1440 Literary Quotes, One for Every Minute of the Day

What if every minute of the day could be matched with a line from a great book? This idea started as a whimsical challenge, but it led us down a path of discovery, curation, and quiet joy. By the end of last year, we have gathered and filtered more than 130,000 quotes—today, we share 1,440 of them. One for every minute from 00:00 to 23:59. A time-based library for literature lovers.

Here we go, just enjoy it!

0:00:00
“In the front hall, the old case clock began to strike midnight. The witching hour.”
— Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches

0:01:00
“She was wearing a watch. Not a digital one, in this life. An elegant, slender, analogue one, with Roman numerals. It was about a minute after midnight.”
— Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

0:02:00
“At two minutes past twelve the door opens and two men come into the lobby. One is tall with black hair combed in a 50's pompadour. The other is short and bespectacled. Both are wearing suits.”
— Stephen King, Billy Summers

0:03:00
“Spagnola took a deep breath and started into the log again. "Eleven forty-one: large dog craps in Dr. Yamata's Aston Martin. Twelve oh-three: dog eats two, count 'em, two of Mrs. Wittingham's Siamese cats."”
— Christopher Moore, Coyote Blue

0:04:00
“Ralf didn't need to look at his watch to know that it was four minutes past midnight. He knew that this was the deciding moment with every fibre of his being.”
— Lou Heneghan, The Turnarounders and the Arbuckle Rescue

0:05:00
“The courier, puffing and dripping with rain, brought the papers at five minutes past midnight.”
— Naomi Bellis, Draw Down the Darkness

0:06:00
“At six minutes past midnight, death relieved the sufferer.”
— Glenn Shirley, West of Hell's Fringe

0:07:00
“The hour and minute hands had stopped at a specific time. 12:07. "As destruction goes," the monster said behind him, "this is all remarkably pitiful."”
— Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls

0:08:00
“12:08 a.m. Kicking their stools out from under them, people began to run, half-drunk cocktails collapsing to the floor and neatly stacked piles of chips swooning on to the baize as gamblers clambered over each other like calves trying to escape a branding pen.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

0:09:00
“At 12.09 a.m. on 18 October, the cavalcade had reached the Karsaz Bridge, still ten kilometres from her destination.”
— Amir Mir, The Bhutto Murder Trail

0:10:00
“"Will she last out the night, I wonder?" "Look at the clock, Mathew." "Ten minutes past twelve! She HAS lasted the night out. She has lived, Robert, to see ten minutes of the new day."”
— Wilkie Collins, The Dead Secret

0:11:00
“At 12:11 there was a knock on the door. It was Terry, A could tell. He hadn't known Terry long, but there was something calmer, more patient, that separated Terry's knocks from the rest of the staff.”
— Jonathan Trigell, Boy A

0:12:00
“"Were you on Carlin Street at approximately 12:12 when Carietta White came out of the First Congregational Church on that street?"”
— Stephen King, Carrie

0:13:00
“It is 12:13 in the morning. My fingers do not feel like they are made of fingers; they feel like they are made of motion. I am tickling the steering wheel as I drive.”
— John Green, Paper Towns

0:14:00
“It was exactly fourteen minutes past midnight when he completed the final call. Among the men he had reached were honourable men. Their voices would be heard by the President.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Matarese Circle

0:15:00
“At 12:15 a.m. word came through from the AEC that the hydrogen bomb, code-named "Aunt Sally," designed by Professors Burnett and Aachen, had a diameter of 4.73 inches. That didn't seem to matter at all.”
— Alistair MacLean, Goodbye California

0:16:00
“I sat up with a grunt, staring around, trying to see. Darkness hung like a fog in my room, and I reached out groggily for my clock. Twelve-sixteen.”
— Simon P. Clark, Eren

0:17:00
“"It's almost seventeen minutes past twelve, Mr. Carroll," he said. Carroll made a movement to rise, then subsided with a groan. "Where am I?" he inquired, feebly, with a bewildered stare around the strange room.”
— Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, The Debtor

0:18:00
“Instantaneously the oblong became a square; then that, too, was extinguished. Toynton Grange lay, a faintly discerned shape etched in the darkness on the silent headland. Curious, he looked at his watch. The time was eighteen minutes past midnight.”
— P.D. James, The Black Tower

0:19:00
“"Right there," Hood said. The men gathered around him. It was nineteen minutes past midnight. "That's the villa. Rommel is in there, gentlemen. Let's make it his last resting place."”
— Thomas Gifford, Praetorian

0:20:00
“He knew the approximate time of death and he wasn't anxious for the police to know that the ladder hadn't been returned to the old stable before twenty past twelve. With luck we should assume that it had been there all night.”
— P.D. James, Cover Her Face

0:21:00
“12:21 a.m. "Uh-oh." Vance felt the tracks suddenly shiver. Then with what sounded like a painful grind of metal on metal, the gantry started moving again. They'd decided to override the safety shutoff.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

0:22:00
“By twenty-two minutes past twelve we leave, much too soon for our desires, this delightful spot, where the pilgrims are in the habit of bathing who come to visit the Jordan.”
— Louis Félicien de Saulcy, Narrative of a journey round the Dead Sea, and in the Bible lands

0:23:00
“12:23 a.m. "Where's the backup? They need to set up a perimeter," Tom ordered angrily.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

0:24:00
“Sanders with Sutton as his gunner began their patrol at 12:24 a.m., turning south towards Beachy Head at 10,000 ft.”
— Gavin Mortimer, The Longest Night

0:25:00
“When I hit the second-floor landing, I snuck a look at my watch. It was twelve twenty-five. No; twenty-six. I could hear the roar of the crowd still approaching, a wave about to break.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

0:26:00
“When I hit the second-floor landing, I snuck a look at my watch. It was twelve twenty-five. No; twenty-six. I could hear the roar of the crowd still approaching, a wave about to break.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

0:27:00
“For three decades, time had been frozen at twelve twenty-seven. The story was that the hands had stopped at the exact moment Corcoran O'Connor's father died. It might have been true.”
— William Kent Krueger, Boundary Waters

0:28:00
“He pulled his hand up so that he could just see his wrist-watch without heat escaping from inside the sleeping bag. The luminous clock face read: Twenty-eight minutes past midnight.”
— Tim Flanagan, The Moon Stealers and the Quest for the Silver Bough

0:29:00
“12:29 a.m. Sirens blaring, they swept through the city, outriders clearing their path, people pointing and staring.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

0:30:00
“As he paused, he heard the city clocks strike the half-hour after midnight, and he could not forbear repeating aloud, "At dead of night he left the house and passed into the solitude of the garden."”
— E.G. Swain, Bone to His Bone

0:31:00
“Third individual approaches unnoticed and without caution. Once within reach, individual reaches out toward subjects. Recording terminates: timecode: 00:31:02.”
— Stephen Jones, Zombie Apocalypse!

0:32:00
“It was 12:32 a.m. mountain time. Deputy Mike Rowdy was with him. "Anything?" Sheriff Lacey asked the dispatcher. "Nothing you don't know about," she said.”
— Mark T. Sullivan, Triple Cross

0:33:00
“"It's 12:33 now and I could do it, the station is just down that side road there."”
— Dorothy L. Sayers, Five Red Herrings

0:34:00
“Thirty-four minutes past midnight. "We got ten minutes to be back here."”
— Dreda Say Mitchell, Killer Tune

0:35:00
“What's wrong with me? Why did I come here? I check the time again. 12:35 a.m.”
— Dustin Thao, You've Reached Sam

0:36:00
“The numeral displayed on the digital clock (wedged between books on the shelf) leaps from 12:36 to 12:37, and he's just finished telling about the blue robe that Rashid, the thunderbolt-hurler, wore on Eid Mubarak and was still wearing when he fled.”
— Jenny Erpenbeck, Go, Went, Gone

0:37:00
“Alibi: From midnight to 2 a.m. (Seen by H.P. in corridor at same time as voice spoke from Ratchett's compartment at 12:37. From 1 a.m. to 1:16 vouched for by other two conductors.)”
— Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

0:38:00
“"You left the main hospital building at about midnight. You spoke to the porter at the main gate at twelve thirty-eight a.m. Where were you between those times?"”
— P.D. James, Shroud for a Nightingale

0:39:00
“Next, he remembered that the morrow of Christmas would be the 27th day of the moon, and that consequently high water would be at 21 minutes past 3, the half-ebb at a quarter past 7, low water at 33 minutes past 9, and half flood at 39 minutes past 12.”
— Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea

0:40:00
“It was the opinion of the forensic pathologist who saw the body at twelve-forty that Mrs. O'Keefe had died very shortly after her return home.”
— P.D. James, A Certain Justice

0:41:00
“The call had been made at 12:41 a.m. Sunday, just an hour or so after Thorson had apparently checked into the hotel in Phoenix.”
— Michael Connelly, The Poet

0:42:00
“Nothing Harmon could do, though. By the time they got into the tunnel itself, it was eighteen minutes to one o'clock.”
— John Sandford, Rampage

0:43:00
“"Died five minutes ago, you say?" he asked. His eye went to the watch on his wrist. Twelve-forty-three, he wrote on the blotter.”
— Agatha Christie, A Pocket Full of Rye

0:44:00
“A few minutes later they were crossing the bridge over the Arizona Canal. Matt pulled out his old silver watch. "Only sixteen minutes to one," he announced, with a note of exultation, "and we're fifteen miles on our way."”
— Stanley R. Matthews, Motor Matt's "Century" Run

0:45:00
“I picked my watch up from the night table and saw it was quarter of one. I didn't think there was going to be any more sleep for me until that banging stopped, so I got dressed, started out the door, then returned to the closet for my slicker.”
— Stephen King, Joyland

0:46:00
“Mr. George Booth. I make it fourteen minutes to one. [he seizes the occasion.] Trenchard, as a very old and dear friend of your father's, you won't mind me saying how glad I was that you were present to-day. Death closes all.”
— Harley Granville-Barker, The Voysey Inheritance

0:47:00
“At forty-seven minutes past twelve they reached the buoy, it was in perfect condition, and must have shifted but little. "At last!" exclaimed J.T. Maston. "Shall we begin?" asked Captain Bloomsbury. "Without losing a second."”
— Jules Verne, Around the Moon

0:48:00
“We rise for the shipping forecast at forty-eight minutes past midnight and set off shortly afterwards. The forecast is for a moderate breeze from the southwest, possibly strengthening to Force 5.”
— Sandra Clayton, Dolphins Under My Bed

0:49:00
“12:49 a.m. From the front, there's no evidence that a coup has taken place here. The warehouse looks just as it did when Isaac showed it to him last week. But with Lacebark gone, these two million liters of empty space sing a new anthem.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

0:50:00
“The packing was done at 12:50; and Harris sat on the big hamper, and said he hoped nothing would be found broken. George said that if anything was broken it was broken, which reflection seemed to comfort him.”
— Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

0:51:00
“12:51 a.m. The cold water bit savagely into him as he arrowed through the hole in the ice. The shock made him inhale sharply, his lungs only half filling with air as the water closed over his head.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

0:52:00
“Its hands stood at eight minutes to one; they had stood so for an unknowable number of years before it had come into Petrovsky's possession, but he was still proud of it.”
— Kingsley Amis, Russian Hide and Seek

0:53:00
“At seven minutes before one o'clock, Alice Cavendish entered the bathroom of her family home on Colchester terrace and pulled the curtain across the window.”
— Alex Pavesi, Eight Detectives

0:54:00
“The ice was soon broken; songs, anecdotes, and more drinks followed, and the pregnant minutes flew. At six minutes to one, when the jollity was at its highest-BOOM!! There was silence instantly.”
— Mark Twain, A Double Barrelled Detective Story

0:55:00
“Now, at five minutes to one, the stones were unoccupied. Mma Ramotswe chose the largest of the stones and settled herself upon it.”
— Alexander McCall Smith, Morality for Beautiful Girls

0:56:00
“One night, and this first night is lost in the countless later nights of compounding wonder, he discovered a game. Say the time was 12:56.”
— Dana Standridge, Lessons in Essence

0:57:00
“A minute had passed, and the roller dropped a new leaf. 12:57. 12 + 57 = 69; 6 + 9 = 15; 1 + 5 = 6. 712 + 5 = 717; 71 + 7 = 78; 7 + 8 = 15; 1 + 5 = 6 again.”
— Dana Standridge, Lessons in Essence

0:58:00
“I sit down at the work desk in my room and wave my hand to bring the computer out of standby. The twenty-four-hour clock reads 0058 hours.”
— Curtis C. Chen, Waypoint Kangaroo

0:59:00
“"If she doesn't know we're Picts, we still are. Wait till one o'clock and see if she goes. What time is it now?" "A quarter of a minute to one."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Picts and the Martyrs

1:00:00
“Cath went to bed at one o'clock. She came back down at three to make sure the front door was locked; she did that sometimes when she couldn't sleep, when things didn't feel quite right or settled.”
— Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

1:01:00
“Thus it was that at one minute past one o'clock, when a preternaturally self-respecting porter dispassionately ascertained that nothing more would be required of him till morning.”
— Louis Joseph Vance, Nobody

1:02:00
“At 1:02 a.m., Diego's eyes snapped open.”
— Lon Prater, Head Music

1:03:00
“It always feels You're here with me. When I check the time, It's still 1:03.”
— David O'Doherty, The Summer I Robbed A Bank

1:04:00
“She called again after her father died-this time at 1:04 on the morning of August 2nd. Some drunk had answered the telephone.”
— Stephen King, The Tommyknockers

1:05:00
“Palme was killed at 11:21 p.m., but the order to watch the roads didn't go out until 12:50 and even then the police in patrol cars weren't told what they were looking for, and the airports were not closed until 1:05 a.m.”
— Bill Bryson, Neither Here, Nor There

1:06:00
“When he woke it was 1:06 by the digital clock on the bedside table. He lay there looking at the ceiling, the raw glare of the vaporlamp outside bathing the bedroom in a cold and bluish light. Like a winter moon.”
— Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men

1:07:00
“"Roger. Check your straps, everyone, and get ready. The engines will fire in about two minutes, at 01:07 on your GET clock."”
— Harry Harrison, Skyfall

1:08:00
“It was 1:08 a.m. but he had left the ball at the same time as I did, and had further to travel.”
— Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project

1:09:00
“Wednesday 1:09 a.m. "Darling, do you think they'll figure out it was a ruse?" "Who knows." He looked up from stoking the fireplace, where nothing but embers remained.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

1:10:00
“"Then I heard someone outside on the deck and then a splash." "You have no idea what time this was?" "I can tell you the time exactly. It was ten minutes past one."”
— Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile

1:11:00
“01:11 a.m., says her clock. A classical LP is on her Dansette. Jasper clicks the PLAY toggle. An oboe has lost its way.”
— David Mitchell, Utopia Avenue

1:12:00
“That was under the pastoral cone of silence. Maybe I'll be able to tell Jenn more at some point down the line. But not now. He looked at the clock. It said 1:12 a.m.”
— Ray Keating, Vatican Shadows

1:13:00
“1:13 a.m. Their driver, Igor, confessed to being a school teacher by day. At night, however, he moonlighted as a chastnik, cruising through the city's tattered streets offering unlicensed taxi rides.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

1:14:00
“"Sal is here, this is my old buddy from New Yor-r-k, this is his first night in Denver and it's absolutely necessary for me to take him out and fix him up with a girl." "But what time will you be back?" "It is now" (looking at his watch) "exactly one-fourteen."”
— Jack Kerouac, On the Road

1:15:00
“"Can I come in?" she asked. "I really need to talk." "Can I just call you later? What time is it?" "One fifteen. I tried calling," she said. "Here, the doorman sent up your mail. I need to talk. It's serious."”
— Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

1:16:00
“The oven clock said it was sixteen minutes past one. She was completely exhausted. She'd had dreams last night. She couldn't remember what they were about, but a strong sense of unease still hung over her.”
— Dan T. Sehlberg, Mona

1:17:00
“One seventeen and four seconds. That shorter guy's really got it made, and gets on a scooter, and that taller one, he goes in. One seventeen and forty seconds. That girl there, she's got a green ribbon in her hair. Too bad that bus just cut her from view.”
— Wislawa Szymborska, The Terrorist, He Watches

1:18:00
“It was a Saturday night, or technically Sunday morning. It was eighteen minutes past one.”
— Elin Hilderbrand, Summerland

1:19:00
“"It threw me to the floor. I didn't know electricity could do that. I was almost..." She couldn't think of the word. It was nineteen minutes past one.”
— Charles Baxter, Saul and Patsy

1:20:00
“"I got the impression the feelings between the two of you were very one-sided. Seems I was wrong." Drago glanced at his watch. "It's now one-twenty. Three-twenty in the Riviera Club."”
— Alastair MacNeill, Night Watch

1:21:00
“I was born on the side of a two-lane Virginia highway at 1:21 a.m. on February 1, 1983.”
— Jason F. Wright, The Cross Gardener

1:22:00
“Les Invalides, Paris, France. 31st July 1:22 p.m. A thick heat had settled on the city by the lunchtime of the following day.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

1:23:00
“The clock marked twenty-three minutes past one. He was suddenly full of agitation, yet hopeful. She had come! Who could tell what she would say? She might offer the most natural explanation of her late arrival.”
— Anatole France, A Mummer's Tale

1:24:00
“1:24. I closed the refrigerator and headed back to the living room. That might mean the attack was taking longer than expected, or it might just be the beginning of a long night, but either way there was nothing I could do about it.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of War

1:25:00
“He made a last effort; he tried to rise, and sank back. His head fell on the sofa cushions. It was then twenty-five minutes past one o'clock.”
— Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

1:26:00
“At twenty-six minutes past one Merilee let herself into the library and leaned back against the door in a pose that belonged in a silent movie.”
— Mal Peet, The Murdstone Trilogy

1:27:00
“At twenty-seven minutes past one she felt as if she was levitating out of her body.”
— Deon Meyer, Trackers

1:28:00
“My husband had his iPad propped up on the table. He hit the security camera app and we leaned in, peering at the screen. At 1:28 a.m., three hooded figures appeared on the road in front of our home.”
— Robyn Harding, The Perfect Family

1:29:00
“At one-twenty-nine o'clock in the morning, it gently rose from its perch on the Explorers' Club and, dropping bits of plaster, spikes, and rivets, flew off eastward over the city.”
— William Pène du Bois, The 21 Balloons

1:30:00
“Rose continued her meditations until one thirty that Monday morning. The rest of the True (with the exception of Apron Annie and Big Mo, currently watching over Grampa Flick) were sleeping deeply when she decided she was ready.”
— Stephen King, Doctor Sleep

1:31:00
“In spite of its business she arrived at Fanny Tudor's house at one minute after half-past one. She knew there was no necessity to be punctual. But punctuality was a habit of which she could not break herself.”
— Alec Waugh, Wheels Within Wheels

1:32:00
“I sat down on the couch again and looked at my watch. It was one thirty-two. I shut my eyes and focused on a spot in my head. My mind a total blank, I gave myself up to the sands of time and let the flow take me wherever it wanted.”
— Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

1:33:00
“He looked at his watch. One-thirty-three a.m. He had been asleep on this bench for over an hour and a half.”
— Kat Fox, Skeletons

1:34:00
“"At the third stroke it will be ..." He tiptoed out and returned to the control cabin. "... one... thirty-four and twenty seconds." The voice sounded as clear as if he was hearing it over a phone in London, which he wasn't, not by a long way.”
— Douglas Adams, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

1:35:00
“At one thirty-five, the attending physician Dr. Lyndon Hart, experienced some sort of disorientation. He confessed later to several of his colleagues that "something strange" happened in the room.”
— Anne Rice, The Witching Hour

1:36:00
“1:36 a.m. The next morning. Sometime before the many deaths that would soon drench the day in blood.”
— Adam-Troy Castro, The Gathering of the Sinister Six

1:37:00
“When she next woke up, the compartment was dark and Walter was snoring below her. A glance at the small travel clock Walter had set on the narrow shelf beside the beds read 1:37.”
— Michael Thomas Ford, Jane Vows Vengeance

1:38:00
“At one-thirty-eight a.m. suspect left the Drive-In and drove to seven hundred and twenty three North Walnut, to the rear of the residence, and parked the car.”
— W.E.B. Griffin, The Narc

1:39:00
“My phone rings. 01:39 a.m. Home Calling: "Hello?" "Tori, are you coming home yet?" "Oliver? Why aren't you in bed?" "I was watching Doctor Who."”
— Alice Oseman, Solitaire

1:40:00
“I hadn't time to stop and argue. I unbelted the fiver and hopped into the cab. It was twenty to two when I got to the flat. I bounded into the sitting room, but it was empty.”
— P.G. Wodehouse, The Inimitable Jeeves

1:41:00
“It was nineteen minutes to two when he returned, head first, with the phial still between his teeth, and the cotton-wool rammed home to still the rattling of that which lay like a great gray bean within.”
— E.W. Hornung, The Amateur Cracksman

1:42:00
“At 01:42 and 26 seconds, the plane hit the side of Nimitz Hill, a densely vegetated mountain three miles southwest of the airport-$60 million and 212,000 kilograms of steel slamming into rocky ground at one hundred miles per hour.”
— Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

1:43:00
“It's 1:43 a.m. There is just enough battery life left to make a call. So I dial his number.”
— Dustin Thao, You've Reached Sam

1:44:00
“"The station received the call at one thirty-one a.m.," she said., "and the firefighters arrived here at one forty-four."”
— Peter Robinson, Playing with Fire

1:45:00
“And the whole house seemed resounding with his shouts. When it was ten or fifteen minutes to two the deacon would come in; he was a lanky young man of twenty-two, with long hair, with no beard and a hardly perceptible moustache.”
— Anton Chekhov, The Duel

1:46:00
“In the middle of the night I suddenly shot awake again. The clock next to my bed read 1:46, almost exactly the same time as the night before. I sat up in bed, listening carefully in the dark.”
— Haruki Murakami, Killing Commendatore

1:47:00
“I squinted at the bedside clock until my eyes adjusted to the light. One forty-seven. I knew things always felt worse in the night. I wouldn't feel half as bad in the morning.”
— Lindsey Kelk, I Heart Paris

1:48:00
“"Mr. Peripart Sir then you immediately departed under a special clearance from the government at Saigon and returned here at 01:48 local time."”
— John Barnes, Finity

1:49:00
“As far as she knew there was nobody but herself in the bureau. All she needed to do was to say a telephone call had come through at 1:49.”
— Agatha Christie, The Clocks

1:50:00
“Rahel's toy wristwatch had the time painted on it. Ten to two. One of her ambitions was to own a watch on which she could change the time whenever she wanted to (which according to her was what Time was meant for in the first place).”
— Arundhati Rov, The God of Small Things

1:51:00
“1:51 a.m. Tom was getting restless. Thirty minutes had gone by, and there was still no sign of Viktor.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

1:52:00
“Link telepathically confirmed it was eight minutes to two in the morning. I was only eight minutes away from the anomaly appearing again. The time in the 26th century was running out fast for me.”
— Elliot Sacchi, A Timeless Journey

1:53:00
“He had been in his room only a minute when he heard the Buick returning. It was then seven minutes to two.”
— Arthur Upfield, The Mountains Have a Secret

1:54:00
“They did not stay long. At 1.54 a.m., Gibson sent the signal "Dinghy"-the codeword for a breach at the Eder, confirmed it again immediately, then answered the question from Group about whether there were any more aircraft to send to Target Z.”
— James Holland, Dam Busters

1:55:00
“1:55 a.m., Bayside, Queens. Two sets of stairs led to the basement apartment shared by Randall al-Hakim and Abdul ed-Din-one from the tiny backyard and the second from inside the home.”
— Ray Keating, Warrior Monk

1:56:00
“"Mr. Peripart Sir at 01:56 you ordered me back into shutdown mode."”
— John Barnes, Finity

1:57:00
“Then I opened my eyes and looked at my watch. It was one fifty-seven. Twenty-five minutes had vanished somewhere. Not bad, I told myself. A pointless way of whittling away time. Not bad at all.”
— Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

1:58:00
“He squinted at the alarm clock: almost two. Still another five hours before he had to report for work and yet another bollocking five whole hours.”
— Stuart MacBride, Dying Light

1:59:00
“It was one minute to two o'clock; and then something happened. The whole white world became red. The oldest seas in the world went suddenly lashing into storm.”
— James Stephens, Here Are Ladies

2:00:00
“"Your two o'clock is a hunk."”
— Susan Mallery, Cowboy Daddy

2:01:00
“I checked my watch. 2:01 a.m. The cheeseburger Happy Meal was now only a distant memory. I cursed myself for not also ordering a breakfast sandwich for the morning.”
— Reif Larsen, The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

2:02:00
“The strategist looked up at the wall clock as he considered the information. The time was two minutes after two in the morning. He had slept for less than two hours.”
— Dr. Valentine Cyndy Egbejimba, Mugu

2:03:00
“Steven put me in the library next to a phone, and left me alone. At three minutes past two, it rang. The voice said, "Mr. Vance."”
— Robert B. Parker, Small Vices

2:04:00
“If so, then returning consciousness came at four minutes past two, and that gives about seven minutes of total insensibility.”
— Fulgence Marion, Wonderful Balloon Ascents

2:05:00
“The clock on the nightstand said it was 2:05 a.m. Rixey answered, "Yes, Mr. President." "Sorry about calling in the middle of the night, Aaron," said President Adam Links.”
— Ray Keating, Persecution

2:06:00
“And the time was six minutes past two... And what of Jonah? He and Harry would probably arrive about five minutes too late. I bit my lip savagely.”
— Dornford Yates, Berry and Co.

