Clues Quotes

“Samuel Vimes dreamed about Clues. He had a jaundiced view of Clues. He instinctively distrusted them. They got in the way. And he distrusted the kind of person who’d take one look at another man and say in a lordly voice to his companion, “Ah, my dear sir, I can tell you nothing except that he is a left-handed stonemason who has spent some years in the merchant navy and has recently fallen on hard times,” and then unroll a lot of supercilious commentary about calluses and stance and the state of a man’s boots, when exactly the same comments could apply to a man who was wearing his old clothes because he’d been doing a spot of home bricklaying for a new barbecue pit, and had been tattooed once when he was drunk and seventeen* and in fact got seasick on a wet pavement. What arrogance! What an insult to the rich and chaotic variety of the human experience!”
― Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

“What does a clue look like?" Tanith whispered.
Stephanie fought the giggle down and whispered back. "I'm looking for a footprint or something."
"Have you found one yet?"
"No. But that's probably because I haven't moved from this spot."
"Maybe we should move, pretend we know what we're doing."
They started to walk, very slowly, still looking straight down.”
― Derek Landy, Skulduggery Pleasant

“Penny believed with her whole heart that there were moments - crucial instances - that defined who someone was going to be. There were clues or signs, and you didn't want to miss them.”
― Mary H.K. Choi, Emergency Contact

“The star only rises at Nightfall...”
― Shannon Messenger, Lodestar

“See how the symbols stretch across all three shields? They represent a god."
Hypnos frowned. "There's a God of lions and knives and wineglasses? That seems incredibly specific."
"This god is Shezmu," said Enrique, rolling his eyes. "He's seldom depicted, perhaps because he's at such odds with himself. On the other hand, he's the lord of perfumes and gracious oils, often considered something of a celebration deity."
"My kind of god," said Hypnos.
"He is also the god of slaughter, blood and dismemberment."
"I amend my original statement," said Hypnos.”
― Roshani Chokshi, The Silvered Serpents

“Then there are some minor points that strike me as suggestive - for instance, the position of Mrs. Hubbard's sponge bag, the name of Mrs. Armstrong's mother, the detective methods of Mr. Hardman, the suggestion of Mr. MacQueen that Ratchett himself destroyed the charred note we found, Princess Dragomiroff's Christian name, and a grease spot on a Hungarian passport.”
― Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

“There is always a pleasure in unravelling a mystery, in catching at the gossamer clue which will guide to certainty.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton

“Is something the matter?” Calcifer asked.

“Yes. My heart. There was a scarecrow at the door!” Sophie gasped.

“What has a scarecrow to do with your heart?” Calcifer asked.

“It was trying to get in here. It gave me a terrible fright. And my heart—but you wouldn’t understand, you silly young demon!” Sophie panted. “You haven’t got a heart.”

“Yes I have,” Calcifer said, as proudly as he had revealed his arm. “Down in the glowing part under the logs. And don’t call me young. I’m a good million years older than you are! Can I reduce the speed of the castle now?”
― Diana Wynne Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle

“Bedrooms are like crime scenes. So many clues to be uncovered.”
― Krystal Sutherland, Our Chemical Hearts

“Vimes took the view that life was so full of things happening erratically in all directions that the chances of any of them making some kind of relevant sense were remote in the extreme. Colon, being by nature more optimistic and by intellect a good deal slower, was still at the Clues are Important stage.”
― Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

“Leaders don't venture without vision. They don't pray without plans. They don't climb without clues. They are always prepared.”
― Israelmore Ayivor, Leaders' Ladder

“She could have just told him about the magic phone. Full disclosure. Then they could have solved it together. They could have Sherlocked and Watsoned from both ends of the timeline”
― Rainbow Rowell, Landline

“Love will drive you insane, but never let it drive you stupid or blind.”
― Shannon L. Alder

“There’s no understanding the power of a mother, of Zana in particular, because she was the only one who didn’t swallow the story of the English bank. When a son’s fate is at stake, no detective in the world can find more clues than a mother.”
― Fábio Moon, Two Brothers

“Add Snow White and her seven dwarfs,
2 droids for Luke Skywalker, of course.
1 true ring to rule them all.
A decimal is a place to stall.
Snow White's gone, the dwarfs alone.
This system your next clue has shown.

