"But no, it wasn't possible. He knew in his heart that Pendergast was dead."

"January 28th? My God, that's just one week away."

"If I had died, I would had ruined everything for Diogenes."

"These deaths, and the manner in which they were staged, were Diogenes's way of attracting my attention. Perhaps now, …"

"Normally I despise luck, but at the moment I find myself in singular need of it."

"When I look at you, I see a bag filled with blood, bones, viscera, and meat, held in by the most fragile and vulnerab…"

"Graduate students were so low on the museum's totem pole that they were simply invisible."

"It's foolish for me to continue to hope. More than six weeks have passed without a word."

"The new one who came on a few weeks ago. He's the surliest guy I've ever met. What kind of doorman won't even open th…"

"What else goes into the ragu, Nonna? If there was any response from the choir invisible, D'Agosta couldn't hear it."