2:07:00
“But I couldn't sleep. And I got out of bed at 2:07 a.m. and I felt scared of Mr. Shears so I went downstairs and out of the front door into Chapter Road.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2:08:00
“He glanced at the bed where his father had lain so long, and in an effort to scramble swiftly to his feet was all but defeated by the cramps in his body. The clock on the mantelshelf said eight minutes past two.”
— Neil M. Gunn, The Serpent

2:09:00
“Nic speeds the images up some more, thirty-two times normal speed, then a flash of light on the screen makes him take notice. He glances at the time log. It's just after two in the morning, 02:09:15 to be exact.”
— Sam Christer, The Turin Shroud Secret

2:10:00
“The luminous dial of his watch showed ten minutes past two in the morning.”
— Ed McBain, Mischief

2:11:00
“More likely than not, he was right. Harker glanced at the chronometer on his heads-up display: 02:11 shiptime. Yet he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. As if enough hadn't gone wrong already.”
— Allen Steele, Spindrift

2:12:00
“Then the lights went out all over the city. It happened at 2.12 a.m. according to power-house records, but Blake's diary gives no indication of the time. The entry is merely, "Lights out — God help me."”
— H.P. Lovecraft, The Haunter of the Dark

2:13:00
“"If you set off now," he says, "then according to Google you would arrive... at thirteen minutes past two."”
— Beth O'Leary, The Road Trip

2:14:00
“There are no more lights on now than when he arrived. That's something to be positive about. No great commotion in the building after the shooting. A glance at the clock in the car: fourteen minutes past two.”
— Malcolm Mackay, How a Gunman Says Goodbye

2:15:00
“At quarter-past two she came to St. Anne's, which was the real terminus of the branch, and the end of everything. The air struck her as cold and tonic when she left the station.”
— C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength

2:16:00
“"Instead, I will tell you, that at 02:16 hours this morning, General Drake's aircraft crashed in the desert, killing all aboard." She waited for the penny to drop.”
— Rob Buckman, Echo of Tomorrow

2:17:00
“The first bomb, in London, had gone off at 2:17 that morning. The second bomb, in Paris, less than an hour ago, at 9:36. But as she watched the scenes, the endless loop of the bombs exploding, Anahita realized that didn't make sense.”
— Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny, State of Terror

2:18:00
“It was 2:18 in the morning, and Donna could see no one else in any other office working so late.”
— Jane Smiley, Moo

2:19:00
“There was no way the Petros Jupiter could proceed and at 0219 the master contacted Land's End coastguard station on VHF to inform the watch officer of the situation and enquire about the availability of a tug.”
— Hammond Innes, The Black Tide

2:20:00
“She turned abruptly to the nurse and asked the time. "Two-twenty" "Ah... Two-twenty!" Genevieve repeated, as though there was something urgent to be done.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Southern Mail

2:21:00
“2:21 a.m. Rigged for black, they had headed west, hitting the coast just north of Civitavecchia and then hugging it as far as Livorno, sawing in and out of the jagged shoreline to stay under the radar.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

2:22:00
“Abruptly her stomach growled. She had been too keyed up to eat very much after the accident, and now hunger pangs her in in earnest. She glanced at the clock again. 2:22 a.m.”
— Roberta Helmer, Code Name: Princess

2:23:00
“2:23 a.m. It was clear from their journey up the hill that Wewelsburg Castle occupied a commanding position over the neighbouring countryside. More surprising perhaps, was its design.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

2:24:00
“It was 2.24 a.m. She stumbled out of bed, tripping on her shoes that she'd kicked off earlier and pulled on a jumper.”
— Maggie O'Farrell, After You'd Gone

2:25:00
“Not now. I can't be sick now. I take a deep cleansing breath, and the wave passes. Nervously, I check my watch. Twenty-five past two.”
— E.L. James, Fifty Shades Freed

2:26:00
“Listened to a voicemail message left at 2:26 a.m. by Claude.”
— Richard Mason, The Lighted Rooms

2:27:00
“The moon didn't shine again until 2:27 a.m. It was enough to show Wallander that he was positioned some distance below the tree.”
— Henning Mankell, One Step Behind

2:28:00
“2:28 a.m. Ran out of sheep and began counting other farmyard animals.”
— Mike Gayle, Mr. Commitment

2:29:00
“Two-twenty-nine a.m. Standing in a lurid cloud of dragon breath, the combined neon exhalations of a half-dozen Chinatown facades, Belford looks confused and a tad leery.”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

2:30:00
“I awoke at half-past two and walked over to the sink for a glass of water. My whole body ached. I washed my face and examined the bruises on my body. I put an ointment on the two cigarette burns.”
— Pat Conroy, The Lords of Discipline

2:31:00
“I checked my watch. 2:31. "Who...?" I said. "Answer it," Judy whispered.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of War

2:32:00
“Charlotte's nightmare began at 2:32 a.m., the morning she experienced the most unimaginable pain ever, the loss of a child.”
— Lakisha Johnson, 2:32 AM: Losing Faith in God

2:33:00
“At thirty-three minutes past two he heard a singular noise outside, then a hasty opening of doors. Passepartout's voice was audible, and immediately after that of Fix. Phileas Fogg's eyes brightened for an instant.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

2:34:00
“I wave to you at 2:34 a.m. they survived the blast by becoming shrapnel embedded in my brain which is called learning but maybe I shouldn't talk”
— Ocean Vuong, Time is a Mother

2:35:00
“I woke up to my phone singing a song by The Hectic Glow. Gus's favorite. That meant he was calling-or someone was calling from his phone. I glanced at the alarm clock: 2:35 a.m. He's gone, I thought as everything inside of me collapsed into a singularity.”
— John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

2:36:00
“The digital clock by her bed reads 2:36 a.m. The air is alive with the sounds of the desert night: chirping crickets, a croaking toad, and, from a distance, someone's dog barking at all of it.”
— Carly Anne West, The Murmurings

2:37:00
“June 13, 1990. Thirty-seven minutes past two in the morning. And sixteen seconds.”
— Stephen King, The Stand

2:38:00
“"Nevertheless, whenever it struck seven he could always be sure that the hands were pointing to a quarter-past twelve, and it was then just twenty-two minutes to three."”
— Ellsworth Douglass, Pharaoh's Broker

2:39:00
“At approximately two-forty a.m., Sunday, June 3, a twenty-seven-year-old female named Amy Roberts presented at the H?pital Honoré-Mercier in Saint-Hyacinthe complaining of excessive vaginal bleeding.”
— Kathy Reichs, Bones are Forever

2:40:00
“It is 2:40 in the morning. Lacey is sleeping. Radar is sleeping. I drive. The road is deserted. Even most truck drivers have gone to bed. We go minutes without seeing headlights coming in the opposite direction.”
— John Green, Paper Towns

2:41:00
“Eisenhower had tossed their suggestions aside and written- ah! There it is: "The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 02:41 local time, May 7, 1945."”
— Ben Bova, Moonwar

2:42:00
“This time it was a bird, a crow, wearing the goggles. Patterson had decrypted the telegram, and now read it quickly. GODDESS 4 reports that GENIUS left the salon at 0242 ZULU.”
— Adam Brookes, Night Heron

2:43:00
“He looked at his watch for the third time-seventeen minutes to three. Just about the time he had planned. She should be here soon if she had left Miss Lloyd's a little after two.”
— Mary Louisa Molesworth, Silverthorns

2:44:00
“"But that will have to wait for tomorrow, Your Excellency. It's 2.44 a.m. The hour of degenerates, drug addicts-and Bangalore-based entrepreneurs."”
— Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger

2:45:00
“Wylie sat at a metal desk under a light fixture mounted in the wall behind him and stared at the dark screen of his cell phone. It was two-forty-five in the morning and his visitor was fifteen minutes late. Wylie was starting to fidget.”
— C.J. Box, The Disappeared

2:46:00
“"0200 hours, wind south-easterly, visibility good, tide low. No sighting but a faint grinding and groaning from 0246 to 0249."”
— Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent

2:47:00
“The glowing numbers read 2:47 a.m. Moisés sighs and turns back to the bathroom door. Finally, the doorknob turns and Conchita comes back to bed. She resumes her place next to Moisés. Relieved, he pulls her close.”
— Daniel A. Olivas, The Book of Want

2:48:00
“The microwave clock turned from 2:47 to 2:48. The oven clock read 2:48 too. A simultaneous switchover. I have always liked catching little moments like that. There's a cleanliness; the world feels briefly tidied.”
— Tracy Manaster, The Done Thing

2:49:00
“"0200 hours, wind south-easterly, visibility good, tide low. No sighting but a faint grinding and groaning from 0246 to 0249."”
— Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent

2:50:00
“Deep meadows yet, for to forget The lies, and truths, and pain?... oh! yet Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?”
— Rupert Brooke, The Old Vicarage, Grantchester

2:51:00
“At nine minutes to three, the storm came back. It rolled in on angry, brooding tiers: swollen blue-black cumulus and ghostly, low-slung nimbostratus, crowding the ceiling of the sky.”
— John Skipp & Craig Spector, The Bridge

2:52:00
“Death-Cast called Delilah Grey at 2:52 a.m. to tell her she's going to die today, but she's sure it's not true. Delilah isn't in some denial stage of grief.”
— Adam Silvera, They Both Die at the End

2:53:00
“They reached the first roadblock on the outskirts of the town of Bulawayo, and Craig checked his wrist-watch. It was seven minutes to three in the morning.”
— Wilbur Smith, The Leopard Hunts in Darkness

2:54:00
“It was six minutes to three, barely enough time for the man to park and walk the one prescribed block to the bridge.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity

2:55:00
“Time to go: 2:55 a.m. Two-handed, Cec lifted his peak cap from the chair.”
— Iain Sinclair, Downriver

2:56:00
“It was 2:56 when the shovel touched the coffin. We all heard the sound and looked at each other.”
— Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

2:57:00
“It was 02:57 GMT. Yahaya slipped from his hiding place and cradled the syringe he had robbed from the ship's hospital in his right hand.”
— Michael McCollum, Life Probe

2:58:00
“He checked his watch. It had never occurred to Crowley to change its battery, which had rotted away three years previously, but it still kept perfect time. It was two minutes to three.”
— Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, Good Omens

2:59:00
“At one minute to three he lit a cigarette, although he did not smoke. He dropped the lighted match carefully into the bin so that it landed in the nest of tissue paper. Then he walked away.”
— Ken Follett, Winter of the World

3:00:00
“Dr. Lannis was woken at three o'clock in the morning by a gentle tapping on his window. He lay still for a moment, wondering with irritation how a branch could be doing such a thing when there was not any tree.”
— Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin

3:01:00
“I glance at the clock. 3:01 a.m. My curtains are closed, but I can see a glow from Olly's room. I drag myself over to the window and push aside the curtains. His entire house is ablaze with lights. Even the porch light is on.”
— Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything

3:02:00
“But after months of checking and rechecking, Joseph Ricardo, of mixed race, born illegitimately in a Buenos Aires hospital at two minutes past three Western time on 19 October 1995, had officially been recognized.”
— P.D. James, The Children of Men

3:03:00
“"I know when Brihanna was born though," I added more cheerfully. "She was born at three minutes past three in the morning. There was a huge clock on the wall in the delivery room and I saw it."”
— Diana Gabaldon, Drums of Autumn

3:04:00
“In the minutes before 3:02 on the morning of the seventh of May, the students who seized the Sorbonne did so on behalf of complaints that ceased to matter at all by 3:03...by 3:04 upheaval lost all rationale.”
— Steve Erickson, The Sea Came in at Midnight

3:05:00
“She could see the clock above the kitchen table-it was 3:05 a.m. She could leave now, right now she could walk out the front door and be sixteen again, and see her father eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.”
— Emma Straub, This Time Tomorrow

3:06:00
“3:06 a.m. "Here," said Miss Pettigrew in a tiny voice. Joe loomed above her. He said no word, but his arm went through hers with that glorious, proprietary, warding male attentiveness never hitherto experienced by Miss Pettigrew.”
— Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

3:07:00
“I put on a movie, thought too much, fell asleep on the couch. When I woke, the sky was still dark, and the clock over the fireplace read 3:07 a.m. The first thought in my head was of Jensen.”
— Christina Lauren, Beautiful

3:08:00
“At 3:08 I turned to see Mama behind me in the door of our apartment building, not running after me but just looking as if to commit me as fast to memory as the moment allowed.”
— Steve Erickson, The Sea Came in at Midnight

3:09:00
“Hall looked at his Rolex and it was nine past three, and yet no cuckoos had announced the hour, not one. How long had this been going on, or not going on?”
— Donald E. Westlake, The Road to Ruin

3:10:00
“It was ten after three when Miles drove into the park. He saw the Bingham's black GMC pickup standing next to the pump.”
— Jon Hassler, Staggerford

3:11:00
“Danny took to looking at his luminous wristwatch dial to stay awake; 3:11 had just passed when he heard the outside lock being picked.”
— James Ellroy, The Big Nowhere

3:12:00
“Perhaps those three miles were nearer four, because when, tired, dusty, and heart-sick, he descried the tower of the Congregational church above the leafless elms and maples of the village, the gilded hands pointed to twelve minutes past three.”
— Ralph Henry Barbour, The Turner Twins

3:13:00
“Now, at this moment, he had come to the supreme test of his training. There was nothing for him to do. He had to keep calm, for now his mind was endangered. At thirteen minutes past three he began to consider the inevitability of death.”
— Olaf Ruhen, The Immortal

3:14:00
“It has been twenty years, but at three-fourteen this morning I screamed in my sleep.”
— Alafair Burke, Never Tell

3:15:00
“Removing the third envelope, the Count considered it with a furrowed brown. That is, until he turned it over and saw the willowy script. "Great Scott!" According to the clock on the wall, it was already 3:15.”
— Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

3:16:00
“"And can you please write down that I arrived here at 3:16?" Elena didn't know why she did that. It might be important later on, she told herself.”
— James Sheehan, The Mayor of Lexington Avenue

3:17:00
“Mozart's second violin concerto was playing on the tape deck. The air temperature was forty-four degrees and it was three seventeen in the morning.”
— Cormac McCarthy, The Passenger

3:18:00
“The truth of the matter we may never know. All we know at the moment is that at 0318 hours on 10th February the Southern Cross was firmly beset by the ice and she was sending out an SOS.”
— Hammond Innes, The White South

3:19:00
“I reached for the bedside lamp and mercifully avoided knocking it on the floor, although once it was on, I saw that I'd pushed the base halfway out over the drop. The clock-radio claimed it was 3:19 a.m.”
— Stephen King, Duma Key

3:20:00
“There was a clean slice above his left brow where the nanny's fingernail had gouged him and, from his wife, a teardrop scratch below his eye. It was 3:20 a.m.”
— Gary Shteyngart, Lake Success

3:21:00
“The call went out at 03:21. It was sent from the regional communication center to all patrol cars in the center of Stockholm and was short and lacking in detail.”
— Liza Marklund, Lifetime

3:22:00
“She had bad news to share and a deep understanding that bad news does not age well. "Ladies and gentlemen, at 03:22 this morning, our GEODSS sensor suite at Socorro, New Mexico detected an anomalous object outside of the orbit of the moon."”
— Dave Donovan, The Gift

3:23:00
“At 3:23 a.m., the hospital calls to say a heart's been found.”
— Emma Carroll, In Darkling Wood

3:24:00
“At length Dr. Steiner lifted the wrist and bent with intentness over the bed. He then drew back, and, putting on his glasses, looked into Governor Stephen's face and said, "I'm afraid he is gone." This was precisely at twenty-four minutes past three.”
— Richard Malcolm Johnston, Life of Alexander H. Stephens

3:25:00
“I raise my head and glance at the fluorescent numbers on the alarm clock next to my bed. 3:25. I get out of bed, go to the chair she was sitting on and touch it.”
— Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

3:26:00
“I must have slept for more than three hours because when I woke, a quick glance at the dashboard clock said it was already twenty-six minutes past three o'clock in the morning.”
— Julie Moffett, No One Lives Twice

3:27:00
“With the Ranger at their head, they went out of town at a fast trot. If there had been anybody there to notice it, he would have seen that the clock on the wall at the Bird Cage registered the time as twenty-seven minutes past three.”
— William MacLeod Raine, Oh, You Tex!

3:28:00
“3:28 a.m. The power is still out, and Neil McNair is in my room, and that is somehow not the strangest thing that's happened today.”
— Rachel Lynn Solomon, Today Tonight Tomorrow

3:29:00
“In the meantime, the minutes were creeping by: 3:15, 3:20, 3:25, 3:27. Supposing Julius did not get there in time. 3:29... Doors were banging. Tommy felt cold waves of despair pass over him. Then a hand fell on his shoulder.”
— Agatha Christie, The Secret Adversary

3:30:00
“At 3:30 a.m., July 1, he stood outside the door of the room occupied by Yasha Jones and held the manila folder in his hand and felt great.”
— Robert Penn Warren, Flood

3:31:00
“He hesitated for a moment and reached for the Admiral's call icon, touching it as gingerly as if it were the trigger to a nuclear charge. Arashan entered the exact time in his duty log: 03:31 hours.”
— Marlin Desault, Shroud of Eden

3:32:00
“3:32 His Fitbit broke when he fell.”
— Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club

3:33:00
“Harlem, New York City, 3:33 a.m. "D.N.R.," Belle says, noticing the tattoo on Michael's rib cage, just below his chest.”
— JJ Bola, The Selfless Act of Breathing

3:34:00
“It was 3:34 a.m. and he was wide-awake. He'd heard the phone ring and the sound of his uncle's voice.”
— Muriel Jensen, Always Florence

3:35:00
“The mayor continued on slowly. He looked at his watch: twenty-five to four. At the door of the barracks the guard informed him that Father Angel had waited for half an hour and would be back at four o'clock.”
— Gabriel García Márquez, In Evil Hour

3:36:00
“Meanwhile a girl was standing in an airport concourse. A big clock suspended from the ceiling said it was twenty-four minutes to four.”
— Michael Marshall Smith, The Intruders

3:37:00
“Skippy's voice echoed in my cabin at 0337. "Wake up!"”
— Craig Alanson, Zero Hour

3:38:00
“At 3:38 a.m., it began to snow in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The geese circling the city flew back to the park, landed, and hunkered down to sit it out on their island in the lake.”
— Connie Willis, Just Like the Ones We Used to Know

3:39:00
“23 October 1893 3.39 a.m. Upon further thought, I feel it necessary to explain that exile into the Master's workshop is not an unpleasant fate. It is not simply some bare-walled cellar devoid of stimulation-quite the opposite.”
— William Jablonsky, The Clockwork Man

3:40:00
“When he left the cloak-room he stepped outside the passage door to examine the ancient stone coffin that stood there and was used for growing ferns in. While examining the coffin he heard a shot. When he returned to the hall soon after, the clock stood at twenty to four.”
— Ianthe Jerrold, Let Him Lie

3:41:00
“The alarm clock said 3:41 a.m. He sat up. Why was the alarm clock slow? He picked up the alarm clock and adjusted the hands to show the same time as his wristwatch: 3:44 a.m.”
— Henning Mankell, The Dogs of Riga

3:42:00
“The phone rang at 3:42 a.m. Who could be calling this late? Or rather 'this early?'”
— Gayl Siegel, Blood Stained

3:43:00
“Nils looked at the clock, 3:43, but he neither turned on the light nor sat up in bed. Normally he wouldn't have been awake anyway, but tonight, at fifty-five years old, he was on the verge of a new life.”
— Jane Smiley, Moo

3:44:00
“When I opened my eyes, an oyster-colored dawn was peeping in at the windows. The hands of my brass alarm clock stood at 3:44.”
— Alan Bradley, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

3:45:00
“LORD CAVERSHAM: I heard of you the other night at Lady Rufford's dancing till four o'clock in the morning! LORD GORING: Only a quarter to four, father.”
— Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

