has ‘asked for it,’ it was ‘the only way.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“What are murderers like? Some of them, have been thoroughly nice chaps.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“It was artificial conversation, but it tided us over the first awkwardness.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“إن لقاء شخص مرة أخرى بعد إنقطاع طويل مربكٌ إلى حد ما وإن يكن حاضر في ذهنك طوال تلك الفترة”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“More children suffer from interference than from noninterference.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House



“Is there a common denominator? I wonder. You know, if there is, I should be inclined to say it is vanity.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“Child's evidence is always the best evidence there is. I'd rely on it every time. No good in court, of course. Children can't stand being asked direct questions. They mumble or else look idiotic and say they don't know. They're at their best when they're showing off.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“... people are capable of surprising one frightfully. One gets an idea of them into one's head, and sometimes it's absolutely wrong. Not always - but sometimes.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“It is always a shock to meet again someone whom you have not seen for a long time but who has been very much present in your mind during that period. When at last Sophia came through the swing doors our meeting seemed completely unreal. She was wearing black, and that, in some curious way, startled me! Most other women were wearing black, but I got it into my head that it was definitely mourning—and it surprised me that Sophia should be the kind of person who did wear black—even for a near relative.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


“Murder, you see, is an amateur crime. I'm speaking of course of the kind of murder you have in mind - not gangster stuff. One feels, very often, as though these nice ordinary chaps had been overtaken, as it were, by murder, almost accidentally. They've been in a tight place, or they've wanted something very badly, money or a woman - and they've killed to get it. The brake that operates with most of us doesn't operate with them.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House



“Because this is just what a nightmare is. Walking about among people you know, looking in their faces- and suddenly the faces change- and it's not someone you know any longer- it's a stranger- a cruel stranger.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House


About the author

Agatha Christie
Born place: in Torquay, Devon, England, The United Kingdom
Born date September 15, 1890
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“She fit her hand around the curve of his whiskered jaw. “I’m sorry. But I knew you would not leave otherwise—”
“Damn right I would not have left,” he said gruffly. “Don’t you understand what you mean to me? You are everything. Never doubt that. My place is with you, only you.”
― Monica McCarty, quote from Highlander Unmasked


“At every turn, this provocative work unlocks deep secrets about how nature and nurture forge a uniquely human obsession”
― Daniel J. Levitin, quote from This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession


“What are you looking at?” I asked…
“City slicker. What are you looking at?”
“A stupid wookie man-bear-pig who doesn’t know how to mind his own business.”
― Elle Casey, quote from Shine Not Burn


“To get up in the morning, wash and then wait for some unforeseen variety of dread or depression.
I would give the whole universe and all of Shakespeare for a grain of ataraxy.”
― Emil M. Cioran, quote from The Trouble with Being Born


“Elegance is really a kind of control.”
― quote from Exit to Eden


Interesting books

Sexus
(7.2K)
Sexus
by Henry Miller
Lord John and the Private Matter
(34.4K)
Lord John and the Pr...
by Diana Gabaldon
Fading Echoes
(9.5K)
Fading Echoes
by Erin Hunter
The Uncommon Reader
(25K)
The Uncommon Reader
by Alan Bennett
Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters
(11.4K)
Beyond Band of Broth...
by Dick Winters
Sweep: Volume 1
(6.4K)
Sweep: Volume 1
by Cate Tiernan

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.