Gail Honeyman

I had spent an obscene amount of money on a small selection of women’s magazines, flimsy and lurid ones, thick, glossy ones, all of them promising a range of wonders, simple but life-enhancing changes.

he couldn’t be seen with a woman whose appearance would be perceived by simpletons as inappropriate.

Raymond was certainly in need of the exercise.

I did not dignify this with a response.

Don’t bring anything, just yourselves.

I indulged in the sin of pride for a moment.

She wasn’t actually chewing gum, but her demeanor was very much that of a gum chewer.

I wondered at whom these pearls of wisdom were aimed; some passing extraterrestrial, perhaps, or a yak herder from Ulan Bator who had trekked across the steppes, sailed the North Sea and found himself on the Glasgow–Edinburgh service with literally no prior experience of mechanized transport to call upon?

I like to read as widely as possible for many reasons, not least in order to broaden my vocabulary to assist with crossword solving.

Naturally, I had been about to pour it all over myself but, just in time, had read the warning printed on the paper cup, alerting me to the fact that hot liquids can cause injury. A lucky escape, Eleanor! I said to myself, laughing quietly. I began to suspect that Mr. McDonald was a very foolish man indeed, although, judging from the undiminished queue, a wealthy one.