3:46:00
“Next to him is an empty fast food bag, a six-pack of Heineken (all tapped), his glasses, a dog-eared copy of Swann's Way, and a travel-sized alarm clock that stopped at 3:46 a.m.”
— Craig McLay, Village Books

3:47:00
“I stayed awake until 3:47. That was the last time I looked at my watch before I fell asleep. It has a luminous face and lights up if you press a button so I could read it in the dark.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3:48:00
“She awoke suddenly and completely. The alarm clock dial read 3:48 a.m. Kate was sure that she had heard something.”
— Dan Simmons, Children of the Night

3:49:00
“It was 3:49 when he hit me because of the two hundred times I had said, "I don't know." He hit me a lot after that.”
— Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File

3:50:00
“I only just managed to catch the last fading notes of the alarm as it went off at ten minutes to four.”
— Alistair MacLean, When Eight Bells Toll

3:51:00
“The digital reading on the clock-radio was 3:51. Always odd numbered at times like this. What does it mean? Is death odd-numbered?”
— Don DeLillo, White Noise

3:52:00
“He came to a curve, and there was the lay-by, just where McCready had said it would be. He checked his watch; eight minutes to four. The road was empty.”
— Frederick Forsyth, The Deceiver

3:53:00
“"I expect she is in pieces. Were you thinking she would go again? She has stopped, you see, at seven minutes to four o'clock, and I do think she will never reach the hour by the look of her..."”
— Richard Hull, Murder of My Aunt

3:54:00
“Johnny left the hotel before 3:54 and slowly skied down to Kesicken.”
— Nancy Spain, Death Goes On Skis

3:55:00
“All of them, save the infant, had been blasted out of their REM sleep by a burglar alarm and blown into the hallway to find Cap'm Charlie dressed up in his high black boots as if he's about to hop on a horse at 3:55 a.m.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

3:56:00
“It was now four minutes to four, and a new day had begun: a day that would likely wrench the cracks apart, turn the bruises into bloody wounds, and shatter to smithereens everything she had patiently made of herself.”
— Brian Stableford, The Cassandra Complex

3:57:00
“"Three minutes to four," she replied, consulting her broad old gold watch, and then holding it to her ear. "Yes; three minutes to four. I thought it was later. You saw something, William Maubray, you did. You have seen something: haven't you?"”
— Sheridan Le Fanu, All in the Dark

3:58:00
“A hum of tolling bells makes itself heard, but not sharply. At three-fifty-eight a waiting interval.”
— Mark Twain, The Memorable Assassination

3:59:00
“As it lacked one minute to four when Hedworth Westerling, chief of staff in name as well as power now, alighted from the gray automobile that turned in at the Galland drive.”
— Frederick Palmer, The Last Shot

4:00:00
“"I remember Patriarch Thooraki getting up every day at four o'clock when he first became head of the family. But after a couple of years he was able to sleep in until five-thirty."”
— Timothy Zahn, Lesser Evil

4:01:00
“Dawn came, a cold and grey and blustery dawn, and still the Condors stayed away. At ten o'clock, a rather weary McKinnon-he'd been on the wheel since 4:01 a.m.-went below in search of breakfast.”
— Alistair MacLean, San Andreas

4:02:00
“I'd just looked up at the clock, to make sure time wasn't getting away from me, when I heard the shot. It was two minutes after four. I didn't know what to do.”
— Carolyn Hart, Southern Ghost

4:03:00
“Jared lies in bed with his eyes closed. He opens them and looks at the digital clock. It is 04:03 a.m.”
— Simon Stephenson, Set My Heart to Five

4:04:00
“At four past four he was aware of a rustling train's rush down the steps, and now was like a man with his neck on the block, awaiting the axe.”
— M.P. Shiel, The Lord of the Sea

4:05:00
“Chicago Mercy is a ten-block trek from my house, and I limp into the harsh light of the ER at 4:05 a.m. I hate hospitals. I watched my mother die in one.”
— Blake Crouch, Dark Matter

4:06:00
“Dexter looked at Kate's note, then her face, then the clock. It was 4.06 a.m., the night before they would go to the restaurant.”
— Chris Pavone, The Expats

4:07:00
“"Time, Dick?" "Seven and three quarter minutes past four." "Giminy," said Nancy. "I've simply got to get cool." She stepped over into the water beside the Amazon, paddled her feet, and scooped handfuls of water over her shoulders.”
— Arthur Ransome, The Picts and the Martyrs

4:08:00
“It was eight minutes after four. I still don't have a plan. Maybe the guys in the Nova, maybe they had a plan.”
— Robert Crais, The Monkey's Raincoat

4:09:00
“"I have to hang up now," Rosemary said. "I just wanted to know if there was any improvement." "No, there isn't. It was nice of you to call." She hung up. It was nine minutes after four.”
— Ira Levin, Rosemary's Baby

4:10:00
“My diary was still on the bed and I tried to finish my last sentence, which was still turning in my mind, but my pen had dried up. Finding that my clock had stopped at ten-past four, I began to guess the truth.”
— Marcel Aymé, Tickets on Time

4:11:00
“The next morning I awaken at exactly eleven minutes after four, having slept straight through my normal middle-of-the-night insomniac waking at three.”
— Karen Karbo, The Stuff of Life

4:12:00
“Karen felt the bed move beneath Harry's weight. Lying on her side she opened her eyes to see digital numbers in the dark, 4:12 in pale green. Behind her Harry continued to move, settling in. She watched the numbers change to 4:13.”
— Elmore Leonard, Get Shorty

4:13:00
“He woke me up at 0413. Gingerbread's day was twenty six and a half Earth hours, so I was hoping for an extra hour of sleep before I was scheduled to fly as copilot on a recon mission.”
— Craig Alanson, Zero Hour

4:14:00
“Stephen glanced at the clock on a bedside table. In big red numbers, it screamed out 4:14 in the morning. "Sounds good. Thanks." "Thank you, Stephen. After all, I asked you to go. Apologize to Jennifer, if necessary."”
— Ray Keating, Wine into Water

4:15:00
“When he woke up, it was quarter past four. His body was beaded with sweat, and he had kicked the upper sheet away. Still, he felt clear-headed again.”
— Stephen King, Salem's Lot

4:16:00
“I stooped to pick up my watch from the floor. Four-sixteen. Another hour until dawn. I went to the telephone and dialled my own number. It'd been a long time since I'd called home, so I had to struggle to remember the number.”
— Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

4:17:00
“He awoke at 4:17 a.m. in a sweat. He had been dreaming of Africa again, and then the dream had continued in the U.S. when he was a young man. But Inbata had been there, watching him.”
— Douglas Phinney, The Vile

4:18:00
“He is out of sight in seconds. I check the time on my phone-4:18, even minute-and I speed in the opposite direction, into an airy labyrinth full of people's relics for sale.”
— Adam Silvera, History Is All You Left Me

4:19:00
“Logan screwed up his face and peered out blearily from beneath the duvet-according to the clock radio it was nineteen minutes past four.”
— Stuart MacBride, Broken Skin

4:20:00
“How many people would have called the elevator between 4:00 and 4:20 in the morning? Maybe no one, maybe several ones.”
— Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle

4:21:00
“The phone started up again. Logan squinted at the alarm clock: twenty-one minutes past four.”
— Stuart MacBride, Flesh House

4:22:00
“At exactly 4:22 a.m., David McKenna sighed his last shuddering breath and passed on to the next world.”
— Brenda Chapman, Bleeding Darkness

4:23:00
“Her chip pulsed the time. 04:23:04. It had been a long day.”
— William Gibson, Neuromancer

4:24:00
“At 04:24 on January 5, 2025, the stars stood still in the sky. In California, the earthquake started with a low- frequency rumble. It wasn't a sound but a sensation that caused an incomprehensible weakness in the legs, a constriction of the bowels, and panic.”
— Carlos J. Cortes, Perfect Circle

4:25:00
“"Wade! Oh, this is yummy. What are you up to? What are you doing up at... 4:25 in the morning?"”
— Douglas Coupland, All Families Are Psychotic

4:26:00
“He jumped when his cell phone rang in the 4:26 a.m. silence and assumed it was Jackie.”
— Tracey Lange, We Are the Brennans

4:27:00
“Still no sign of Juliet. Patricia gave a surreptitious glance at her watch; twenty-seven minutes past four-no! nearly twenty-eight past-Oh, hurry up, Juliet, hurry up, do!”
— Elinor Brent-Dyer, Visitors for the Chalet School

4:28:00
“By 4:28 a.m. I lay awake staring out open windows until the sky turns pink until the light comes back.”
— Esmeralda Gamez, By 4:28 a.m.

4:29:00
“Dick looked at his watch. "Half a minute to half-past four," he whispered. "They've done it." "I say," whispered Dorothea. "How many more days? They'll never, never be able to keep it up like that."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Picts and the Martyrs

4:30:00
“Chloe had not given it a chance, I argued with myself, knowing the hopelessness of these inner courts announcing hollow verdicts at four thirty in the morning.”
— Alain de Botton, Essays in Love

4:31:00
“An earthquake hit Los Angeles at 4:31 this morning and the images began arriving via CNN right away.”
— Douglas Coupland, Microserfs

4:32:00
“At 4:32 a.m., Ingrid sat up in the darkened bedroom with her laptop balanced on her knees.”
— Elaine Hsieh Chou, Disorientation

4:33:00
“When he heard the faint clunk of a steel gate closing behind them, he smiled in the darkness. They were out. He pressed a button on the watch and when its light showed him it was 04:33 his smile became a grin.”
— Jason Dean, The Wrong Man

4:34:00
“He was blurry. Not because he was dead, but because it was 4:34 a.m. And I'd recently had my ass kicked.”
— Darynda Jones, First Grave on the Right

4:35:00
“"Oh, I see. It—it was twenty-five minutes to five." "So, you do know exactly the time you returned to the camp!" said Poirot gently.”
— Agatha Christie, Appointment with Death

4:36:00
“At 4:36 that morning, alone in my hotel room, it had been a much better scene. Spencer had blanched, confounded by the inescapable logic of my accusation. A few drops of perspiration had formed on his upper lip.”
— Ross Thomas, The Brass Go-Between

4:37:00
“Out in the street they could hear sounds. Paris was stirring. The start of another working week. He checked his watch. It was 4:37 in the morning. Less than three hours now.”
— Louise Penny, All the Devils are Here

4:38:00
“At 4:38 a.m. as the sun is coming up over Gorley Woods, I hear a strange rustling in the grass beside me. I peer closely but can see nothing.”
— Jonathan Barrow, The Queue

4:39:00
“I sat up in bed and looked over at the red glow of my digital alarm clock. Four thirty-nine. Up ahead of time. Already, the day seemed promising.”
— Abby Collette, A Deadly Inside Scoop

4:40:00
“When Mark stepped back into the kitchen of Eva's Rooms, it was twenty minutes of five. His eyes were hollow, and his T-shirt was smeared with blood. His eyes were stunned and slow.”
— Stephen King, Salem's Lot

4:41:00
“At 4:41 Crane's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie as if he'd read their thoughts of mutiny. "Everyone into the elevator. Now!" Only moments before the call he and C.J. had finished what they hoped would be a successful diversion.”
— Roland S. Jefferson, Damaged Goods

4:42:00
“A large clock above the desks read, 04:42 a.m. He paused to listen. Whatever had happened there, appeared to be over.”
— Matthew Warwick, Dead City

4:43:00
“It was 4:43 a.m. according to my phone, the menu screen of the DVD still on the wall, so we hadn't lost power.”
— Ben Lerner, 10:04

4:44:00
“The theory goes like this: Rabbits players, and perhaps also would-be Rabbits players, notice one specific time on the clock, 4:44 (afternoon and/or morning), more often than people not connected to or interested in the game.”
— Terry Miles, Rabbits

4:45:00
“At a quarter to five I kissed Catherine good-by and went into the bathroom to dress. Knotting my tie and looking in the glass I looked strange to myself in civilian clothes.”
— Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

4:46:00
“The phone rang again at four-forty-six. "Hello," I said. "Hello," came a woman's voice. "Sorry about the time before. There's a disturbance in the sound field. Sometimes the sound goes away."”
— Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

4:47:00
“"His respiration increased right around the same time, and again around 04:47 this morning." "Could he be dreaming?" "Coma patients don't dream," Lilly said, her voice dropping as she turned and looked at Victor.”
— Gail Delaney, Outcasts

4:48:00
“By four forty-eight the five-man team had her back again and the urgent struggle to save Ellen's life continued. She'd now been undergoing surgery for the best part of two hours, and it was doubtful her body could sustain much more trauma.”
— Susan Lewis, Taking Chances

4:49:00
“When Costain left the bridge the brass chronometer in the wheelhouse said eleven minutes to five. Harkness looked at it and realised vaguely that the gap was still too big.”
— Elleston Trevor, Gale Force

4:50:00
“But at 4:50 in the morning, the tourists were sleeping. The Drive was completely dead, like everything else, as we drove past store after parking lot after store after parking lot.”
— John Green, Paper Towns

4:51:00
“"Earlier? It's nine minutes to five a.m.—who would be up this early?" "Oh, we're all early risers."”
— Jean Johnson, Gifts of the Magi

4:52:00
“"If it matters, it's eight minutes to five. Don't get any persecuted ideas that I enjoy being out of bed at this time of night. It makes it legally easier if you invite us in."”
— Gerald Seymour, Holding the Zero

4:53:00
“Four blocks he had to walk to reach the bus stop; none even knew where Keeler Avenue was, much less how to get there. Finally, at 4:53, a bus arrived.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

4:54:00
“Six minutes to five. Six minutes to go. Suddenly I felt quite clearheaded. There was an unexpected light in the cell; the boundaries were drawn, the roles well defined. The time of doubt and questioning and uncertainty was over.”
— Elie Wiesel, Dawn

4:55:00
“There were two messages. The first, sent at 4:55 a.m., was from the campus garage. "We have your vehicle," the mechanic's voice informed him. "Unfortunately, we had some trouble getting it out of the ditch, and it has sustained a small amount of additional damage."”
— Karen Hancock, The Enclave

4:56:00
“4:56 a.m. Santos uncorked the decanter and poured the Margaux into four large glasses.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

4:57:00
“Holly climbed through the wardrobe into Spiro's bedroom. The industrialist lay in the same position she had left him, his breathing regular and normal. The stopwatch on Holly's visor read 4:57 a.m. and counting. Just in time.”
— Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

4:58:00
“He wants to look death in the face. Two minutes to five. I took a handkerchief out of my pocket, but John Dawson ordered me to put it back. An Englishman dies with his eyes open. He wants to look death in the face.”
— Elie Wiesel, Dawn

4:59:00
“"I do not wish, sir," said Julien to him gravely, "to be alone for a single instant. Deign to observe," he added, showing him the clock over their heads, "that I have arrived at one minute to five."”
— Stendhal, The Red and the Black

5:00:00
“Being awakened at four in the morning... Good God, it's actually five... for a mourning ceremony. It's as stupid as those modern-day Druids, dressed up in sheets, who carry on at Stonehenge on the summer solstice, or whenever the hell they do it.”
— Anne Rice, Taltos

5:01:00
“He arrived panting, his shirt soaked with sweat under the arms, terribly conscious of the odor, of fear as well as exertion, that rose from his body. It was 4:58. Three minutes later-5:01-a bus arrived.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

5:02:00
“It was 5:02 a.m., December 14. In another fifty-eight minutes he would set sail for America. He did not want to leave his bride; he did not want to go.”
— Brenda Joyce, The Prize

5:03:00
“It was 5:03 a.m. It didn't matter. She wasn't going to get back to sleep. She threw off her covers and, swearing at herself, Caleb and Mr. Griffin, she headed into the shower.”
— Heather Graham, Unhallowed Ground

5:04:00
“5:04 a.m. on the substandard clock radio. Because why do people always say the day starts now? Really it starts in the middle of the night at a fraction of a second past midnight.”
— Ali Smith, The Accidental

5:05:00
“The baby, a boy, is born at five past five in the morning.”
— Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake

5:06:00
“In her ledger the historic moment of delivery was later put at six past five, which was a lie but gave it force.”
— John le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy

5:07:00
“Harry looked up. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground. "Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.”
— J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

5:08:00
“Ambrose and I will marry at Fort McHenry at 5:08 EDST this coming Saturday, Rosh Hashanah!”
— John Barth, Letters

5:09:00
“He had two hopes: first, that the bomb would work, and second, that ten thousand yards was far enough. The countdown started at nine minutes past five in the morning, Mountain War Time, on Monday, July 16.”
— Ken Follett, Winter of the World

5:10:00
“The sun was just coming up over the distant Chiricahua Mountains to the east of High Lonesome Ranch when a rooster crowed at ten past five in the morning.”
— J.A. Jance, Remains of Innocence

5:11:00
“Ten minutes later-5:11-a Number 58 arrived, and Conrad boarded and presented the driver with a dollar bill. The man just shook his head. Either a token or $1.50 in change.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

5:12:00
“At 12 minutes and 6 seconds past 5 o'clock on the morning of April 18th, 1906, the San Francisco peninsula began to shiver in the grip of an earthquake which, when its ultimate consequences are considered, was the most disastrous in the recorded history of the North American continent.”
— Herbert Asbury, Slummer's Paradise

5:13:00
“Conrad pleaded. The man just shook his head. Conrad could hear a sawing sound coming from his own chest. He was hyperventilating. He left the bus dumbfounded. 5:13.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

5:14:00
“The time was 5:14 a.m., a very strange time indeed for the sheriff to have seen what he claimed he saw as he made his early-morning rounds.”
— Thomas H. Cook, Into the Web

5:15:00
“Five-fifteen the next morning. If this had been a school day, Alex wouldn't have woken up for another two hours, and even then he would have dragged himself out of bed unwillingly.”
— Anthony Horowitz, Skeleton Key

5:16:00
“"Shut up, Trepp," I said irritably. "What time is it?" "About five." Her eyes swivelled up and left to consult the chip. "Five-sixteen. Be getting light soon."”
— Richard Morgan, Altered Carbon

5:17:00
“And it was just seventeen minutes past five when Dick Ffrench, hanging in a frenzy of anxiety over the paddock fence circling the inside of the mile oval, uttered something resembling a howl and rushed to the gate to signal his recreant driver.”
— Eleanor M. Ingram, The Flying Mercury

5:18:00
“By his watch it was just approaching eighteen minutes past five in the morning, a mere twelve minutes since the sun had first burst its brilliance across the eastern horizon.”
— Bernard Cornwell, Rebel

5:19:00
“5:19 a.m. She heaved a sigh of relief as she put down the microphone and prepared to stumble down the hill. She realized she had violated protocol by breaking radio silence, but she was almost as worried about Michael Vance as she was about the facility.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

5:20:00
“"Somebody remarked that it was twenty minutes past five o'clock, and that woke me up."”
— Mark Twain, Roughing It

5:21:00
“Yesterday, at twenty-one minutes past five o'clock in the morning, P.C. Whitstable was proceeding upon his usual beat and had reached the corner of Clarges Street and Piccadilly, when he heard a shout on the other side of the road, at the point where a path exits from The Green Park.”
— Garth Nix, The Curious Case of the Moondawn Daffodils Murder: As Experienced by Sir Magnus Holmes and Almost-Doctor Susan Shrike

5:22:00
“One by one, the hours passed, and at exactly 5:22 (by Tock's very accurate clock) Milo carefully opened one eye and, in a moment, the other. Everything was still purple, dark blue, and black, yet scarcely a minute remained to the long, quiet night.”
— Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

5:23:00
“If I could count precisely to sixty between two passing orange minutes on her digital clock, starting at 5:23 a.m. and ending exactly as it melted into 5:24, then when she woke she would love me and not say this had been a terrible mistake.”
— Arthur Phillips, The Tragedy of Arthur

5:24:00
“He tried to pull himself together. Finally a lank young thing clerking in a L'eggs store listened to his woeful tale and gave him change out of her own purse. 5:24.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

5:25:00
“"Twenty-five minutes past five," said Mr. Rycroft glancing up at the clock. He compared it with his own watch and somehow everyone felt the action was significant in some way.”
— Agatha Christie, The Sittaford Mystery

5:26:00
“5:26 a.m. Because Raf wasn't paying much attention back in the shop, he's confused to see that all Cherish has brought for the 'picnic' is two cans of Guinness, a bottle of Tabasco, and a bag of lemons.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

5:27:00
“She looked at her watch. It was 5:27 a.m. Surely Gawain would already be here? Wouldn't he be looking out for her, since there was no obvious way of getting inside?”
— Carmen Reid, New York Valentine

5:28:00
“I pulled into the Aoyama supermarket parking garage at five-twenty-eight. The sky to the east was getting light. I entered the store carrying my bag. Almost no one was in the place.”
— Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

5:29:00
“Vimes pulled out the Gooseberry and stared at it. At a time like this ... "Well?" he said. "It's twenty-nine minutes past five, Insert Name Here," said the imp nervously.”
— Terry Pratchett, Thud!