Now you might ask, this little key, Just what does it mean for me?
Hold on tight and you will see,
Someday it will set clues free.”
― Megan Frazer Blakemore, The Friendship Riddle

“...this cryptic game of hide-and-seek is what makes it one of the greatest historical mysteries. So many of the symbols can be interpreted in so many different ways, there's always the possibility that all we're really looking at is a blank slate onto which anything can be read.”
― Brad Meltzer, History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

“There’s more, Anna. When we first got to California,” she says, “you asked me if I remembered your birthday party.” I nod, picking at a thread on her comforter. “I did remember. Matt was acting like such a space cadet that night after we got home – like he was floating. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out, but of all the things that he could have been thinking about, you were the last – I mean, my mind just didn’t even go there. You were like our sister.”
“But I–”
“Wait – let me get this out.” She looks at me hard, her broken wing eyebrow trembling to keep the tears back. “After I brushed my teeth, I walked into his room. He was sitting on his bed, playing with that blue glass necklace he always wore, a big smile on his face. Remember the necklace?”
The necklace.
“Of course.”
“I asked him what was so funny. He jumped a little, not knowing I’d been watching him smile there like a goofy little kid. He said it was nothing – just that he had fun at the party. And I believed him, all the way up until the day I read your journal. That’s when it all made sense. All the times he’d ask me about who you liked at school, or who wanted to take you to whatever dance.”
She’s quiet as I digest her story, putting the pieces together to form a complete whole from the missing half that’s haunted me since that night – how did he really feel about me? Was it just one stupid moment, perpetuated a little too long, only to be forgotten as quickly as it came? As soon as he went away to school?
“I was in love with him forever – since I was, like, ten,” I confess.
“Yeah,” she says. “You both were in love. I know that now. We were all so close, you know? I just didn’t see it coming until I read your – I’m sorry, Anna.”
I close my eyes, fighting back the image of her hand on my journal. “It’s okay.”
― Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer

“I stared at the list, as though willing the murderer's name to appear in red letters before my eyes. I felt I was so close to discovering something, if only I could find the right link, some bit of information that would point in the right direction. At least, that was how it worked in the mystery novels.”
― Ashley Weaver, Murder at the Brightwell

“To unravel any mystery, find the start. Untie that riddle, and the rest will follow.”
― Alyssa Moon, Delphine and the Silver Needle

“A fish out of water didn’t flip-flop as much as him.”
― Diane L. Kowalyshyn, Catch .22

“There was something about the story she told us...that didn't seem right to him. He didn't buy the idea they'd been lovers. He reckoned it was something else. It's the sort of thing he used to pick up on, when I worked with him. You know as well as I do, sir, in a case like this you collect all sorts of facts, but only a few really matter, and Mr Madden had a gift for spotting them. Not that he always knew why: often it was just something he felt - a sort of instinct, I suppose - though he would have said it was simply a matter of paying attention. That's what he used to tell me.”
― Rennie Airth

“In Middle Earth a motley crew assembles to save the world as we know it. Four hobbits, two men, a dwaft, an elf, and a wizard, too. They rambled to destroy the ring in the mountains of Mordor.
Now it is you time. Dare you join this fellowship?
The rules are simple.
Twelve more clues will be hidden. One for each month. You have a month to solve each riddle. Plenty of time. On the full moon of each month, the next clue will be hidden. Seek it. Leave each where you found it for the next traveler. Where does this quest lead? What is the endgame? Follow and you shall find out. You must be wise, learned, disciplined, and above all, not a FROG.
If you agree to join this fellowship, proceed with your first clue:
MY WORDS are legend.
Legends are HISTORY,
My field of study.
ONE BOOK only in your shire.

With your strength, the book has been found, and now you must climb to the Scholar's Shrine. Four travelers begin this talle: Hlaf Elf, Troll, Halfling, and Thief. To make it to the end, you will need to build a motley crew. Find a wizard to see you through.

You walk a long and winding path to find your next clue. Shall the Half Elf teache you his songs to pass the time? Perhaps that will draw an elf lord into your presence. The road is long, and the leaves do change color.
You have demonstrated your strength, and your intelligence: now you must go boldly into battle. Be wise with your strategy: though it my seem like a game, there is more to the story.”
― Megan Frazer Blakemore, The Friendship Riddle

“There is no success without clues. There is no real theory without research”
― Alan Maiccon

“There is no success without clues. There is no real theory without research.”
― Alan Maiccon

“Instead of doing emotion work, we suggest that fieldworkers become more aware of their feelings and use them as data. As Arlie Hochschild (1983) argued, we can use feelings as clues [...]”
― Sherryl Kleinman, Emotions and Fieldwork

“I connect the clues of research to obtain discovery.”
― Steven Magee

“Follow the clues of investigation to breakthrough.”
― Steven Magee

“Even the invisible leave footprints.”
― Wayne Gerard Trotman

“You may not like it, but you need to take constant feedback about your behaviour with others. Sometime we keep hurting everyone around us without having any clue.”
― Sarvesh Jain

“Searching the internet for clues as to why my health was failing was a regular activity for me.”
― Steven Magee, Magee’s Disease