Top 35 B.A. Paris Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

— B.A. Paris

2. “But the truth is, we never really know what goes on, on the other side of the fence, behind those closed doors. Instead of looking over the fence, we should really be keeping our eyes fixed firmly on our side and cherishing the grass that we have – bald patches and all – just a little bit more.”

— B.A. Paris

3. “The champagne bottle knocks against the marble kitchen counter, making me jump. I glance at Jack, hoping he won’t have noticed how nervous I am. He catches me looking and smiles. ‘Perfect,’ he.”

— B.A. Paris

4. “She is a woman at peace with herself. But we all have darkness within us and the deeper it’s buried, the more interesting it is.”

— B.A. Paris

5. “Hello, darling, it’s me.”

— B.A. Paris

6. “She looks steadily back at me. ‘What colour was Millie’s room, Grace?’ I can barely get the word out. ‘Red,’ I tell her, my voice breaking. ‘Millie’s room was red.’ ‘That’s what I thought,’ she says softly.”

— B.A. Paris

7. “Fear is the best deterrent of all.”

— B.A. Paris

8. “When I look at him I feel dismayed as I always do at how normal he looks, because surely there should be something – pointed ears or a pair of horns – to warn people of his evilness.”

— B.A. Paris

9. “Had it all been a facade, had he covered his true self with a cloak of geniality and good humour to impress me?”

— B.A. Paris

10. “Red,’ says Jack. ‘It’s her favourite colour.”

— B.A. Paris

11. “A smile hiding my bitter disappointment, conscious of Jack’s hand on my back.”

— B.A. Paris

12. “I can barely get the word out. ‘Red,’ I tell her, my voice breaking. ‘Millie’s room was red.’ ‘That’s what I thought,’ she says softly.”

— B.A. Paris

13. “I cry even harder, thinking of how it could have been, of how I thought it would be. For the first time, I want to give up, to die, because suddenly everything is too much and there is no solution in sight.”

— B.A. Paris

14. “What colour was Millie’s room, Grace?”

— B.A. Paris

15. “The bubbles dance in my mouth and I feel a sudden flash of happiness, which I try to hang on to. But it disappears as quickly as it came. I.”

— B.A. Paris

16. “We go downstairs and in the hall, he takes my coat from the cupboard and holds it open while I slip my arms into it. In the drive outside, he holds the car door for me and waits until I’m in. As he closes it behind me, I can’t help thinking it’s a shame he’s such a sadistic bastard, because he has wonderful manners.”

— B.A. Paris

17. “The airport or the hospital? Your husband or your sister?’ He paused a moment. ‘Me, or Millie?”

— B.A. Paris

18. “I look around at everybody laughing and joking together and struggle to understand my life has become a living hell that nobody present could even begin to imagine.”

— B.A. Paris

19. “Without routine, there is no risk of me becoming institutionalised and unable to think for myself. And I must think for myself.”

— B.A. Paris

20. “Time is an oddity when it comes to memories...”

— B.A. Paris

21. “I like you Jack, but don’t like Jorj Koony.”

— B.A. Paris

22. “I’d begun to think that I wasn’t cut out for long-term relationships and although there was a slight sadness that I might not find someone to spend the rest of my life with, it had never become a serious preoccupation of mine.”

— B.A. Paris

23. “He prides himself on uttering only the truth, and enjoys that I am the only one who understands the meaning behind his words.”

— B.A. Paris

24. “The door opens and he stands in the doorway, my handsome, psychopathic husband.”

— B.A. Paris

25. “I wait for the images to fade, listening for the sound of somebody’s presence, a movement from one of the rooms, a floorboard creaking upstairs. But there is only silence, and the dust of hopes never fulfilled, taunting me with what could have been, if only I’d acted differently.”

— B.A. Paris

26. “Don’t be so hysterical, it doesn’t suit you. Something’s come up, I’ll see you in the morning.”

— B.A. Paris

27. “If he was able to fool me, if he was able, even for a few seconds, to make me forget what I knew about him, how would I ever be able to convince people that he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”

— B.A. Paris

28. “Pretending to be broken would be much harder, simply because it was in my nature to fight back.”

— B.A. Paris

29. “She’s stunningly pretty but there’s an air of sadness about her.”

— B.A. Paris

30. “We aren’t remembered for long after our deaths, only by those who carry us in their hearts.”

— B.A. Paris

31. “Do I detect a renewal of your fighting spirit? I’m so glad. To tell the truth, I’ve been getting quite bored. Bring it on, Grace – I’m waiting for you.”

— B.A. Paris

32. “In And Then There None, lots of people die, and Mrs Rogers, she die from sleeping medicine.”

— B.A. Paris

33. “The enormity of what she’s doing, of what she’s offering to do, hits me and I feel myself starting to shake. ‘Thank you,’ I whisper.”

— B.A. Paris

34. “I tried to grab her but I couldn’t reach her.”

— B.A. Paris

35. “I never really remember doing any of it, which should worry me more than it does because it means the pills are playing havoc with my already failing memory. If I were sensible, I would halve the dose. But if I were more sensible I wouldn’t have needed the pills in the first place. Maybe if I ate a little more the pills wouldn’t affect me as much but it seems that I’ve lost my appetite as well as my mind.”

— B.A. Paris

36. “Jack knows there is nothing more comforting than routine so he denies me any semblance of it. Although he doesn’t know it, he is doing me a favour.”

— B.A. Paris