5:30:00
“Even though it's only 5:30 a.m. in California where she is, Bev's texted a string of question marks.”
— Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star

5:31:00
“By 5:31, I was in the lift. I walked out of the building and smack-bang into him, his eyes redrimmed and his usually pristine every-strand-has-a-place hair a mess.”
— Candice Carty-Williams, Queenie

5:32:00
“By 05:32 the driver had come back from a corner shop with a six-pack of Coke, a bottle of Jack Daniels, some sachets of breakfast milk, an armful of stale cakes and a carton of Zhongncmhai cigarettes.”
— Paul Mason, Rare Earth

5:33:00
“It was five thirty-three when we left. Is it six o'clock now? Six thirty? And Mark's still in his cage and I'm scared to drive very fast... What if we don't get there in time?”
— Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Brave

5:34:00
“5:34 a.m. "What's the latest from inside the compound?"”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

5:35:00
“He was surprised to see it was 5:35. So he must have slept-or at least dozed—for over six hours.”
— P.D. James, Death in Holy Orders

5:36:00
“She drank a bottle of Jack Daniels. When she woke at 05:36 she had wiped the previous evening.”
— Jonathan Meades, The Fowler Family Business

5:37:00
“Richard glanced at the clock on the microwave-5:37-almost twelve hours, almost one half-day since he'd dialed 911.”
— A.M. Homes, This Book Will Save Your Life

5:38:00
“"It is 5:38 a.m." "What?" said Johnny. "It's Saturday." "I told you he wouldn't like it," said Sol, presumably to Kovac. "It's hardly a matter of likes or dislikes," said the computer.”
— Keith Mansfield, Johnny Mackintosh: Battle for Earth

5:39:00
“"It's twenty one minutes to six." "Let me catch some more sleep," she said groggily. "And let me bath and make you some breakfast."”
— Kudakwashe Muzira, The E Utopia Project

5:40:00
“Twenty minutes to six. Rob's boys were already on the platform, barrows ready. The only thing that ever dared to be late around here was the train. Rob's boys were in fact Bill Bing, thirty, sucking a Woodbine, and Arthur, sixty, half dead.”
— Bruce Robinson, The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman

5:41:00
“At 0541 he had spoken by VHF to the Captain of Ocean Mammoth who said that his ship was aground and that the DF bearing of the Agulhas radio beacon from the ship was 268°.”
— Antony Trew, Death of a Supertanker

5:42:00
“The digits on the clock said 5:42. A predawn gray lit the windows I'd failed to curtain five hours earlier. Outside, the snow shower had stopped, but the nameless oval of water looked dark and frigid. Inside, the air felt cold enough to make ice.”
— Kathy Reichs, Bones are Forever

5:43:00
“It's 5:43. Time is racing, racing.”
— Stephen King, If It Bleeds

5:44:00
“Jamie Gabriel wakes at 5:44, as the clock radio's volume bursts from the silence.”
— David Levien, City of the Sun

5:45:00
“At a quarter to six one woke with a sudden stat, tumbled into grease-stiffened clothes, and hurried out with dirty face and protesting muscles.”
— George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London

5:46:00
“He ran back to the bus stop. It was twenty-two minutes before another Number 58 arrived. 5:46. He boarded and presented his six quarters.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

5:47:00
“His eyelids pried open. The bedside lamp was lit. Rue hovered over him, flicking her finger at his earlobe. What the hell? The clock said it was forty-seven minutes past five. Before dawn. On a Sunday.”
— Cassie Miles, Christmas Cover-Up

5:48:00
“A Bacardi mirror with fogged glass hangs above the backbar next to a St. Pauli Girl clock, the clock's hands frozen at twelve minutes to six.”
— John Burnham Schwartz, Northwest Corner

5:49:00
“He looked at his watch. It was eleven minutes to six. After a moment he idly drew the center drawer of the desk out over his lap.”
— Flannery O'Connor, Everything That Rises Must Converge

5:50:00
“The clock on the phone informs him that it is already 5:50 and Scott Hall is clear across campus. Zachary yawns and drags himself out of bed and down the hall to take a shower.”
— Erin Morgenstern, The Starless Sea

5:51:00
“"What?!" "Never mind, he's gone." "Oh great. Like I'm gonna get back to sleep now." Janie grins in the darkness. It's 5:51 a.m.”
— Lisa McMann, Wake

5:52:00
“At 5:52 a.m. paramedics from the St. Petersburg Fire Department and SunStar Medic One ambulance service responded to a medical emergency call at 12201 Ninth Street North, St. Petersburg, apartment 2210.”
— Mark Fuhrman, Silent Witness

5:53:00
“"I should think I have!" exclaimed I, in indignant recollection of my education. "All right; keep your temper. What time are you?" "Seven minutes to six."”
— Talbot Baines Reed, The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch

5:54:00
“"And yet," Edward Henry Machin reflected as at six minutes to six he approached his own dwelling at the top of Bleakridge, "and yet—I don't feel so jolly after all!"”
— Arnold Bennett, The Old Adam

5:55:00
“It was five to six in the morning when Ove and the cat met for the first time. The cat instantly disliked Ove exceedingly. The feeling was very much reciprocated.”
— Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

5:56:00
“I awakened at five fifty-six, the same time I always used to, four minutes before the alarm got me up for work. Orange juice, vitamins, a couple of bananas for a potassium fix, that was all I could handle.”
— Mike Sirota, Bicycling Through Space and Time

5:57:00
“Hugo Carmody had done this, with the result that by three minutes to six he was feeling as if he had been marooned among roses since the beginning of the summer.”
— P.G. Wodehouse, Summer Lightning

5:58:00
“I turned my head on the pillow to look at the clock on the nightstand and saw it lacked just two minutes of 6:00 a.m. Given the quality of the light, it was going to be a beautiful June morning, and school was out.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

5:59:00
“At one minute to six on the morning of 14 June, 1936, the black chicken on Kate Kingsley's alarm clock nodded up and down, in time with the ticking of the second hand.”
— Sarah Harrison, A Flower That's Free

6:00:00
“"Well, good night, Pooh," said Piglet, when they had got to Pooh's house. "And we meet at six o'clock tomorrow morning by the Pine Trees, and see how many Heffalumps we've got in our Trap."”
— A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

6:01:00
“In the image, he was looking straight up at the camera, holding a disposable cup in his hand. The time signature on the bottom right corner of the screen said that it was 06:01 on the same morning the two of them had come to the convent.”
— Justin Cronin, The Passage

6:02:00
“6:02 a.m. This was a sanctuary. A refuge. A place to escape the sensory assault of the outside world.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

6:03:00
“Jarrod stared at the clock on his computer. It said 6:03. Outside his office window it was dark. It felt as if someone had sucked all the oxygen from the room and he took an extra breath before responding.”
— Jilliane Hoffman, All The Little Pieces

6:04:00
“This continued, steadily and predictably, every seven minutes until 6:04 a.m., at which point I would inevitably panic and spring from bed to shower.”
— Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada

6:05:00
“A second man went in and found the shop empty, as he thought, at five minutes past six. That puts the time at between 5:30 and 6:05.”
— Agatha Christie, The ABC Murders

6:06:00
“According to the Book of Revelation, the great beast's number is 666. So that exact time would be six minutes past six on the sixth of the sixth, sixty-six. Double whammy.”
— Robert Rankin, A Dog Called Demolition

6:07:00
“She called me this morning at 6:07 a.m., and when I rolled over and picked up in a hazy fog, she didn't even wait for me to say hi.”
— Jessica Goodman, They Wish They Were Us

6:08:00
“By the time I get down to the street it's 6:08 and I don't trust the subway to get me uptown on time. I hail a cab.”
— Carola Lovering, Tell Me Lies

6:09:00
“Bimingham New Street 5:25. Walsall 5:55. This train does not stop at Birchills, for reasons George has never been able to ascertain. Then it is Bloxwich 6:02, Wyrley & Churchbridge 6:09. At 6:10 he nods to Mr. Merriman the stationmaster.”
— Julian Barnes, Arthur and George

6:10:00
“At ten minutes past six we reached the Kaltbad station, where there is a spacious hotel with great verandas which command a majestic expanse of lake and mountain scenery.”
— Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad

6:11:00
“The first explosion occurred at eleven minutes past six. The chart-house and part of the bridge were blown to pieces.”
— George Barr McCutcheon, West Wind Drift

6:12:00
“The call had come at 6:12 precisely.”
— P.D. James, Death of an Expert Witness

6:13:00
“The clock on the wall said 6:13 a.m. I ran a hand over my mouth, a lingering bitterness on my tongue. I whipped my head around, confirmed that I was alone. That was a dream, right? Eating a spider?”
— David Wong, John Dies at the End

6:14:00
“Virtual curtains mirrored her movement, sliding across the screen and dimming the room lighting. The red numbers 06:14 faded but still showed in the top right hand corner. The colony would be rousing.”
— Bob Goddard, Mother Moon

6:15:00
“An automated horn wakes Adán Barrera at 6:00 a.m., and if he were in the general population instead of protective custody, he would go to the dining quad for breakfast at 6:15.”
— Don Winslow, The Cartel

6:16:00
“The clock above the door said sixteen minutes past six. The pictures showed the door opening and a rug coming in—just the rug, flat, held up perpendicular, hanging straight down. Of course there was someone behind it.”
— Rex Stout, If Death Ever Slept

6:17:00
“Then I went to my locker and dumped all of my avatar's newfound treasure, armor, and weapons inside before finally logging out of the OASIS. When I pulled off my visor, it was 6:17 a.m.”
— Ernest Cline, Ready Player One

6:18:00
“Damn good operation, the more so because Six had wanted in and had been seen off. None of their business. It was eighteen minutes past six.”
— Gerald Seymour, The Journeyman Tailor

6:19:00
“Once, at around twenty past six, Lisey actually got her off the bed and into a kind of half-assed crouch.”
— Stephen King, Lisey's Story

6:20:00
“The front porch was lit by a strong pale light. Clay glanced at his wristwatch as he swung his feet off the couch and saw it was twenty past six.”
— Stephen King, Cell

6:21:00
“If such things were logged, the first phone call would have been recorded at 6:21.”
— Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club

6:22:00
“French telephones do not ring. They go bleat-bleat, bleat-bleat, bleat-bleat. At 6:22 a.m., the sound is like having a barn animal in your hotel room. Rory had to stop that sound.”
— Tom Hanks, Uncommon Type

6:23:00
“It was twenty-three minutes past six. He actually thought about driving round and round Islington, with the radio on, shouting at it.”
— David Nobbs, It Had to Be You

6:24:00
“Eventually I track the phone down by the green light on top. Notice that the time display reads 06:24 before I answer. It's Mum. "Hi," I say.”
— Serena Mackesy, Simply Heaven

6:25:00
“At twenty-five past six I go into the bathroom and have a wash, then while the Old Lady's busy in the kitchen helping Chris with the washing up I get my coat and nip out down the stairs.”
— Stan Barstow, A Kind of Loving

6:26:00
“No lights were on in the master bedroom at this time but it is noted that the official time of sunrise for this date is 0626 hours. Victim is quite clear that sufficient light was entering via the large picture window to allow good visibility.”
— Don Pendleton, Roulette

6:27:00
“At 0627 hours on January 1, 1975, Alfred Archibald Jones was dressed in corduroy and sat in a fume-filled Cavalier Musketeer Estate, facedown on the steering wheel, hoping the judgment would not be too heavy upon him.”
— Zadie Smith, White Teeth

6:28:00
“Thursday 6:28 a.m. The morning air was sharp and she wished she'd grabbed one of Adriana's black knit shawls before going out. Could she pass for one of those stooped Greek peasant women? she wondered.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

6:29:00
“I sat up. There was a rug over me. I threw that off and got my feet on the floor. I scowled at a clock. The clock said a minute short of six-thirty.”
— Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

6:30:00
“Grace Elizabeth Fox rose from her bed and dressed with the aid of her young attending officer Mary Swann at 6:30 a.m. on the morning of April 23, 1953.”
— Peter Robinson, Before the Poison

6:31:00
“It was now 06:31 and still dark, but the lower ranks who were saddled with the daily task of lighting fires, fetching and heating water and preparing food would soon be up and moving around.”
— Patrick Tilley, Earth-Thunder

6:32:00
“He had been parked there for seven minutes already; he could only afford a few more before someone might become suspicious. "C'mon...c'mon," he was muttering. "Let's get this over with." He checked his watch: 6:32 a.m.”
— Lee Strobel, The Ambition

6:33:00
“Woke 6:33 a.m. Last session with Anderson. He made it plain he's seen enough of me, and from now on I'm better alone. To sleep 8:00? (These count-downs terrify me.) He paused, then added: Goodbye, Eniwetok.”
— J.G. Ballard, The Voices of Time

6:34:00
“The clock says it's 06:34 so I definitely need at least another week of sleep, but apparently my body has decided it doesn't want to go through any more dreams like that so it actively refuses to go back under.”
— Beth Thomas, His Other Life

6:35:00
“At 11:00 the phone rang, and still the figure did not respond, any more than it had responded when the phone had rung at 25 to 7 in the morning, again at 20 to 7, again at 10 to 7, and again for 10 minutes continuously starting at 5 to 7.”
— Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

6:36:00
“When I turned onto Thirty-fifth, my watch said it was six thirty-six in the morning. The street was lousy with cops, either coming to work or leaving, or perhaps responding to some crisis.”
— Greg Rucka, Critical Space

6:37:00
“"Come to the Gray's-Inn Coffee-House," Pinto said, "and I will tell you how the notch came to the ax." And we walked down Holborn at about thirty-seven minutes past six o'clock.”
— William Makepeace Thackeray, The Notch on the Ax

6:38:00
“The clock on the dashboard said it was 6.38 a.m. He left the keys in the car, and walked toward the tree.”
— Neil Gaiman, American Gods

6:39:00
“At twenty-one minutes to seven, Yuri will sit down at your table, or maybe at the one next to it. That will obviously depend on how busy the cafe is.”
— James Barrington, Manhunt

6:40:00
“At 11:00 the phone rang, and still the figure did not respond, any more than it had responded when the phone had rung at 25 to 7 in the morning, again at 20 to 7, again at 10 to 7, and again for 10 minutes continuously starting at 5 to 7.”
— Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

6:41:00
“He made it to Grand Central well in advance. Stillman's train was not due to arrive until six forty-one, but Quinn wanted time to study the geography of the place, to make sure that Stillman would not be able to slip away from him.”
— Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy

6:42:00
“It was 06:42 and he'd just finished his solo morning workout: three circuits of Ring 7—the second-longest ring in the hab-disk—followed by a half hour pushing and pulling against resistance channels in the gym.”
— Tim C. Taylor, Marine Cadet

6:43:00
“I instantly recognize the baritone. "Levi?" I blink at my alarm. It's 6:43 a.m. I can't keep my lids up.”
— Ali Hazelwood, Love on the Brain

6:44:00
“Simon is happy to travel scum class when he's on his own and even sometimes deliberately aims for the 6:25. But today the 6:25 is delayed to 6:44.”
— Mark Lawson, The Deaths

6:45:00
“The poor man does not know it, but the time is already quarter to seven.”
— Andrew Sean Greer, Less

6:46:00
“When I heard the thump overhead, I did not bother to look up. I knew it was fourteen minutes to seven.”
— Jerome Weidman, Tiffany Street

6:47:00
“I checked Baby-G and the Thuraya: 06:47 and no signal. I pulled up the antenna and pointed it at the entrance. "You up for it?" He stood, without a flicker of fear.”
— Andy McNab, Deep Black

6:48:00
“"Yes, it does. Private Trujillo, I mark the time as 0648 hours. Good luck. Go."”
— Tom Kratman, The Amazon Legion

6:49:00
“Night ends, 6:49. Meet in the coffee shop at 7:30; press conference at 10:00.”
— Hunter S. Thompson, On the Campaign Trail '72

6:50:00
“It was time to go see the Lady. When we arrived at her house at ten minutes before seven o'clock, Damaronde answered the door.”
— Robert R. McCammon, Boy's Life

6:51:00
“The time stamp identifies that it was 6:51 a.m. when John strode through the small lobby, which is not really a lobby-no furniture, no desk, it's just a roomy foyer, a cool, airy, tile-floored space.”
— Chris Pavone, Two Nights in Lisbon

6:52:00
“Having lied to Mum, I realised that my only option was to take the 06.52 to London as if I hadn't been dismissed at all.”
— Will Storr, The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone

6:53:00
“So that was the key to asking my questions, to wait exactly 77 minutes before seven minutes to seven and I would then get my answer.”
— Stephanie Hudson, The Quarter Moon

6:54:00
“At 0654 hours at the vital U.S. Army, Air Force, and Naval installation on Diego Garcia, the officer commanding the shift at the control tower was gazing out the windows.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Paris Option

6:55:00
“"Hemsley, what time is it?" Hemsley sighed. "When I left the kitchen, I believe it was five minutes to seven." Alvie felt all the pigment drain out of her body.”
— Charlie N. Holmberg, The Plastic Magician

6:56:00
“Then it was 6:56. A black Rovera Rover 90, registration PYX 520-turned into the street that ran down the left-hand side of The Bunker. It parked. The door on the driver's side opened. A man got out.”
— Rupert Thomson, Dreams of Leaving

6:57:00
“That meant that Helen must run and get the table set as quickly as possible as it was three minutes to seven.”
— Nell Speed, The Carter Girls' Mysterious Neighbors

6:58:00
“6:58 a.m. Hugo Voorst was lying propped against a rock, his shoulder bandaged with white strips of gauze from the first-aid kit. Now that the flow of blood had been staunched, Marcel was injecting him with a shot of morphine to quell the looming pain.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

6:59:00
“I was in the Saturn, parked next to Kan Klean. It was Sunday. It was the start of a new day, it was one minute to seven, and Morelli was on my cell.”
— Janet Evanovich, Eleven on Top

7:00:00
“At seven in the morning-two hours after being taken to his cell-Rubashov was awakened by a blast from a bugle.”
— Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon

7:01:00
“On the other hand, I could hit the Ultimate Bike Path at seven, go off on a month's worth of adventures, get a good night's sleep somewhere, and still meet him at 7:01...”
— Mike Sirota, Bicycling Through Space and Time

7:02:00
“January 22, 7:02 a.m. Pandemonium on canvas. Three days later, the colors Bee Larkham and me had desperately wanted to bring to Vincent Gardens finally arrived. Happy fuchsia pink and sapphire showers with golden droplets.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

7:03:00
“Tengo glanced at his watch. The hands showed three past seven, ticking away the time ever more accurately. Still no Aomame. Tengo spent several minutes gazing at the hands of his watch as if they were something extraordinary.”
— Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

7:04:00
“7:04 a.m. Stone felt his consciousness returning as the blast of an engine cut through his sedative-induced reverie. Where was he?”
— Thomas Hoover, Syndrome

7:05:00
“On the other hand, a radar technician at Opana Station had telephoned his superior officer at 7:05 a.m., nearly fifty minutes before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and reported a large number of unidentified planes coming in from the north.”
— Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog

7:06:00
“7:06 a.m. Man wearing cabbage green pajamas opens upstairs window of house next to Bee Larkham's. Shouts prickly tomato red words at parakeets.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

7:07:00
“I checked the time-6:36 a.m. A pattern. A lucky number. Thank goodness. I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders. I'll wait until 7:00 a.m. to check out. 7:07 a.m., if I could manage it. I couldn't afford to look suspicious.”
— Amanda Jayatissa, You're Invited

7:08:00
“At eight minutes past seven, a man entered through the door. He was slight and dark-haired, with a narrow face. He looked around, scanning the faces of the other patrons, and then took his phone out and checked the screen.”
— Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where are You

7:09:00
“We wake up and the air is shiverier. Watch says 07:09, he has a battery, that's his own little power hidden inside.”
— Emma Donoghue, Room

7:10:00
“"And at seven-ten, we had a call from Robert Woodson, who is with Senator Morton's office. Senator Morton wants to meet you and Captain Connor at one o'clock today at the Los Angeles Country Club."”
— Michael Crichton, Rising Sun

7:11:00
“"Anyway, every morning at eleven minutes past seven he'd slam the door and rev the engine like he was starting a grand prix, ruining my beauty sleep, especially if I'd just come off nights."”
— Stuart Pawson, Limestone Cowboy

7:12:00
“Reine-Marie looked at her watch. It was now 7:12. She went over to the window. Snow had climbed halfway up, blocking most of the light and almost all the view.”
— Louise Penny, Kingdom of the Blind

7:13:00
“"I looked out of the corridor window of my carriage just before the train left at seven-thirteen, to find it dawning upon me with perfect certainty that I had seen the pattern of glass and steel roof above the platforms before."”
— W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz

7:14:00
“At 7:14 Harry knew he was alive. He knew that because the pain could be felt in every nerve fibre.”
— Jo Nesb?, The Redeemer

7:15:00
“It was 7:15 a.m. It was hot. The air was full of carbon monoxide. There was smog. There were people, cars, filth and noise everywhere. His feet hurt.”
— William Marshall, Head First

7:16:00
“I kick the floor and spin. The world hurricanes around me. I don't know how long I do this, but, when I stop to read the time, the clock wavers in front of my eyes. When it calms down, it reads 7:16 a.m.”
— Alice Oseman, Solitaire

7:17:00
“Lately it's taken to showing the transition from 07:16 to 07:17 quite frequently.”
— Scarlett Thomas, The Seed Collectors

7:18:00
“It stopped at eighteen minutes past seven somewhere, some day, and hasn't ticked since.”
— Frierik Erlingsson, Fish in the Sky

7:19:00
“It was only nineteen minutes past seven. Fashionably late, she told herself and hurried up the brick walk.”
— Margaret Maron, Corpus Christmas

7:20:00
“The first thing I noticed on opening my eyes was a sheet of paper wedged against the braided rug. The clock said seven-twenty. Throwing back the covers, I retrieved the paper and scanned the contents. It was a fax containing six names.”
— Kathy Reichs, Fatal Voyage

7:21:00
“Gripping her gym bag in her right hand, Aomame, like Buzzcut, was waiting for something to happen. The clock display changed to 7:21, then 7:22, then 7:23.”
— Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

7:22:00
“"When I say that I know that she got in the Camaro at 7:22 a.m., trust that I know this for certain."”
— Will Leitch, How Lucky

7:23:00
“"What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool?" asked Thomas Flanagan. "At twenty-three minutes past seven," replied Gauthier Ralph; "and the next does not arrive till ten minutes after twelve."”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

7:24:00
“I looked at the list of unread emails in the inbox: four or five from customers, relating to contracts I was working on. And then twelve emails from Ian Dunkerley, one after the other, starting at 07:24 this morning.”
— Elizabeth Haynes, Revenge of the Tide

7:25:00
“By her calculation, she would be arriving at the warehouse by 07:25. The delivery hover filled with the palace's order of sixty escorts was set to depart from the warehouse at 07:32.”
— Marissa Meyer, Cress

7:26:00
“Chuck was on deck at twenty-six minutes past seven when marines in helmets and backpacks began to swarm down the rope nets hanging over the sides of the ship and jump into high-sided landing craft.”
— Ken Follett, Winter of the World

7:27:00
“His appointment with the doctor was for 8:45. It was 7:27.”
— Henning Mankell, The Return of the Dancing Master

7:28:00
“"As you know, we're on twenty-four hour call and I got here at seven twenty-eight. We decided to start the investigation at once. The undertakers will collect the body as soon as you've finished."”
— P.D. James, The Murder Room

7:29:00
“At 7:29 in the morning of 1 July, the cinematographer finds himself filming silence itself.”
— Elizabeth Speller, At Break of Day

7:30:00
“"Seven thirty, mate." Clovenhoof dug deep in his pockets for change but only came up with three pounds twelve and a red crayon.”
— Heide Goody & Iain Grant, Clovenhoof

7:31:00
“7:31 a.m. It had snowed last week-recently enough for the village's blandly functional concrete heart to still be benefiting from its decorative touch.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

7:32:00
“7:32 a.m. Leigh Lewis wedged the phone against his shoulder and dialled room service. He let it ring, one minute, then two, gingerly exercising his bruised jaw, before stabbing the hook switch angrily and dialling reception.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

7:33:00
“He was taken from me, by the inscrutable decree of the Almighty, on the fifth of this month at thirty-three minutes past seven in the morning, and died in peace of an influential attack of the chest.”
— Maarten Maartens, The Sin of Joost Avelingh

7:34:00
“7:34. Monday morning, Blackeberg. The burglar alarm at the ICA grocery store on Arvid Morne's way is set off.”
— John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In

7:35:00
“From his watch he noted that it was 7:35 a.m. outside, through the narrow gun slit, he could see across the ruined dam down the valley to Genoa and the sea. Clouds of dust and vapor lowered the ceiling to little. more than two or three hundred yards, and visibility to half a mile.”
— J.G. Ballard, The Wind from Nowhere

7:36:00
“7:36, sunrise. The hospital blinds were much better, darker than her own.”
— John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In

7:37:00
“My telephone rang at twenty-three minutes to eight, just as I put a cup of coffee down on the breakfast table.”
— Hans Olav Lahlum, Satellite People

7:38:00
“I called McMahon. No answer. Crowe. Ditto. I left messages: Seven thirty-eight. Leaving Alarka for High Ridge House. Call me.”
— Kathy Reichs, Fatal Voyage

7:39:00
“She shows me her watch again: 7:39... 7:38. 7:37. I thump the syringe and squeeze a drop of Ryan's chemical compound through the needle.”
— Blake Crouch, Dark Matter

7:40:00
“It was seven forty and time to get to the war room.”
— Michael Connelly, Two Kinds of Truth

7:41:00
“She passed through student main security at seven forty-one in the morning. According to her teachers, she was in class for periods one through three.”
— T. Jefferson Parker, The Last Good Guy

7:42:00
“So he really had no choice but to pay an occasional visit to the living room instead, where the hands on the grandfather clock now indicated, rather unambiguously, that it was 7:42.”
— Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway

7:43:00
“The subway trains ran on an inhumanly precise schedule, and he walked aboard at exactly 7:43 a.m. He hadn't looked over his shoulder. It was too far into his residency in Moscow to rubberneck like a new tourist.”
— Tom Clancy, Red Rabbit

7:44:00
“"You guys," Simon bellows up the stairs at 7:44. "Come on, let's go!" "Just a minute!" Nora yells back. "What are you guys even doing up there?" Nora pokes her head out into the hallway. "Dude. Cool your jets."”
— Becky Albertalli, Leah on the Off Beat

7:45:00
“At a quarter to eight exciting things began to happen. A lion in one of the cars roared, and people standing near could feel the air vibrate.”
— James Michener, Centennial

7:46:00
“7:46 a.m. The two men approached the chipped green bench from different directions. The older of the two sat down and took out the day's edition of L'Equipe according to the front page, PSG were on the verge of another big-money signing.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

7:47:00
“I saw Ferris for a few minutes in the Base Operations Office. He said the embassy call had conveyed a London signal asking for confirmation that Slingshot was ready to go into access phase at first light tomorrow, 07:47 local time.”
— Elleston Trevor, The Sinkiang Executive

7:48:00
“Kathy turns the red lever in the center of the airlock's outer door, then pulls it. 0748. The airlock opens on the stars.”
— Richard Chizmar & Stephen King, Gwendy's Final Task

7:49:00
“"September 22nd, 0749 hours― anticollision radar scanner and computer ceased to function (third malfunction in 24 hrs.)."”
— Ian Slater, Firespill

7:50:00
“"Even when her first class is at eight a.m., she gets there before the gate is even opened. The janitors never open the gate before seven fifty."”
— Camille Bordas, How to Behave in a Crowd

7:51:00
“Bee Larkham had knocked on my front door at 7:51 a.m. and invited me back after school.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

7:52:00
“Homicide Detective David Neiser arrived at the house on Twin Peaks Drive at eight minutes to eight. Chief Criminal Deputy Joe Doench was already there.”
— Ann Rule, In the Still of the Night

7:53:00
“Each morning George takes the first train of the day into Birmingham. He knows the timetable by heart, and loves it. Wryley & Churchbridge 7:39. Bloxwich 7:48. Birchills 7:53. Walsall 7:58. Birmingham New Street 8:35.”
— Julian Barnes, Arthur and George

7:54:00
“When I awoke on the arrival of the others, it was six minutes to eight in the morning of the same day, today. Not two hours had passed from my rising, and time was back to normal. But the things that happened in that time that could never be compressed into two hours.”
— R.A. Lafferty, The Six Fingers of Time

7:55:00
“They were still five full minutes away from eight o'clock, which meant that the breaking news would need to be announced on their watch.”
— Lauren Weisberger, Where the Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty

7:56:00
“Early Monday morning, Quan and I sit in his car outside my parents' house. It's 7:56 a.m. A good daughter, a good person, would run inside and take over for her mom, give her those extra four minutes.”
— Helen Hoang, The Heart Principle

7:57:00
“7:57. Less than ten minutes ago, Drew apparently thought it was in his best interest to finally reach out to me. Via FriendSpace. With a message composed of precisely one word and only three letters.”
— Lindsey Ouimet, What's a Soulmate?

7:58:00
“She and Mel got through the final security checks at two minutes to eight, and, following a sign, hurried to the Hilton's big assembly hall.”
— Stephen Baxter, Ark

7:59:00
“Quickly, quickly. A minute to eight. My hot water bottle was ready, and I filled a glass with water from the tap. Time was of the essence.”
— Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

8:00:00
“For a long time she stood at the nurses' station just listening to everything. An intern had to be called to say that Alicia was legally dead. They had to wait for him, and that would take twenty minutes. It was past eight o'clock.”
— Anne Rice, Lasher

8:01:00
“Eight-one, tick-tock, eight-one o'clock, off to school, off to work, run, run, eight-one!”
— Ray Bradbury, There Will Come Soft Rains

8:02:00
“8:02 a.m. He couldn't prove it, but Dumas was pretty certain the nursing staff had been ordered to ration his morphine. Either that, or they'd deliberately left the bullets in to spite him.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

8:03:00
“Eight oh three eh em... Death of Sergeant Detritus... Eight oh threethreethree eh em and seven seconds seconds... Death of Constable Visit... Eight oh three eh em and nineninenine seconds... Death of death of death of...”
— Terry Pratchett, Jingo

8:04:00
“A had to come in at 8, B at 8:04, C at 8:08 and so on, and the same for quitting times, in such a manner that never would two colleagues have the opportunity to travel in the same tramcar.”
— Primo Levi, The Periodic Table

8:05:00
“"When do you reckon we'll overtake the convoy?" Vallery hesitated: not so the Kapok Kid. "0805," he answered readily and precisely.”
— Alistair MacLean, HMS Ulysses

8:06:00
“"It was six minutes past eight when I arrived at the lighthouse. I was unable to gain entry. The door was locked."”
— P.D. James, The Lighthouse

8:07:00
“Just like the previous time Nell had had a positive review, Garr gave her the good news, this time via WhatsApp at 8:07 a.m. on Friday morning: "Irish Times loving your work. See The Ticket."”
— Marian Keyes, Grown Ups

8:08:00
“Institute for Religious Works, Via della Statzione Vaticana, Rome. 18th March 8:08 a.m. As the six men - opposite him bowed their heads, Antonio Santos picked up his spoon and studied the hallmarks.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

8:09:00
“Daylight here was just after six, so by now she should be high on a jet, heading back to New Zealand. A startled glance at her watch revealed that it was nine minutes past eight.”
— Robyn Donald, Surrender to Seduction

8:10:00
“I was showered, dressed, and had rousted the girls out of bed for breakfast when the telephone rang at eight-ten the next morning.”
— J.A. Jance, Name Withheld

8:11:00
“The wall-clock had reached eleven minutes past eight. He knew he would have to break all his previous records to make the train on time.”
— Michael Carson, Sucking Sherbert Lemons

8:12:00
“At twelve minutes past eight that Tuesday morning, two people closed the front door behind them, and set out to face another day.”
— Faith Martin, Murder at Home

8:13:00
“At 8:13 a.m. the alarm clock in the laboratory gave the ringing word. Eddie touched a button in the substructure of an ordinary glass coffeepot, from whose spout two tubes proceeded into the wall.”
— Grace Paley, In Time Which Made A Monkey Of Us All

8:14:00
“Eight-fourteen a.m. The Buddha is walking his dog. The dog's name is Sparky, and her leash is a long silver thread.”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

8:15:00
“It was in the winter when this happened, very near the shortest day, and a week of fog into the bargain, so the fact that it was still very dark when George woke in the morning was no guide to him as to the time. He reached up, and hauled down his watch. It was a quarter-past eight.”
— Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

8:16:00
“What do people do in their gardens? I feel I should have something to read. Or someone to call. My fingers are itching to move. I look at my watch. Still only eight sixteen. Oh God.”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

8:17:00
“Hailey looked at the clock on the wall. 8:17 a.m. Thirteen minutes until the verdict.”
— Mark T. Sullivan, Triple Cross

8:18:00
“"Say they left at seventeen or eighteen minutes past eight. In that case they must have followed Joanne Garland and might well be supposed to be driving faster than she ..."”
— Ruth Rendell, Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

8:19:00
“The time was 8:19 on a bleak November morning and there was a sharp promise of snow in the air.”
— Wilson Tucker, The Year of the Quiet Sun

8:20:00
“They pulled into Bethesda Hospital. Knight checked his watch: 8:20 a.m. He lifted Imogene from the car, her bloody chest imprinting on his, and begged for a chair to transport her to the emergency room.”
— Karen Abbott, The Ghosts of Eden Park

8:21:00
“8:21 a.m. Jennifer stepped out of the lift and turned towards the Le Cinq restaurant. Her discussion with Green had led to a fitful night's sleep.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

8:22:00
“Daisy Flory made her 999 call at twenty-two minutes past eight, within a few minutes of their leaving.”
— Ruth Rendell, Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

8:23:00
“A bus bound for the Outer Camp roared past while I waited on top. No one was around now, so I started down at exactly 8:23. There was some resistance from the wind. I pedaled fast.”
— Mike Sirota, Bicycling Through Space and Time

8:24:00
“Peach checked his watch. 8:24. If he wasn't in a taxi in twenty minutes he'd be done for.”
— Rupert Thomson, Dreams of Leaving

8:25:00
“At twenty-five minutes past eight a second shock took place, this time from behind. I turned pale. My companions were close by my side. I seized Conseil's hand. Our looks expressed our feelings better than words.”
— Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

8:26:00
“It exploded much later than intended, probably a good twelve hours later, at twenty-six minutes past eight on Monday morning. Several defunct wristwatches, the property of victims, confirmed the time.”
— John le Carré, The Little Drummer Girl

8:27:00
“Even dawdling over breakfast with my mother just killed an hour, and though I hadn't planned to be at Marge's until nine, I was knocking on her door at twenty-seven minutes past eight.”
— Jessica Beck, Fatally Frosted

8:28:00
“And at 8:28 on the following morning, with a novel chilliness about the upper lip, and a vast excess of strength and spirits, I was sitting in a third-class carriage, bound for Germany, and dressed as a young sea-man, in a pea-jacket, peaked cap, and comforter.”
— Erskine Childers, The Riddle of the Sands

8:29:00
“Mr. Trent himself followed a rigid routine. Each day, he arose at 7 a.m., breakfasted at 7:30, and departed for work at 8:10, arriving at 8:29.”
— Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery

8:30:00
“The lecture was to be given tomorrow, and it was now almost eight-thirty.”
— John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces

8:31:00
“He arrived at his conclusions by as methodical a series of mental actions as he arrived at his desk every morning at twenty-nine minutes to nine. But these were not ordinary circumstances.”
— Alice Caldwell Hegan Rice, A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill

8:32:00
“It's 8:32 a.m. on the twenty-fourth of December and Henry and I are on our way to Meadowlark House for Christmas. It's a beautiful clear day, no snow here in Chicago, but six inches on the ground in South Haven.”
— Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

8:33:00
“At 8:33 a.m. we were both scuttling down the street toward the agency, knowing full well that Tristram Hart-Mossop would be waiting for us outside Selfridges at 9:00 a.m. on the dot, and I wasn't anywhere near ready for that.”
— Hester Browne, The Little Lady Agency in the Big Apple

8:34:00
“At 08:34 hours precisely General Conrad Pyne's black official Rover 800 stopped outside the ugly wrought iron barrier that guarded the entrance into Downing Street.”
— James Follett, Doomsday Ultimatum

8:35:00
“Via Principesa Clotilde, Rome. 19th March 8:35 a.m. Ten minutes later and they were skirting the eastern rim of the Piazza del Popolo, Tom catching a glimpse of the Pincio through a gap in the buildings.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

8:36:00
“The first maroon had been fired at 08:36 and the second a few moments later. The puffs of green smoke from the maroons were still hanging in the sky above the boathouse when Pete arrived, breathless but still running.”
— Margaret Dickinson, Lifeboat!

8:37:00
“Just fifteen minutes... A knock sounded at my door. My eyes flew open. I rolled over to check the bedside clock. 8:37. That had been a lot more than fifteen minutes.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Lies

8:38:00
“"Vasquez's car was stopped at Carfraemill-at 0838 hours," he pointed out. "Aye - annnd -?" "Heading north, mon!" he snapped.”
— Stephen Coill, A Deviant Breed

8:39:00
“Doug McGuire noticed the early hour, 8:39 a.m. on the one wall clock that gave Daylight Savings Time for the East Coast.”
— Winn Schwartau, Terminal Compromise

8:40:00
“It was when I stood before her, avoiding her eyes, that I took note of the surrounding objects in detail, and saw that her watch had stopped at twenty minutes to nine, and that a clock in the room had stopped at twenty minutes to nine.”
— Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

8:41:00
“The sergeant smiled. "Don't know yet. I'll soon find out. What time did Dugdale tell you of his discovery?" "At nineteen minutes to nine," was the unhesitating answer.”
— Arthur Upfield, The Barrakee Mystery

8:42:00
“The clock indicated eighteen minutes to nine. The players took up their cards, but could not keep their eyes off the clock. Certainly, however secure they felt, minutes had never seemed so long to them!”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

8:43:00
“"You understand this tape recorder is on?" "Uh huh" "And it's Wednesday, May 15, at eight forty-three in the mornin'." "If you say so."”
— John Grisham, A Time to Kill

8:44:00
“"8:44!" said John Sullivan, in a voice that betrayed his emotion. Only one minute more and the wager would be won.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

8:45:00
“Naomi turned and looked over at the clock. Quarter to nine. She sat up and stretched. An entire day ahead with no obligations and nobody to bother her.”
— Brenda Chapman, Shallow End

8:46:00
“At 8:46 a.m., Cornelius, the policeman in the rear of Sergeant Druckmann's car, said: "They are moving out, sergeant."”
— Alistair MacLean, Floodgate

8:47:00
“"It's 8:47. The sports will be here soon." "They will?" I perched on the stool, which was even colder than usual, and told Judy everything that had happened the previous night.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of War

8:48:00
“She blinks, eyes smarting. She has to meet her, doesn't she? Give her the benefit of the doubt. This time, she has to listen. It's 8:48 a.m.”
— Sarah Pearse, The Sanatorium

8:49:00
“"Now," and Hazel called out in a loud voice: "Noon!" "And forty-nine minutes past eight at Sydney," said Helen, holding out her chronometer; for she had been sharp enough to get it ready of her own accord. Hazel looked at her and at the watch with amazement and incredulity.”
— Charles Reade, Foul Play

8:50:00
“"I thought you said it was starting five minutes ago," Tom said, tapping his watch. "It's already eight fifty." He found me rummaging through the children's schoolbags.”
— Heidi Perks, Her One Mistake

8:51:00
“Then all the helicopters departed and the jungle was very quiet. It was 0851 hours. The day was clear with a slight breeze. To Cherry the jungle was very beautiful.”
— John M. Del Vecchio, 13th Valley

8:52:00
“Message one. Tuesday, 8.52 a.m. Is anybody there? Hello?”
— Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

8:53:00
“Friday 8:53 a.m. Vance stared at the small army facing him, including Tanzan Mino and his two pilots. This definitely was not the drill. Something had gone very, very wrong.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

8:54:00
“"Are you aware that at 08:54 Carthedian standard time yesterday, a report was received from Captain J. L. Gafeska of the cargo ship Axious that the occupants of charter ship KS55NZ/4 were found dead aboard said charter ship?"”
— Nicholas Briggs, Doctor Who: The Dalek Generation

8:55:00
“By five minutes to nine George had arrived, looking very pale and swollen-eyed and wearing a black armband.”
— Michelle Magorian, Goodnight Mister Tom

8:56:00
“I filled her in on the weekend's events, and she paled when I told her about the gunshot. "Thank the Lord you weren't hurt." We discussed the incident a few minutes longer, and then I noticed the time. Four minutes before nine.”
— Miranda James, No Cats Allowed

8:57:00
“As long as ever the Cathedral stood, they should cause to be rung a bell from its smaller bell-tower for three minutes before nine o'clock every morning, all the year round.”
— J.S. Fletcher, The Paradise Mystery

8:58:00
“"What time is it?" she asked, quiet, definite, hopeless. "Two minutes to nine," he replied, telling the truth with a struggle.”
— D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers

8:59:00
“She had been lying in bed reading about Sophie and Alberto's conversation on Marx and had fallen asleep. The reading lamp by the bed had been on all night. The green glowing digits on her desk alarm clock showed 8:59.”
— Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World

9:00:00
“The storm held off until nine o'clock, and by then Anderson was pretty sure they were going to have a good one-what Havenites called "a real Jeezer."”
— Stephen King, The Tommyknockers

9:01:00
“9:01 a.m. lay in bed, staring at ceiling.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

9:02:00
“9:02 a.m. The lift was enclosed in a black wire cage that rose like a scorched tree up the central core of the winding stone staircase.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

9:03:00
“9:03 a.m. Lay in bed, staring at ceiling.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

9:04:00
“The numbers flickered in his head, just behind his covered eye, and he said out loud, "Three forty-seven p.m." He then looked over at the nightstand clock, which read 9:04 a.m. The ESP, he determined, came and went.”
— Kevin Wilson, The Family Fang

9:05:00
“He had a college meeting at mid-morning. He peered into the lodge and read the time from the porter's clock: five past nine.”
— Philip Pullman, The Secret Commonwealth

9:06:00
“9:06 a.m. lay in bed, staring at ceiling.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

9:07:00
“09:07 and, at last, there's the sound of tyres on gravel. Miranda turns as Jamie's truck pulls up, bright green, emblazoned with the J Doyle company logo.”
— Beth O'Leary, The No-Show

9:08:00
“09:08:35 a.m. When Mark was shot I was shattered. Shifted. Never the same again. Like shards of my own heart shivving me on the inside, just like your mama told you.”
— Jason Reynolds, Long Way Down

9:09:00
“It was precisely nine minutes past nine when the 'Lion' hit the 'Blücher.' Shortly afterwards, the 'Tiger' drew up to within range, and the 'Lion' fired salvo after salvo at the 'Seydlitz,' which stood third in the German line.”
— Charles Gilson, Submarine U93

9:10:00
“The newsroom of The New Mexican first got word of the incident about ten minutes after nine the morning of November 12, 1957.”
— Tony Hillerman, The Great Taos Bank Robbery

9:11:00
“"What time is it now?" asked Dorothea. "Eleven minutes past nine... I say, I couldn't help splashing with that oar when I looked at my watch."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Picts and the Martyrs

9:12:00
“9:12 a.m. lay in bed, staring at wall.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

9:13:00
“9:13 a.m. lay in bed, staring at wall.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

9:14:00
“On the Saturday, at fourteen minutes past nine in the morning, the court's deliberations were complete.”
— B?rge Hellstr?m & Anders Roslund, The Beast

9:15:00
“When the 9:15 came out of the tunnel that morning, the old gentleman in the first class carriage put down his newspaper and got ready to wave his hand to the three children on the fence. But this morning there were not three. There was only one. And that was Peter.”
— Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children

9:16:00
“He couldn't see me even if he were looking for surveillance in this area because the sun was 0916 hours high in the south-east and the reflection off the windscreen would blind him to anything behind it.”
— Adam Hall, The Kobra Manifesto

9:17:00
“The task was allocated to the Naval tug. Not only was she a more suitable vessel than a destroyer for working close inshore among rocks, she also happened to be much nearer. She sailed from Lochmaddy at 0917 hours.”
— Hammond Innes, Atlantic Fury

9:18:00
“It had come (he said) eight years back, by his reckoning, at eighteen minutes past nine precisely. It had been as fair an April morning as any could remember, which later was counted a blessing, since most were out-of-doors.”
— Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent

9:19:00
“9:19 a.m. (7 minutes captive): They're arguing. Red and Gray Cap. Red's freaking as the guard lies there on his back, bleeding into the carpet. Thank God he only got shot in the arm. He'll probably be okay. For now.”
— Tess Sharpe, The Girls I've Been

9:20:00
“The following morning at 9:20 Mr. Cribbage straightened his greasy old tie, combed his Hitler moustache and arranged the few strands of his hair across his bald patch.”
— Louis de Bernières, Red Dog

9:21:00
“09:21 a.m. Piper reached into the slim leather briefcase that was resting against his chair leg and drew out four files, one for himself and one each for Young, Green and Corbett. "You two will have to share." He nodded in Jennifer's direction.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

9:22:00
“"It came in at nine twenty-two a.m. It said that a custodian found Sara's body at around eight-thirty that morning and the police were called."”
— David Baldacci, The 6:20 Man

9:23:00
“9:23 What possessed me to buy this comb?”
— James Joyce, Ulysses

9:24:00
“9:24 I'm swelled after that cabbage. A speck of dust on the patent leather of her boot.”
— James Joyce, Ulysses

9:25:00
“Judy had arrived at 9:25 and grabbed the deposit bag for a quick run to the bank, with its shorter Saturday hours, and I swept the floor and dusted the cash register, my mind on Malcolm. When could I see him again?”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Betrayal

9:26:00
“The world is black and then showtime! 6-0-0 the clock said-in my face, first thing I saw. 6-0-0. It felt different. I rarely woke at such a rounded time. I was a man of jagged risings: 8:45, 11:51, 9:26. My life was alarmless.”
— Gillian Flynn, Dark Places

9:27:00
“Only 9:27. Waiting was torture. I sat on my stool and tried to think of things I could do to pass the time. Just as I'd decided to randomize the shelves, my least favorite activity, the key turned in the front door lock.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Peril

9:28:00
“The clock showed twenty-eight minutes past nine. "The clocks here have to be right, sir," the butler added with pride and a respectful humour, on the stairs.”
— Arnold Bennett, Lord Raingo

9:29:00
“Margarita's eyes were glued to the watch. At times it seemed to her as if the watch were broken and the hands weren't moving. But they were moving, albeit very slowly, as if they kept getting stuck, and finally the big hand hit twenty-nine minutes after nine.”
— Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita

9:30:00
“People sleep through the sunlight; they wake in the darkness and go for walks, for coffee, for a crafty cigarette, only to find it's several days later than they thought and actually half past nine in the morning.”
— Marianne Cronin, The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

9:31:00
“I took some juice out of the refrigerator and sat down at the kitchen table with it. On the table was a note from my girlfriend: "Gone out to eat. Back by 9:30." The digital clock on the table read 9:30. I watched it flip over to 9:31, then to 9:32.”
— Haruki Murakami, A Wild Sheep Chase

9:32:00
“Sandy barely made the nine-thirty-two and found a seat in no-smoking. She'd been looking forward to this visit with Lisbeth. They hadn't seen each other in months, not since January, when Sandy had returned from Jamaica.”
— Judy Blume, Wifey

9:33:00
“Judy hadn't come downstairs yet, so I walked through the store and opened the front door. It was 9:33, but even Ragsdale couldn't criticize me for favoritism if it was another Neutrality that needed help.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Harmony

9:34:00
“9:34 a.m. (22 minutes captive): 1 lighter, no plan. "Get them up," Gray Cap orders as soon as he hangs up like a big drama king instead of actually talking to Lee. He said he knew the playbook, but he's not acting like he does.”
— Tess Sharpe, The Girls I've Been

9:35:00
“9:35 a.m. Bailey's eyes widened as the search results flashed up in front of him. HENRY J. RENWICK, AKA CASSIUS. RACKETEERING INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANISATIONS (RICO) - MURDER (18 COUNTS).”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

9:36:00
“I have an image of myself moving smoothly from task to task, brush in one hand, duster in the other, bringing order to everything. Like Mary Poppins. 9:30-9:36 Make Geigers' bed.”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

9:37:00
“I last took out my watch at thirty-seven minutes after nine. There was a great bustle of business sounding through the walls and out in the corridor now, but still I sat alone.”
— Owen Parry, Faded Coat of Blue

9:38:00
“Out of perverse curiosity, I lifted my watch and looked at the time, watching the seconds ticking off. Lyle had finished his call at 9:38 a.m.”
— Benedict Jacka, Fated

9:39:00
“Fletch looked at his watch. It was twenty-one minutes to ten. Instinctively he timed the swiftness of the police.”
— Gregory Mcdonald, Confess, Fletch

9:40:00
“It was twenty-one minutes to ten by the clock at the far end of the hall. Lord Groan appeared to be looking through this clock. Three quarters of a minute went by, it was ten seconds-five seconds—three seconds—one second-to twenty to ten.”
— Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

9:41:00
“It was 9:41 when David, who has never cried in his life, started to cry.”
— Frédéric Beigbeder, Windows on the World

9:42:00
“9:42-10:00: Clean bathrooms.”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

9:43:00
“I suppressed feelings of disappointment and squinted at the alarm clock. 9:43. I hadn't slept that late in months. I rolled out of bed and stretched. We might still be able to salvage our peaceful afternoon.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Destiny

9:44:00
“I checked my phone for the time. 9:44. I sighed and unlocked the middle drawer of the desk.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Peril

9:45:00
“She looked at the clock on the night table and saw it was quarter to ten. She'd slept another two hours. For a moment she was alarmed; maybe she'd suffered a concussion or a fracture after all.”
— Stephen King, Big Driver

9:46:00
“At 9:46, Rory was supposed to be giving TV interviews of 12 minutes each, but neither Irene nor anyone else had come to fetch him.”
— Tom Hanks, Uncommon Type

9:47:00
“Finally at 9:47, the call came. Elaine answered, listened for a second, then silently handed me the receiver. "I want you to be my Secretary of State."”
— Madeleine Albright, Madam Secretary

9:48:00
“It was twelve minutes to ten. I looked at my watch. I wanted to make sure I didn't knock on her door early.”
— Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer

9:49:00
“As Eisman explained why no one in his right mind would own the very shares he had bought sixteen hours earlier, Danny dashed off text messages to his partners. 9:49. Oh my-Bear at 47.”
— Michael Lewis, The Big Short

9:50:00
“Iko expected that she would be inside the palace by no later than 09:50.”
— Marissa Meyer, Cress

9:51:00
“The computer's bland feminine voice replies, "Friday, December fourth, nineteen eighty-seven." "The time?" "Nine fifty-one, Eastern Standard Time."”
— Robert Silverberg, Passengers

9:52:00
“I checked my phone. 9:52. I still had things to do, and maybe they'd make me late, but the Nicolliens could wait a few minutes.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Mayhem

9:53:00
“"They're lining up already," she said. I groaned. It was going to be another busy day. I checked my phone for the time. 9:53.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Mayhem

9:54:00
“It was 9:54 in the morning when I got to the little bookshop on West 56th Street. Before I went to work for Leo Haig I probably wouldn't have bothered to look at my watch, if I was even wearing one in the first place, and the best I'd have been able to say was it was around ten o'clock.”
— Lawrence Block, Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop

9:55:00
“It was 9:55 and still no sign of Judy. I ran for the office, intending to go upstairs and pound on her door, but she was seated at the computer, typing furiously.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Harmony

9:56:00
“"It is four minutes before ten o'clock, Doctor," he said, and returned the watch to his waistcoat.”
— Paula Brackston, The Witch's Daughter

9:57:00
“At three minutes to ten the following morning Blake entered the doorway of the mammoth International Industrial Company Building.”
— Robert Ames Bennet, Out of the Primitive

9:58:00
“9:58 a.m. There was a Napoleon quote that Tom vaguely remembered, something about the sublime being only a few steps from the ridiculous. Nowhere was that sentiment more appropriate than here.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

9:59:00
“Max's hand tapped his collar as he spoke, a tic from a previous life. "While acting with great discretion of course. It's 9:59, sir. You said you wanted to speak promptly at 10:00."”
— Eva Jurczyk, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

10:00:00
“I will tell of it in the next chapter. In this one I will only say that a few days after the agreement with the dependent, I went to see my little friend. It was ten o'clock in the morning. Dona Fortunata, who was in the garden, did not even wait for me to ask for her daughter.”
— Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Dom Casmurro

10:01:00
“In the old school they use now for the Village Hall, below the clock that has stood always at one minute past ten, hangs a small dusty painting of a horse.”
— Michael Morpurgo, War Horse

10:02:00
“As things came to pass, this was how his accident was to occur: exactly how. In fact, he had jotted down the exact time in his astral notebook: 10:02:50 post meridian.”
— Anne McCaffrey, To Ride Pegasus

10:03:00
“It's 10:03 according to his watch, and he is travelling down through the Scottish highlands to Inverness, tired and ever-so-slightly anxious in case he falls asleep between now and when the train reaches the station, and misses his cue to say to Alice, Drew and Aleesha: "OK, this is Inverness, let's move it."”
— Michel Faber, Vanilla Bright like Eminem

10:04:00
“For instance, Nikolaus would save Lisa from drowning. He would arrive on the scene at exactly the right moment-four minutes past ten, the long-ago appointed instant of time—and the water would be shoal, the achievement easy and certain.”
— Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger

10:05:00
“"What happens if you don't come back, sir?" "I shall be back. It's five past ten now. I should be back by ten-thirty. If I'm not back by eleven go downstairs. Say nothing. No doomladen speeches, no warnings that their end is nigh."”
— Alistair MacLean, Floodgate

10:06:00
“"You have fifteen minutes," he said again. Then the connection went dead. Wednesday, 10:06 a.m.”
— Lisa Gardner, Gone

10:07:00
“It's 10:07 by the cheap clock with big numbers on the wall. Everybody's out patrolling or home with their families, including Rusty, the partner I ride with most of the time.”
— Julia Heaberlin, We Are All the Same in the Dark

10:08:00
“She's holding it up so I can't see inside, but, judging by the way she's flicking through the pages, there's something important inside. I check my watch. "10:08 a.m.," I say, itching with curiosity.”
— Stuart Turton, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

10:09:00
“If I rolled off the 10:09 to a rosebud-strewn path and was thrown to the mat as Jules' matron of honor during a quickie marriage ceremony, I'd be no more shocked than if she announced that we were guests at her bon voyage party.”
— Sally Koslow, With Friends Like These

10:10:00
“Time, 10:10. She tapped her pen to the tune of "My Sharona." The students stirred, becoming restless.”
— Lisa Genova, Still Alice

10:11:00
“"Carter," she said, at 10:11. "I'm going to get in the car and drive around." He sighed, and put down the paper. "Patty-" he began, and the phone rang.”
— Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

10:12:00
“"I'll take the coffee tray out," I suggest humbly. As I pick it up I glance again at my watch. Ten twelve. I wonder if they've started the meeting.”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

10:13:00
“"It's ten-thirteen," announced Clancy. "In two more minutes-" "Post time," I said.”
— Ray Bradbury, The Anthem Sprinters

10:14:00
“If agreeable, we shall come to Bridleburg Saturday and would be glad to have you meet the 10:14 train on its arrival.”
— Amy Bell Marlowe, The Girls of Hillcrest Farm

10:15:00
“"At 10:15 a.m.," he said, flatly, "a train passed over the Sankey Viaduct on its way to Liverpool. The body of a man was thrown over the parapet and landed in the canal."”
— Edward Marston, The Railway Viaduct

10:16:00
“10:16 at last. Forty minutes of hard work and I have made precisely one bed. I'm way behind. But never mind. Just keep moving. Laundry next.”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

10:17:00
“For the hundredth time, I glanced at the clock. Ten-seventeen. Impatient, I phoned Ramsey. He said he was at the CMPD forensics lab, dropping off the bucket.”
— Kathy Reichs, Speaking in Bones

10:18:00
“I'm about to go back out to the living room when my phone boops with a text. Seb (10:18 a.m.): SOS”
— Jesse Q. Sutanto, Dial A for Aunties

10:19:00
“Friday 10:19 a.m. "Altitude seventy-three thousand feet. Airspeed nine thousand knots. Petra, raise helmet."”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

10:20:00
“Pres Morehead came home from his Argentine ranches on the 10:20 train, and no one in the crowd around the weathered little Cottonwood Springs station recognized the tall man in the expensive gray suit and hat.”
— T.T. Flynn, The Quickest Draw

10:21:00
“10:21 a.m. "Yes, lovely to hear from you. Certainly we can meet. Why not come to the office next Tues 11:15 a.m. Cc'ing Flora who will confirm."”
— Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Latecomer

10:22:00
“It was now just twenty-two minutes past ten. They had been absent from the platoon for less than half an hour but, with the inferno raging at the company stores, both men were keenly aware that they had to get back to their men without delay.”
— James Holland, Darkest Hour

10:23:00
“Grace Heart Academy School, London, 10:23 a.m. Have you ever loved, knowing it would end, but giving your whole heart regardless?”
— JJ Bola, The Selfless Act of Breathing

10:24:00
“Decker pulled the white Volkswagen up to the kerb outside Kang's convenience store at 10:24 on Tuesday morning, and he and Mangle climbed out.”
— R.D. Ronald, The Zombie Room

10:25:00
“Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was 10:25. He would arrive precisely on time.”
— P.D. James, Original Sin

10:26:00
“In the exact centre of my visual field was the alarm clock, hands pointing to ten-twenty-six. An alarm clock I received as a memento of somebody's wedding.”
— Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

10:27:00
“She is on holiday in Norfolk. The substandard clock radio says 10:27 a.m. The noise is Katrina the Cleaner thumping the hoover against the skirting boards and the bedroom doors. Her hand is asleep. It is still hooked through the handstrap of the camera.”
— Ali Smith, The Accidental

10:28:00
“At 10:28 Crow was leaning on the seawall at the spot where the Amber dummy had been concealed on the other side. The rain made everything slightly murky.”
— Robert B. Parker, Stranger in Paradise

10:29:00
“At 10:29 a.m., January 20th, the tarmac of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was teeming with humanity.”
— Richard Bollard, Capitol Treason

10:30:00
“They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.”
— J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

10:31:00
“10:31 a.m. Tom had given them half an hour or so before making his move.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

10:32:00
“Every man in the room looked at his watch. It was ten thirty two. George got a glimpse of Bobby's face. He looked like a man reprieved from a death sentence.”
— Ken Follet, Edge of Eternity

10:33:00
“Vasco looked pointedly at his watch. "Ten thirty-three," Vasco said accusingly. "Sorry. I was detained. Anyway, that's a fine way to welcome back a man who may just have escaped the jaws of death."”
— Alistair MacLean, Floodgate

10:34:00
“At 10:34 a.m. on 198.088, the lights went out in Labrador, and the backup generators came on, but Labrador's sunline stayed off.”
— Kim Stanley Robinson, Aurora

10:35:00
“Five-and-twenty to eleven. A horrible hour-a macabre hour, for it is not only the hour of pleasure ended, it is the hour when pleasure itself has been found wanting.”
— Patrick Hamilton, Rope

10:36:00
“"Wake up, sweet! Your word of the day is pneumococcus!" I opened my eyes. The phone was ringing. The clock by my bed read 10:36 a.m. The answering machine clicked on downstairs.”
— Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics

10:37:00
“10:37 a.m. The steps led down to a brick-lined corridor set on a shallow incline.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

10:38:00
“10:38 a.m. Winston Bartlett was not finding himself entirely satisfied with the way things were going. As he looked her over, he had a lot on his mind. This was the woman who shared his rare blood type and could represent his last hope.”
— Thomas Hoover, Syndrome

10:39:00
“"However, I can't allow you to pay for my travel expenses, as we are strangers and nothing may come of our meeting. My flight arrives at 10:39 a.m."”
— Linda Howard, Duncan's Bride

10:40:00
“He closes the curtain, shutting out the view, and looks at his watch. It's twenty to eleven. How time flies when you're having fun, he thinks.”
— Stephen King, Billy Summers

10:41:00
“An old man in a condominium apartment facing the sea was looking out his sixth-floor window at the time of the explosion and was able to fix the time of it at precisely 10:41 Eastern Daylight Time.”
— John D. MacDonald, Cinnamon Skin

10:42:00
“Ellis scanned the wall-mounted clocks spanning four time zones. The local hour read 10:42. Had word of his gaffe already gone all the way to Trimble?”
— Kristina McMorris, Sold on a Monday

10:43:00
“24 January, 10:43 a.m. One month and two days later I wonder if I should worry about the fact that my darling boyfriend bought me a birthday present that has the potential to cause instant death.”
— Jane Costello, The Wish List

10:44:00
“At 10:44 a.m., having slept little more than two hours, Krait was roused from dreamless sleep by the vibrating cell phone that he still cupped in his hand.”
— Dean Koontz, The Good Guy

10:45:00
“"I'm awfully sorry," said Bilbo, "but I have come without my hat, and I have left my pocket-handkerchief behind, and I haven't got any money. I didn't get your note until after 10:45 to be precise."”
— J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit

10:46:00
“OLIVE. [At KATHERINE'S elbow―examining her watch on its stand] It's fourteen minutes to eleven. KATHERINE. Olive, Olive! OLIVE. I just wanted to see the time.”
— John Galsworthy, The Mob

10:47:00
“To his surprise he seemed to detect a slight droop of that gentleman's left eye. Was it possible that the doping had failed, and that the victims were only shamming? ... The clock was at thirteen minutes to eleven.”
— John Buchan, The House of the Four Winds

10:48:00
“At 10:48 a.m., I closed my folder but didn't bother putting it back in my bag, so you knew I was on my way to a committee or meeting room nearby.”
— Louise Doughty, Apple Tree Yard

10:49:00
“I looked at my watch. It was eleven minutes to eleven, and thinking of it that way made it more memorable than 10:49.”
— Lawrence Block, The Burglar in the Closet

10:50:00
“10:50 a.m. Art class with Mrs. Peters”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

10:51:00
“At nine minutes to eleven on Monday a blond young woman with what amounted to a crew cut came out of Susan's office and took her yellow slicker off the rack and went out of the waiting room without looking at me.”
— Robert B. Parker, Crimson Joy

10:52:00
“It was now eight minutes to eleven, and he began to feel rather cross and impatient. There was nothing to do in the big, ugly, stately room into which he had been shown.”
— Marie Belloc Lowndes, From Out the Vasty Deep

10:53:00
“He begins to make a record of our observations."1053 hrs," he writes, as we crouch at the top of the stairs, listening to his mother in the hall below.”
— Michael Frayn, Spies

10:54:00
“10:54 a.m. Seven exits lead out of Central Station, and up above the flight of steps, out there in the sunlight, stands the seventh. The bright street beyond it is Chalmers Street, and when you are there, you are behind the city.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

10:55:00
“He looked up at his clock, which had stopped at five minutes to eleven some weeks ago. "Nearly eleven o'clock," said Pooh happily. "You're just in time for a little smackerel of something."”
— A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

10:56:00
“"Why, Dorry, you're a genius! I'm ever so much obliged." "It's four minutes to eleven now," went on Dorry.”
— Susan Coolidge, What Katy Did

10:57:00
“10:57 a.m. Commuter trains packed full of honest suburban people were still drawing into Central Station as he walked alongside the trees with glowing green leaves.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

10:58:00
“It was two minutes to eleven when he walked up to the ticket window and introduced himself. The agent on duty handed him his credentials and told him the shortest way to the roundhouse.”
— Graham M. Dean, The Sky Trail

10:59:00
“Harry grunted in his sleep and his face slid down the window an inch or so, making his glasses still more lopsided, but he did not wake up. An alarm clock, repaired by Harry several years ago, ticked loudly on the sill, showing one minute to eleven.”
— J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

11:00:00
“They had caught an eleven a.m. flight out from Amsterdam that morning. It had been an awkward journey, both of them aware that what had happened at the museum had changed the relationship between them, yet neither of them quite able to understand how.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

11:01:00
“"I mark the time as June twentieth at 11:01 a.m. You may begin." "Thank you." She spoke too closely into the microphone, emitting a high-pitched squeal.”
— Elaine Hsieh Chou, Disorientation

11:02:00
“I am 'hibakusha.' I lost my sight at 11:02 a.m., August 9, 1945, by your calendar. I was standing on Mount Kompira, manning the air-raid warning station with several other boys from my class.”
— Max Brooks, World War Z

11:03:00
“"One of the bullets passed through his chest and landed up in his right wrist. It broke off the stem of his wrist watch, an omega Speedmaster, which according to the expert made the watch stop at the same instant. The hands showed 3 minutes and 37 seconds past 11."”
— Maj Sj?wall & Per Wahl??, The Laughing Policeman

11:04:00
“He came out of his reverie and noticed on the digital clock that it was already four minutes past eleven. As he began switching channels, he cursed himself, cursed his weakness, and cursed the satanic forces that were loose in this accursed land.”
— Nelson DeMille, The Lion's Game

11:05:00
“"Your mistress will understand in view of the circumstances. The difficulty is time! It is imperative that you should catch the 11:05 from King's Cross to the North."”
— Agatha Christie, The Adventure of the Clapham Cook

11:06:00
“It was entirely possible that they didn't know there was a BookWorld, and still they thought they were real. A fantastic notion, until you consider that up until 11:06 a.m. on 12 April 1948, everyone else had thought the same.”
— Jasper Fforde, One of Our Thursdays is Missing

11:07:00
“At exactly seven minutes past eleven by the ship's clock the Adventurer gave a prolonged screech and, moorings cast off, edged her way out of the basin and dipped her nose in the laughing waters of the bay.”
— Ralph Henry Barbour, The Adventure Club Afloat

11:08:00
“He glanced up so that he could see the time on the datastrip along the edge of his helmet: 11:08:23. Ten minutes. They walked unsteadily on.”
— Chris Walley, The Infinite Day

11:09:00
“"The time is 11:09 at that point," Powell said to the D.A.'s staff. "Watch the clock above the model. It's geared to synchronize with the slow motion."”
— Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man

11:10:00
“At eleven-ten on Tuesday morning, Nina Madden stared at the phone that sat on the corner of her desk, and willed it to ring.”
— Mariah Stewart, Dark Truth

11:11:00
“11:11 a.m. I whispered a goodbye that no one would hear. My biggest gift to Nadia was the life I had always wanted for myself.”
— Amanda Jayatissa, You're Invited

11:12:00
“She didn't look where she was going, but apparently it didn't matter as she drifted straight through a marble column with no problem. "We're out of prime time now, so that's good," she mused. "I can fit you in right before his 11:12 spot."”
— Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

11:13:00
“"When do we get to Malm??" he asked. "12:15," she replied. "H?ssleholm 11:13 a.m." Then she left. She knew the timetable by heart.”
— Henning Mankell, The Fifth Woman

11:14:00
“The report was dated Sunday, 25 September, 1966, at 11:14 a.m. The text was laconic. Call from Hrk Vanger; stating that his brother's daughter (?) Harriett Ulrika Vanger, born 15 Jan. 1950 (age 16) has been missing from her home on Hedeby Island since Saturday afternoon.”
— Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

11:15:00
“"I shall go down to the town for coffee. If you want to come with me, Basil, I shall be ready at a quarter past eleven."”
— Angus Wilson, Such Darling Dodos

11:16:00
“11:16 a.m. Two panda bears welcomed Danny from above a cupboard filled with stocks of tissue paper. Cardboard cartons were stacked up on the walls, but a blue sofa and a black swivel chair dominated the room.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

11:17:00
“"What time is it?" Straff checked his pocket watch, something no Mistborn would carry. Too much metal. "Eleven seventeen," he said.”
— Brandon Sanderson, The Well of Ascension

11:18:00
“Inspector Beauvoir glanced at the clock on the Chief's wall just at the phone rang, 11:18 a.m. "Homicide," he'd heard her say. And nothing had been the same since.”
— Louise Penny, Bury Your Dead

11:19:00
“A whistle cut sharply across his words. Peter got onto his knees to look out the window, and Miss Fuller glared at him. Polly looked down at her watch: 11:19. The train. But the stationmaster had said it was always late.”
— Connie Willis, Blackout

11:20:00
“"Twenty past eleven, Casey," he murmured. "If these destroyers come through early we're apt to have a thousand tons of rock falling on our heads."”
— Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone

11:21:00
“It was twenty-one minutes past eleven by the clock over the elevator doors when Joel Cairo came in from the street. His forehead was bandaged. His clothes had the limp unfreshness of too many hours' consecutive wear.”
— Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon

11:22:00
“"Good! What time is it?" "Twenty-two minutes after eleven," returned Passepartout, drawing an enormous silver watch from the depths of his pocket.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

11:23:00
“She closed her eyes and the faces came. She opened her eyes and reached towards the bedside cupboard, took out her sleeping pills, swallowed a pill and lay down again. The music was almost raucous. She turned it off. She lay in silence, waiting for sleep. It was 11:23 a.m.”
— Michael Moorcock, The Black Corridor

11:24:00
“At 11:24 we thanked Helen Gillard and asked her to thank the doctor for us, left the house, walked sixty yards to Wolfe's, found the door was bolted, pushed the button and were admitted by Fritz.”
— Rex Stout, The Final Deduction

11:25:00
“Christine's task was easy enough. Keeping her own watch concealed she asked Linda at twenty-five past eleven what time it was. Linda looked at her watch and replied that it was a quarter to twelve.”
— Agatha Christie, Evil Under the Sun

11:26:00
“A pair of brown shoes appeared beneath his urine bag. "I counted eleven bells." "The current time is 11:26 a.m." "What day?" "Your injury occurred yesterday."”
— John Galligan, The Wind Knot

11:27:00
“At twenty-seven minutes past eleven that Monday morning in February, Lincoln's Birthday, I opened the door between the office and the front room, entered, shut the door, and said, "Miss Blount is here."”
— Rex Stout, Gambit

11:28:00
“St James's, London. 26th July - 11:28 a.m. Normally Jermyn Street, perched between the hustle of Pall Mall and the bustle of Piccadilly, peddled its own unique sepia-coloured version of a long-vanished England.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

11:29:00
“At twenty-nine minutes past eleven the alarm on his desk clock went "bing."”
— Terry Pratchett, Making Money

11:30:00
“Eleven-thirty a.m. Outside, it has gotten surprisingly warm. And, not so surprisingly, hazy. The air tastes of sauerkraut, the metropolitan ozone layer wiggles like a mold of rat jelly.”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

11:31:00
“Albatross 8 passed over Pamlico Sound at 1131 local time. Its on-board programming was designed to trace thermal receptors over the entire visible horizon.”
— Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October

11:32:00
“And after that, not forgetting, there was the Flemish armada, all scattered, and all officially drowned, there and then, on a lovely morning, after the universal flood, at about eleven thirty two was it?”
— James Joyce, Finnegans Wake

11:33:00
“By 11:33, there were only three Nicolliens waiting for auguries. I was about to take the next augury slip when the bells over the door jangled. "Welcome to...oh," I said, my voice trailing off as I registered who'd just entered the store.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Destiny

11:34:00
“Christmas Eve 1995. 11:34 a.m. The first time, Almasa says it slowly and softly, as if she is really looking for an answer, "Are you talking to me?" She peers into the small, grimy mirror in a train toilet.”
— Adnan Mahmutovic, How to Fare Well and Stay Fair

11:35:00
“The Prime Minister's plane came to a stop at Oberweisenfeld airport at 11:35 a.m. The engines whined and died. Inside the cabin, after three hours of flight the silence was a noise in itself.”
— Robert Harris, Munich

11:36:00
“I ran up the stairs, away from the heat and the noise, the mess and the confusion. I saw the clock radio by my bed. Eleven thirty-six.”
— Nicci French, Losing You

11:37:00
“Louisville County Mortuary, Louisville, Kentucky. 23rd July - 11:37 a.m. Jennifer had always believed that there were no such things as coincidences, just different perspectives.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

11:38:00
“It was 11:38 a.m. when Goleta's handlers whispered to him-this was easily caught on SeeChange microphones-"We're out. Regroup on bus." And then he was gone.”
— Dave Eggers, The Every

11:39:00
“"Time?" Raith asked. "Eleven-thirty-nine, my lord," the bodyguard reported. "Ah, good. Still time."”
— Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

11:40:00
“Eleven forty a.m. on the Canarsie-bound L is not a time or destination for those who are prospering in the world and out into Bushwick proper, which could be the outskirts of Cracow (where, admittedly, he's never been).”
— Michael Cunningham, By Nightfall

11:41:00
“In a little while his mind cleared, but his head ached, arms ached, body ached. The phosphorescent figures on his watch attracted his attention. He peered at them. The time was 11:41. I remember... what do I remember?”
— James Clavell, Noble House

11:42:00
“11:42 a.m. Tom and Jennifer walked down Piccadilly in silence, allowing themselves to be carried along by the smooth muscle of the masses, red buses trundling cheerfully past.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

11:43:00
“11:43 a.m. "Isn't it funny," a voice on the phone said, "you calling me today of all days, Cleaner." Calm, unhurried. There's no guilt in this voice, Danny told himself. None.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

11:44:00
“I go into the living room and sit down to wait. At 11:44 I smell smoke. I walk back into the kitchen. The dish towel is on fire.”
— Benjamin Ludwig, Ginny Moon

11:45:00
“"I will tell you the time," said Septimus, very slowly, very drowsily, smiling mysteriously. As he sat smiling at the dead man in the grey suit the quarter - struck the quarter to twelve.”
— Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

11:46:00
“The time was 11:46 a.m. Just about a quarter of an hour before Margaret's lunch break. Fourteen minutes passed in painfully slow increments before the clock ticked to 12:00 p.m.”
— Elaine Hsieh Chou, Disorientation

11:47:00
“"Because the two curses that have struck here in Chicago arrived at eleven forty-seven in the morning, and damned close to that last night. Add two hours to the deaths in California to account for the difference in time zones."”
— Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

11:48:00
“He had carefully positioned himself under the 'VI' numeral of the tower's clock. Then Charles Whitman opened fire at 11:48 in the morning.”
— James Patterson, Cat & Mouse

11:49:00
“It was 11:49 Monday morning and I called the UMC hospital. I talked to the head nurse at the intensive care station. Mary was still in a coma. I was concerned about the medicine that was fed to her intravenously.”
— Frederiko Aguilar, The Desert Has No King

11:50:00
“"I had four men guarding him two outside the room, two inside. Ten minutes before noon this ravishingly beautiful young blonde nurse-that's those cretins describe her-"”
— Alistair MacLean, The Way to Dusty Death

11:51:00
“The next day, at nine minutes to twelve o'clock noon, the last clock ran down and stopped. It was then placed in the town museum, as a collector's item, or museum piece, with proper ceremonies, addresses, and the like.”
— James Thurber, Lanterns & Lances

11:52:00
“Every day at 11:52 a.m., because the cafeteria is being remodeled, Patti puts her terrible fish sticks in the terrible microwave at the back of Mr. Bate's room and presses the terrible beepy buttons.”
— Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land

11:53:00
“"Seven... seven and a half minutes to twelve. We've wasted a lot of time already." "We've got six hours at least," said Roger. "That's six times sixty minutes for things to happen in. Three hundred and sixty different things."”
— Arthur Ransome, Great Northern?

11:54:00
“Only three people got out of the 11:54. The first was a countryman with two baskety boxes full of live chickens who stuck their russet heads out anxiously through the wicker bars.”
— Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children

11:55:00
“The bus pulled into Sierra Lobo right on schedule, five minutes before noon.”
— William W. Johnstone & J.A. Johnstone, Tyranny

11:56:00
“My hands are too clumsy for flowing penmanship, but amidst the smeared ink and ugly blots, the message reads clearly enough. I check the clock. It's 11:56 a.m. Almost time.”
— Stuart Turton, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

11:57:00
“By the time that it wanted only three minutes to noon, the droll object in question was perceived to be a very diminutive foreign-looking young man. He descended the hills at a great rate, so that everybody had soon a good look at him.”
— Edgar Allan Poe, The Devil in the Belfry

11:58:00
“Al thought it was because he happened to be sunning himself near the rabbit-hole at 11:58 in the morning on September 9, 1958, and was susceptible to its influence.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

11:59:00
“At one minute to twelve, she was sure of it, and cursed herself for even thinking for a moment the cat-creature would help her escape.”
— Garth Nix, Clariel

12:00:00
“A March noon, and the Central European heaven full not only of grey scud but of aircraft of the Third Reich in a menacing dance celebratory of the wholly beneficent ends of the Anschluss.”
— Anthony Burgess, The End of the World News

12:01:00
“12:01 p.m. The room was empty. Milo was alone, standing to one side of the window so he couldn't be seen from the street below, his hands folded behind his back.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

12:02:00
“With the fruit in his hands, he stood perfectly erect. Or rather, he stood at a slight tilt induced by the wine, a sort of 12:02. Then after a brief pause, he set the spheres in motion.”
— Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

12:03:00
“At 12:03 the sun has already punched its ticket. Sinking, it stains the cobbles and stucco of the platz in a violin-coloured throb of light that you would have to be a stone not to find poignant.”
— Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen's Union

12:04:00
“At four minutes past twelve, Frank Macintosh and Paulie Logan enter the lobby dressed in their suits. There are handshakes all around. Frank's pompadour appears to have had an oil change.”
— Stephen King, Billy Summers

12:05:00
“"Pauline Stacey fell from this floor to the ground at five minutes past twelve."”
— G.K. Chesterton, The Innocence of Father Brown

12:06:00
“Z-spotting at Rotfield Mall confirmed yesterday at 12:06 p.m. Location: In-Between Burger. Subject: Teenage male, light brown hair, blue eyes. Skin color: Gray! Clue #1: When I asked for extra ketchup, he just groaned and pointed at a tub of relish.”
— Nadia Higgins, Zombie Field Day

12:07:00
“The hour and minute hands had stopped at a specific time. 12:07. "As destruction goes," the monster said behind him, "this is all remarkably pitiful."”
— Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls

12:08:00
“When a clock struck noon in Washington, D.C., the time was 12:08 in Philadelphia, 12:12 in New York, and 12:24 in Boston.”
— Matthew Goodman, Eighty Days

12:09:00
“12:09 p.m. "How's your foot?" Allegra laughed as they made their way out into the Outer Peristyle's shaded cloister. A light salt breeze was blowing in from the Pacific and tugging at her hair, which was now its original colour once again.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

12:10:00
“The child said that it was twelve-ten and that Gonga was already late. Another child said that maybe the rain had delayed him. Another said, no not the rain, his director was taking a plane from Hollywood.”
— Flannery O'Connor, Enoch and the Gorilla

12:11:00
“Aug 28 at 12:11 p.m. Subject: re: Today's Agenda. "Carl, thank you, but an agenda would be much more helpful if you would send it at the beginning, rather than the middle, of the workday."”
— Mary Adkins, When You Read This

12:12:00
“It was the twelfth of December, the twelfth month. A was twelve. The electric clock/radio by his bedside table said 12:01. A was waiting for it to read 12:12, he hoped there would be some sense of cosmic rightness when it did.”
— Jonathan Trigell, Boy A

12:13:00
“She checks the clock on the nightstand: 12:13 p.m. Rory made her lose track of time.”
— Casey McQuiston, I Kissed Shara Wheeler

12:14:00
“She left London on the twelve-fourteen from Paddington, arriving at Bristol (where she had to change) at two-fifty.”
— Agatha Christie, The Plymouth Express

12:15:00
“Ron is chuckling. "Christ, love, no, we're not friends. Do you need a top-up, Liz?" Elizabeth nods and Ron pours. They are on a second bottle. It is 12:15.”
— Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club

12:16:00
“At 12:16 Miss Glory brought out the food. It took me a week to learn the difference between a salad plate, a bread plate and a dessert plate.”
— Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

12:17:00
“At 12:17, an ambulance attendant from Motton tossed out a cigarette butt as the rescue vehicle sped toward Summer Street.”
— Stephen King, Carrie

12:18:00
“Monday, April 6. 12:18 p.m. "Hey, how did it go?" Jennifer asked the minute Ally came in the door. She wasn't sure she knew the answer to that.”
— Thomas Hoover, Syndrome

12:19:00
“12:19 p.m. There are a lot of things wrong with me.”
— Gayle Forman, If I Stay

12:20:00
“Now she was kneading the little ball of hot paste on the convex margin of the bowl and I could smell the opium. There is no smell like it. Beside the bed the alarm-clock showed twelve-twenty, but already my tension was over.”
— Graham Greene, The Quiet American

12:21:00
“He took a drag on his cigarette and then waved the back of his hand at her: go on, lady, go on. "Jake, think of something! PLEASE!" Twelve twenty-one.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

12:22:00
“By twenty-two minutes past twelve we leave, much too soon for our desires, this delightful spot, where the pilgrims are in the habit of bathing who come to visit the Jordan.”
— Louis Félicien de Saulcy, Narrative of a journey round the Dead Sea, and in the Bible lands

12:23:00
“It was 12:23 p.m. The four of them sat down at the table and Kit immediately started eating her fries. Nina knew they had to be cold by now but appreciated that none of her siblings mentioned it.”
— Taylor Jenkins Reid, Malibu Rising

12:24:00
“And then, as if on cue, at 12:24 p.m. the judge cut in on the prosecutor's questioning. "Mr. Goldenberger..." Cavello felt his pulse start to race. Sayonara, he snickered. Playtime's over. Little Dom here is ready to go home.”
— James Patterson, Judge & Jury

12:25:00
“Big Aunt (12:24 p.m.): (Another string of emojis) Meddy (12:25 p.m.): Everything is okay, right??”
— Jesse Q. Sutanto, Dial A for Aunties

12:26:00
“David looked at the clock face on the wall and murmured; "It's twenty-six minutes past noon." "Oh heavens. Are we going to make it back home in time to prepare lunch!" she lamented more speaking to herself rather than talking to the people surrounding her.”
— Mwangwirani J. Mwakimatu, The Choice

12:27:00
“For three decades, time had been frozen at twelve twenty-seven. The story was that the hands had stopped at the exact moment Corcoran O'Connor's father died. It might have been true.”
— William Kent Krueger, Boundary Waters

12:28:00
“The DRINK CHEER-UP COFFEE wall clock read 12:28.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

12:29:00
“"What time is it?" asked Teeny-bits. The station agent hauled out his big silver watch, looked at it critically and announced: "Twenty-nine minutes past twelve." "Past twelve!" repeated Teeny-bits. "It can't be."”
— Clayton H. Ernst, The Mark of the Knife

12:30:00
“"It's twelve-thirty," Julie said. "If I know the Colonel his only concern now is what aperitif he's going to have before lunch."”
— Alistair MacLean, Floodgate

12:31:00
“12:31 p.m. Inside the presidential limousine there is chaos. "Oh, no, no, no. Oh, my god. They have shot my husband. I love you, Jack," Jackie Kennedy cries.”
— Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard, Killing Kennedy

12:32:00
“12:32 p.m. The bullet lifted Van Simson clean out of his chair and he thudded to the floor, limp. Sensing his opportunity, Tom dived to his left, rolling off the platform and running into the middle of the vault.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

12:33:00
“Stephen Maxie looked him straight in the eye and said almost casually: "It was thirty-three minutes past twelve by my watch."”
— P.D. James, Cover Her Face

12:34:00
“12:34 p.m. The market stalls were tightly packed under the rusting cast-iron railway arches, their shelves groaning with freshly imported produce.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

12:35:00
“What Freddie might have replied to this pertinent question will never be known, for at this moment, looking nervously at his watch for the twentieth time, he observed that the hands had passed the half-hour and were well on their way to twenty-five minutes to one.”
— P.G. Wodehouse, Leave It to Psmith

12:36:00
“She was going to walk calmly, coolly, up this amazing flight of stairs and into this building. There she was going to find Taylor, because it was already 12:36 and 30 seconds and in his text he'd told her to be on time.”
— Carmen Reid, New York Valentine

12:37:00
“It was 12:37 when Jason, in blue jeans, cap and a dark, tattered V-necked sweater, reached the gates of the old factory.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum

12:38:00
“At exactly 12:38 (yes, exactly) I set down my pad and retrieved my suit jacket from its hanger on the back of my door. When I reopened it, Rosenthal was standing in the doorway.”
— Beth Orsoff, Romantically Challenged

12:39:00
“At 12:39 and eighteen seconds, when the plane had reached exactly three thousand feet, a bomb exploded towards the rear of the passenger cabin. The charge wasn't particularly big, but neither did it have to be, placed as it was within feet of the fuel tanks.”
— Christopher Brookmyre, A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away

12:40:00
“12:40. Crap. Crap crap crap. I wanted to be in line for the panel twenty-five minutes ago!”
— Anna Priemaza, Fan the Fame

12:41:00
“At 12:41 President-elect and Mrs. Tucker finally embarked in their limousine. He instructed me to work with Feeley on a speech insert explaining the delay. We had seven minutes to come up with it.”
— Christopher Buckley, The White House Mess

12:42:00
“12:42 p.m. Banque V?lz et Cie occupied a corner plot in one of Zurich's most expensive districts.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

12:43:00
“12:43 p.m. As they flew from one side of George Street to the other, the pigeons came so low they barely cleared a man's skull: Danny had to duck.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

12:44:00
“A few minutes later they were crossing the bridge over the Arizona Canal. Matt pulled out his old silver watch. "Only sixteen minutes to one," he announced, with a note of exultation, "and we're fifteen miles on our way."”
— Stanley R. Matthews, Motor Matt's "Century" Run

12:45:00
“At a quarter to one o'clock, on a wet Sunday afternoon, in November, 1837, Samuel Snoxell, page to Mr. Zachary Thorpe, of Baregrove Square, London, left the area gate with three umbrellas under his arm.”
— Wilkie Collins, Hide and Seek

12:46:00
“12:46 p.m. Five feet tall and three feet across, the safe had a brutish, hulking presence, its dense mass of hardened steel and poured concrete exerting a strange gravitational pull that almost threatened to fold the room in on itself.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

12:47:00
“Borough Market, Southwark, London. 5th January - 12:47 p.m. "Followed? You sure?"”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

12:48:00
“Tick. Tick. Anahita looked at her phone. She'd set her alarm to go off at 12:48 p.m., 18:48 in Europe. When the bomb would go off. Her phone said 12:01. A minute past noon. They had forty-seven minutes. "Ana?"”
— Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny, State of Terror

12:49:00
“The first victim of the Krefeld raid died at 1249 hours Double British Summer Time at B Flight, but it wasn't due to carelessness.”
— Len Deighton, Bomber

12:50:00
“12:50 p.m. "It's not a lie." Finn, Maddy, and Gina have waded out beyond the shoals to the edge of the sandbar, the abrupt drop of the ocean floor.”
— Miranda Cowley Heller, The Paper Palace

12:51:00
“12:51 p.m. Armed French police swarmed into the room, the plastic visors on their sinister black helmets glinting like huge eyes, their radios spitting.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

12:52:00
“The nightclub stood on the junction, flamboyant, still. It was 12:52.”
— Rupert Thomson, Dreams of Leaving

12:53:00
“At seven minutes before one o'clock, Alice Cavendish entered the bathroom of her family home on Colchester terrace and pulled the curtain across the window.”
— Alex Pavesi, Eight Detectives

12:54:00
“The ice was soon broken; songs, anecdotes, and more drinks followed, and the pregnant minutes flew. At six minutes to one, when the jollity was at its highest-BOOM!! There was silence instantly.”
— Mark Twain, A Double Barrelled Detective Story

12:55:00
“At home, the kitchen clock was ticking loudly. She unpacked the globe and checked the time. The house felt so quiet and empty without Benny. The doctor said two weeks, the clock said five minutes to one.”
— Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness

12:56:00
“If he was ignored till one o'clock, he promised himself, he would leave. He watched the filigreed minute hand jerk from five minutes to four minutes to one.”
— Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe's Revenge

12:57:00
“Monday, April 6. 12:57 p.m. Stone Aimes was floating through cyberspace, through the massive data pages of the National Institutes of Health. Since the Gerex Corporation had a complete clampdown on their clinical-trial results, he was attempting an end run.”
— Thomas Hoover, Syndrome

12:58:00
“The Doctor took out his watch. It was two minutes to one. "We will take the Juvenal at afternoon school," he said, nodding to the Captain, and all the boys understanding the signal gathered up their books and poured out of the hall.”
— William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis

12:59:00
“"We need the Holy Spirit. It's almost Advent. We await. Please help. Amen." Stephen checked the time. It was 12:59 p.m.”
— Ray Keating, An Advent for Religious Liberty

13:00:00
“The clock chimed. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Was it, could it be, only a little over an hour since she had come down to tea? One little hour.”
— Nella Larsen, Passing

13:01:00
“Thus it was that at one minute past one o'clock, when a preternaturally self-respecting porter dispassionately ascertained that nothing more would be required of him till morning.”
— Louis Joseph Vance, Nobody

13:02:00
“Fallon approached the gate at two minutes past one, his swagger evidence of his satisfaction at the turn of events.”
— Amanda Bonilla, Blood Before Sunrise

13:03:00
“No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than I realized how late it was. I checked my phone-1:03 p.m. My lunch hour was over minutes ago!”
— Nita Prose, The Maid

13:04:00
“You are invited to my home on May 14, the Year of the Hummingbird. Please begin to arrive no earlier than 1:04 p.m., as I have many matters to settle before the event. The stars have shifted. The earth has turned. The time is here. I am dying.”
— Zoradia Córdova, The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

13:05:00
“At five past one, the stationmaster gave the last call for passengers travelling to Paris. The train had already started to slide along the platform when Julian turned round to say goodbye to his friend.”
— Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

13:06:00
“1:06 p.m. "Just to confirm your appointment to tour the south London facility at 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Looking forward to showing you around—I think you'll be very impressed. Best wishes, Denise."”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

13:07:00
“Dr. Nexa accepted her forced surrender to the inevitable with a greater modicum of grace. She looked at Nurse L'Kem and said, pointing to the human, the Bolian, and then the Zaldan—Time of death for Lieutenant Hutchinson, 1307 hours.”
— David Mack, Star Trek: Destiny #3: Lost Souls

13:08:00
“I stopped at Mom's classroom for the last few minutes of lunch. I closed the door behind me and sat down at a desk opposite her. I glanced up at the clock on the wall. 1:08. I had six minutes. I didn't want more.”
— John Green, Turtles All the Way Down

13:09:00
“At nine minutes past one, a pair of horses approached (not from the city, from which direction Krieger had expected her to come, but from the Desert, which lay, vast and largely uncharted, out to the West and South-West of the city).”
— Clive Barker, Tortured Souls

13:10:00
“Shortly after lunch, at 1310 hours, Lieutenant Luke Sinclair took off his shirt and stretched out on the broad wing of a B-17 to get a suntan.”
— Monte Merrick, Memphis Belle

13:11:00
“"I pursued my inquiries at the other stations along the line an' I found there was a gentleman wi' a bicycle tuk the 1.11 train at Girvan."”
— Dorothy L. Sayers, Five Red Herrings

13:12:00
“1:12 p.m. Beaten, the bull-faced monster had become numb: its eyes were closed, its skin contracted in thick pain as the Greek hero, placid, naked, small-penised, twisted its horn.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

13:13:00
“"Forüt" was his tranquil answer. "Forward!" replied my uncle. It was thirteen minutes past one.”
— Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth

13:14:00
“One-fourteen p.m. Because bowling, on the whole, is not a particularly strenuous activity, the clothing of the bowler is seldom soppy with the moisture secreted by a body in a state of exertion.”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

13:15:00
“A little ormolu clock in the outer corridor indicated twenty minutes to one. The car was due at one-fifteen. Thirty-five minutes: oh, to escape for only that brief period!”
— Stacy Aumonier, The Octave of Jealousy

13:16:00
“"And I believe you also saw her return two days later on October 30 on the 1:16 p.m. bus. Is that correct?"”
— Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

13:17:00
“The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions. He got up and went to the window. What is it? she said. He didn't answer. He went into the bathroom and threw the lightswitch but the power was already gone.”
— Cormac McCarthy, The Road

13:18:00
“One eighteen exactly. Was she stupid enough to head inside? Or wasn't she? We'll know before long, when the dead are carried out.”
— Wislawa Szymborska, The Terrorist, He Watches

13:19:00
“"It threw me to the floor. I didn't know electricity could do that. I was almost..." She couldn't think of the word. It was nineteen minutes past one.”
— Charles Baxter, Saul and Patsy

13:20:00
“"Gerard and I took the launch to Greenwich and had a pub lunch at the Trafalgar Tavern, but we didn't leave here until twenty past one."”
— P.D. James, Original Sin

13:21:00
“There followed a gap of hours, in which she had spoken to nobody on the mobile, and then, at 1:21, she had begun a positive frenzy of phoning.”
— Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo's Calling

13:22:00
“1:22 p.m. The edges of the room were wreathed in darkness, the centre weakly illuminated by parallel strips of sunken LEDs running down the middle of the ceiling like landing lights on a runway.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

13:23:00
“So my father is some kind of Yakuza man. Makes sense, sort of. Money, power and influence. The white lines and billowing trees and industrial chimneys are dreamlike. The dashboard clock reads 13:23.”
— David Mitchell, Number9Dream

13:24:00
“Thursday, 1:24 p.m. She stands in the house she's just broken into. Thirty seconds of fear. No dogs come at her. No alarm sounds. No one yells. It isn't just luck. She has scouted it well.”
— Adrian McKinty, The Chain

13:25:00
“He made a last effort; he tried to rise, and sank back. His head fell on the sofa cushions. It was then twenty-five minutes past one o'clock.”
— Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

13:26:00
“1:26 p.m. As she walked down Noyes toward campus, past the giant chirping trees and sturdy hundred-year-old homes full of twenty-year-olds, the sky was the bright, eye-stabbing silver that she hated on game days.”
— J. Ryan Stradal, Kitchens of the Great Midwest

13:27:00
“1:27 p.m. "Don't shoot," Isaac Mannheim shouted as he saw the unshaven, barefoot man roll next to him, an Uzi giving off bursts of rounds.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

13:28:00
“Is this another scene of childhood pain? Why do the clock hands say 1:28? This melancholy moment will remain.”
— Mark Strand, Two De Chiricos

13:29:00
“Monday, April 6. 1:29 p.m. As she hung up, Ally wondered again what she was getting into. But she did want to meet this miracle worker. The kind of thing Van de Vliet was talking about sounded as much like science fiction as anything she'd ever heard.”
— Thomas Hoover, Syndrome

13:30:00
“Lupin not having come down, I went up again at half-past one, and said we dined at two; he said he "would be there."”
— George Grossmith & Weedon Grossmith, The Diary of a Nobody

13:31:00
“At last Brock drew a long breath. "What time do you all make it?" he asked, and we told him. The mean time between us was thirty-one minutes past one.”
— John Ayscough, A Roman Tragedy and Others

13:32:00
“April 5, 1:32 p.m. Blue Teal Mist Paints over Sky Blue on paper. Bee Larkham's letter was still in the science lab drawer where I'd left it on Monday afternoon.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

13:33:00
“1:33 p.m. "Jean-Pierre Dumas, DST," Tom lied. The duty officer, a phone pressed against one ear and an old woman complaining about the noise from a neighbouring flat monopolising the other, barely glanced at the pass as he buzzed Tom in.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

13:34:00
“It was 13:34 when Bishop arrived at the address Cassandra had given him. And the BMW's transmission had behaved throughout the whole sixty-mile journey. Just went to show that a good spring-clean was sometimes all that was required.”
— Jason Dean, The Last Quarter

13:35:00
“He found that he was walking through the door of the Piazza at 12:01 for lunch. And at 1:35, when he climbed the 110 steps to his room, he was already calculating the minutes until he could come back downstairs for a drink.”
— Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

13:36:00
“"I could book you on US Airways, flight six-five-two-one, leaving Boston twelve noon, arriving in Washington, one-thirty-six P.M."”
— Tess Gerritsen, The Apprentice

13:37:00
“1:37 p.m. They drove on in silence, tower blocks and squat warehouses joining the land to the sky in a grey mist of steel and concrete as they reached the grimy underbelly of Paris.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

13:38:00
“He still had a single reply from Katya highlighted: September 28th-1:38 p.m.: Ooh, she's cute-congrats Andrei! You better be on your best behavior, treat that girl right.”
— Frank Winter, Homecoming

13:39:00
“And it was now 1:39 p.m. which was 23 minutes after the stop, which meant that we would be at the sea if the train didn't go in a big curve. But I didn't know if it went in a big curve.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

13:40:00
“Gary shut himself inside his office and flipped through the messages. Caroline had called at 1:35, 1:40, 1:50, 1:55, and 2:10; it was now 2:25. He pumped his fist in triumph. Finally, finally, some evidence of desperation.”
— Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

13:41:00
“"I will begin a few minutes before the leak started—at 1:41 p.m., 13:41 Universal Time—one hour and twenty three minutes ago. At that point the chief flight engineer was attempting to discover why the engines had gone into automatic shutdown."”
— Stephen Euin Cobb, Bones Burnt Black

13:42:00
“For readers who are curious, Eliza's birth information is 11/29/1788 01:42 p.m., London.”
— Jenny Brown, Lord Lightning

13:43:00
“1:43 p.m. Jennifer lifted her head, her eyes incredulously searching the room before settling accusingly on the mirrored panel set into the wall.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

13:44:00
“To: abbywilliams1847@hotmail.co.uk j.b.caborn@ox.ac.uk Date: From: Mon, 13 May 2013, 1:44 p.m. Subject: There's no such thing as a free lunch.”
— Gavin Extence, The Mirror World of Melody Black

13:45:00
“"Believe it or not, Jon," he said, "your insane scheme might work. KLM has a flight at 11:15 a.m. that arrives in Rome three and a half hours later at 1:45 p.m., since we gain an hour. When does Vatican III begin?"”
— Paul L. Maier, More than a Skeleton

13:46:00
“She becomes a time traveler, scrolling back along Ondowsky's feed to before the explosion happened, and at 1:46 p.m. she finds a photograph of a retro diner with a parking lot in the foreground.”
— Stephen King, If It Bleeds

13:47:00
“Poppy was sprawled on Brianne's bed, applying black mascara to her stubby lashes. Brianne was sitting at her desk, trying to complete an essay before the 2 p.m. deadline. It was 1:47 p.m.”
— Sue Townsend, The Woman Who Went To Bed For A Year

13:48:00
“It was twelve minutes to two in the afternoon when Claude Moreau and his most-trusted field officer, Jacques Bergeron, arrived at the Georges Cinq station of the Paris Metro.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Apocalypse Watch

13:49:00
“As far as she knew there was nobody but herself in the bureau. All she needed to do was to say a telephone call had come through at 1:49.”
— Agatha Christie, The Clocks

13:50:00
“Gary shut himself inside his office and flipped through the messages. Caroline had called at 1:35, 1:40, 1:50, 1:55, and 2:10; it was now 2:25. He pumped his fist in triumph. Finally, finally, some evidence of desperation.”
— Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections

13:51:00
“Danny wanted it to be a joke. Hours didn't just disappear. But the clock tower before him and the silver time piece in his hand read 3:06 in the afternoon, when not fifteen minutes before they had read 1:51.”
— Tara Sim, Timekeeper

13:52:00
“He passed through the Damascus Gate into the International Zone at eight minutes to two, carefully avoiding the telltale times of the hour, and the half hour and the quarter hour.”
— Chris Moriarty, Spin Control

13:53:00
“"Mr. Jackson," exclaimed Mr. Rossiter. "I really must ask you to be good enough to come in from your lunch at the proper time. It was fully seven minutes to two when you returned, and—"”
— P.G. Wodehouse, Psmith in the City

13:54:00
“It made him think of the boat. How long would the boat wait at the river? What time was it, anyway? He looked at his watch. The crystal was smashed, the hands fixed at 1:54. He heard the buzzing again. It was coming closer.”
— Michael Crichton, The Lost World

13:55:00
“A little chill went around the table, darkening the light of the silver and the bright colors of the china, a little cloud that drifted through the dining room and brought Mrs. Dudley after it. "It's five minutes of two," Mrs. Dudley said.”
— Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

13:56:00
“Christopher Cassidy's secretary had warned me to be prompt, as he was squeezing time for me into a very full day and was leaving this evening for meetings in Europe. It was four minutes to two when I arrived breathlessly at his office for the two o'clock appointment.”
— Mary Higgins Clark, Daddy's Little Girl

13:57:00
“Luke is due to arrive in Edmonton at 13:57 on flight AC 2157 on the last day of school before the holidays. In geography, I watch the clock and say a silent prayer that the plane's landing gear doesn't stick and that the runway isn't icy and that visibility is clear enough. I hate planes.”
— Anna Priemaza, Kat and Meg Conquer the World

13:58:00
“It was two minutes to two. I checked my flashlight and envelope and let the inside of my arm touch the firmness of my holster through my jacket. It was reassuring.”
— Stuart M. Kaminsky, Bullet for a Star

13:59:00
“It was one minute to two o'clock; and then something happened. The whole white world became red. The oldest seas in the world went suddenly lashing into storm.”
— James Stephens, Here Are Ladies

14:00:00
“Sliding his finger casually under the trigger guard, Butler strode into their midst. The bulky one at two o'clock was giving the orders. You could tell from the heads angled his way.”
— Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

14:01:00
“"It is 2:01," Malcolm said, "and much as I'm happy to see you, I'm here for an augury." I glanced around him. No one loitered outside the store. "Where is everyone?"”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Havoc

14:02:00
“2:02 p.m. We end up in the market's basement, in a shop I can only describe as a punk-rock five-and-dime. Orange Dracula sells all kinds of retro goth novelties, from buttons and patches to vampire incense and shrunken heads.”
— Rachel Lynn Solomon, Today Tonight Tomorrow

14:03:00
“Merral felt the ground shake. "First missiles away," intoned DC. Merral looked at the clock. It was three minutes after two in the afternoon, and the Battle of Tahuma had begun.”
— Chris Walley, The Infinite Day

14:04:00
“Two oh-four p.m. "What are you doing here?" you ask. It is almost an accusation. "The real question is, what are you doing here?"”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

14:05:00
“"The nuclear device is in the Markerwaard but is located precisely in its centre. Do you believe me?" "If I had your unpleasantly suspicious mind I would say that I'd wait until five past two tomorrow afternoon to find out. As it happens, I believe you."”
— Alistair MacLean, Floodgate

14:06:00
“A man driving a tractor saw her, four hundred yards from her house, six minutes past two in the afternoon.”
— Hilary Mantel, A Change of Climate

14:07:00
“He poked his head into Tony's office at about seven minutes past two and said, "Sarge, I'm pretty sure something's happening with the Buick."”
— Stephen King, From a Buick 8

14:08:00
“She dressed quickly, and finished tying the second sneaker. The clock now said 2:08.”
— Ray Keating, Warrior Monk

14:09:00
“"Mr. Tyne," said Butler, "left the North Tower lobby at 14:09 by up tube on the elevators and arrived at the chess tournament on the Sixtieth level at 14:10."”
— Gordon R. Dickson, Necromancer

14:10:00
“At ten past two she sighed and rose from her chair, gulping a last mouthful of black coffee. Finding myself in need of a little fresh air, I offered to keep her company on her way back to New Square.”
— Sarah Caudwell, The Sibyl in Her Grave

14:11:00
“The hall was once again filled with the relentless tick of the grandfather clock and, as she watched it, she saw the minute hand jerk forward to eleven minutes past two.”
— Peter James, A Twist of the Knife

14:12:00
“Mark glanced at his watch: 2:12. How long would this last? After a lengthy prayer by the reverend, the choir sang four stanzas of a hymn. The organist followed with a piece that could not have been more depressing.”
— John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

14:13:00
“"If you set off now," he says, "then according to Google you would arrive... at thirteen minutes past two."”
— Beth O'Leary, The Road Trip

14:14:00
“The clock inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which would not run, stopped at some fourteen minutes past two o'clock of a dead and forgotten day and time, which had been his mother's dowry.”
— William Faulkner, Barn Burning

14:15:00
“M. Agnes Lewis and Mrs. Margaret Gibson arrived in Cairo on the Two-fifteen Express from Alexandria. This was how their timetable referred to it, the Two-fifteen Express. Although in actuality the train was rather ponderous.”
— Michael David Lukas, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

14:16:00
“"Oh, good evening. I think you were on the barrier when I came in at 2:16 this afternoon. Now, do you know that you let me get past without giving up my ticket? Yes, yes he-he! I really think you ought to be more careful."”
— Dorothy L. Sayers, Five Red Herrings

14:17:00
“"What time is it now?" He turned her very dusty alarm clock to check. "Two-seventeen," he marveled. It was the strangest time he'd seen in his entire life.”
— Jonathan Franzen, Freedom

14:18:00
“"Hmph! Eighteen minutes past two, a quarter hour later. I'd liven 'em up if it were me running this railway, by thunder I would. Time's money and I can't afford to waste either, that's what I always say!"”
— Brian Jacques, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

14:19:00
“Andrea Mitchell appears on a split screen. "Chet, we understand from a source at Homeland Security that the explosion happened at two-nineteen p.m. I don't know how the authorities can pinpoint the time that exactly, but apparently they can."”
— Stephen King, If It Bleeds

14:20:00
“"What time is it?" "Twenty past two. Want to go back to the hotel for a while?" "All right." They walked out of the gardens and down the rue de Vaugirard. This holiday, unlike those holidays long ago, would not end with her sleeping at home.”
— Brian Moore, The Doctor's Wife

14:21:00
“Ned looked around him in puzzlement, and it was a long moment before he could account for his surroundings. When he had, he sat up very quickly and gave a startled look at his watch. The thing was crazy! It said twenty-one minutes past two!”
— Ralph Henry Barbour, The Turner Twins

14:22:00
“Garth here. Sunday afternoon. Sorry to miss you, but I'll leave a brief message on your tape. Two-twenty-two or there-aboutish. Great party.”
— Carol Shields, Larry's Party

14:23:00
“Louisville, Kentucky. 18th July - 2:23 p.m. It was the sound of the engine that finally woke him. It had broken into his dreams and gotten louder and louder until the noise had shaken him awake. The strange thing was that he had this dizzy, floating sensation as if he was still asleep.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

14:24:00
“The Fokker lifted off from the Nairobi runway at 14:24 hours, three minutes ahead of their new timeline schedule.”
— Michael Crichton, Congo

14:25:00
“This note, also from the clerk, said, "It is 2:25 p.m. I will wait. But you are just hurting yourself, Mills."”
— James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room

14:26:00
“It was twenty-six minutes past two, but the place was still crowded with the lunch-hour rush.”
— Robert Crais, Free Fall

14:27:00
“The timequake of 2001 was a cosmic charley horse in the sinews of Destiny. At what was in New York City 2:27 p.m. on February 13th of that year, the Universe suffered a crisis in self-confidence. Should it go on expanding indefinitely? What was the point?”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake

14:28:00
“Thursday 2:28 p.m. "The hypersonic test flight must proceed as scheduled," Tanzan Mino said quietly.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

14:29:00
“At twenty-nine minutes past two on Monday, Lucy tapped at their sitting-room door and said, "If you please, sir, there is a man in black downstairs with a young gentleman."”
— Patrick O'Brian, Blue at the Mizzen

14:30:00
“At half-past two in the afternoon the engine stopped. There had been no warning coughs or splutters or missed strokes.”
— Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone

14:31:00
“Igor checked the time again. He didn't really; I'm just getting back to the story. It was a now thirty-one minutes past two and she (he) was officially late.”
— Matt Shaw, The Vampire's Treaty

14:32:00
“Location unknown 5th January - 4:32 p.m. Large damp patches had formed around his armpits and across his back as he leant forward on the long table and stared at the jet-black conference phone that lay in the middle of it, a small red light on one side flashing steadily.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

14:33:00
“At thirty-three minutes past two he heard a singular noise outside, then a hasty opening of doors. Passepartout's voice was audible, and immediately after that of Fix. Phileas Fogg's eyes brightened for an instant.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

14:34:00
“The clock on the wall over the grubby looking optics said 14:34 but the bar was packed with men, women and kids all shouting and swearing, drinking and disappearing outside for a cigarette and a quick fumble behind the bins.”
— Lexie Bay, Sloth: An Indolent Seduction

14:35:00
“Forlorn, he looked up at the sky. It was a bright, cloudless day-but something had happened. That dazzling light was becoming steadily lower. It had been 2:35 when he hung up with Jill. Now it was 2:55, and the sun was definitely no longer overhead.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

14:36:00
“"Drive safe," says Ned. He texted me to send the van. That was at 2:36, I know because I looked at the clock, the art deco one right over there, see? Keeps perfect time. Then, I dunno, he just vanished.”
— Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress

14:37:00
“Seven Bridges Hotel, Amsterdam, Holland. 28th July - 2:37 p.m. Jennifer flopped onto the bed, her shoes slipping off her feet and dropping noiselessly onto the worn brown carpet.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

14:38:00
“"Nevertheless, whenever it struck seven he could always be sure that the hands were pointing to a quarter-past twelve, and it was then just twenty-two minutes to three."”
— Ellsworth Douglass, Pharaoh's Broker

14:39:00
“"Noo, there's a report come in fra' the station-master at Pinwherry that there was a gentleman tuk the 2.39 at Pinwherry."”
— Dorothy L. Sayers, Five Red Herrings

14:40:00
“At twenty minutes to three, allowing plenty of time, I got ready to leave for the hospital, slipping my pink coat over the suit I'd worn that morning, because it would be chilly by the time I got home.”
— Mabel Seeley, The Beckoning Door

14:41:00
“No, definitely, not a minute after lunch would she stay. There was a 2:41 from Larborough, and on that 2:41 she would be; her goodbyes said, her duty to friendship done, and her soul filled with the beatitude of escape.”
— Josephine Tey, Miss Pym Disposes

14:42:00
“Anyway, that stifling afternoon dragged on forever, and when the hands of the clock on the front wall of our classroom finally hit 2:42 and the bell rang, I leaped out of my seat and shouted, "Hooray!" I was just so glad to get out of there.”
— Ann M. Martin, Kristy's Great Idea

14:43:00
“A couple of seconds passed, and then the computer said: on since 02:43:10. It made me feel peaceful to see that he was online.”
— Elif Batuman, The Idiot

14:44:00
“A carriage clock in a window two up from the milliner's was showing sixteen minutes to three when I turned round and saw Bruno no more than fifty yards away from me.”
— Caro Peacock, Friends in High Places

14:45:00
“"Quarter to three. I sat in my stupid old motel room for almost two hours after we talked, trying to convince myself that what I was thinking couldn't be true. Only I didn't get where I am by dodging the truth."”
— Stephen King, Full Dark, No Stars

14:46:00
“Vicki shoved her glasses at her face and peered at the clock. Two forty-six. "I don't have time for this," she muttered, settling back against the pillows, heart still slamming against her ribs.”
— Tanya Huff, Blood Lines

14:47:00
“When the buzzer rings to his apartment at 14.47 that Monday afternoon Peter Warren does not expect to see her.”
— Jessica Cornwell, The Serpent Papers

14:48:00
“I spend the rest of the day waiting for it to be 2:48, so it's not all that different from school.”
— Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak

14:49:00
“Van Rijn Hotel, Amsterdam, Holland. 2:49 p.m. The hotel room was dingy and dirty. Stained green curtains clinging on the rail by a few loose threads hung over a grimy window that had been nailed shut.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

14:50:00
“2:50 p.m. Kevin wrote: Can't make it: post-golf get-together over Simon's. Take Harley with you.”
— Janice Hallett, The Appeal

14:51:00
“At nine minutes to three, the storm came back. It rolled in on angry, brooding tiers: swollen blue-black cumulus and ghostly, low-slung nimbostratus, crowding the ceiling of the sky.”
— John Skipp & Craig Spector, The Bridge

14:52:00
“"For the last time?" "No!" "Mr. Kesselbach, it is eight minutes to three. If you don't answer within eight minutes from now, you are a dead man!"”
— Maurice Leblanc, 813

14:53:00
“"He knows very well we're expecting him. If he's even one minute late-I'm counting, it's seven minutes to three on my watch-I'll be telling him a thing or two."”
— Marsha Mehran, Pomegranate Soup

14:54:00
“It was six minutes to three, barely enough time for the man to park and walk the one prescribed block to the bridge.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity

14:55:00
“At 2:55 p.m., just before the release bell, Wavonna returned to class with a note from Mrs. Norton. Rather than try a bite of each item, she preferred to sit in the echoey cafeteria while the janitor cleaned.”
— Bryn Greenwood, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

14:56:00
“Everyone knows precisely where they were on September 11, 2001. Personally, I was in the basement of my publisher Grasset, giving an interview for Culture Pub at 2:56 p.m.”
— Frédéric Beigbeder, Windows on the World

14:57:00
“"Anyway, it's three minutes to three. What time does Ticker have, Chip?" "Three o'clock, on the nose," Chip replied. "Well, one on the forehead and the other on his left cheek, but you get the picture." It was now two fifty-eight.”
— Stuart Rotman, Welcome to Trashtown

14:58:00
“It was two minutes to three. He was visibly still shaken by his friend's death.”
— Estelle Ryan, The Braque Connection

14:59:00
“Ten minutes passed, during which time I must have transmitted on at least thirty different frequencies. Nothing, no acknowledgement at all. Nothing. I glanced at the clock on the wall. One minute to three. I sent out another SOS call. The same answer as all the others.”
— Alistair MacLean, The Dark Crusader

15:00:00
“The room was hushed; only the cleaning lady was allowed to disturb its peace. This she did at precisely 3:00 p.m. and precisely for one hour.”
— Gary Shteyngart, Lake Success

15:01:00
“"There'll be twenty pallets' worth by three o'clock tomorrow, see," comes a man's voice from the office down the hall, "and if your truck isn't here at one minute past three, then the lot'll be going to the Fine Fare depot in Aylesford."”
— David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks

15:02:00
“At 3:02 the ferals descend on the 7-Eleven out of nowhere, pouring in through the door.”
— Neal Shusterman, UnSouled

15:03:00
“The event that came to be known as The Pulse began at 3:03 p.m., eastern standard time, on the afternoon of October 1.”
— Stephen King, Cell

15:04:00
“Woken at 1504 by Michelangelo hammering away with his chisel.”
— Hallgrímur Helgason, 101 Reykjavik

15:05:00
“For one moment Ruth could see the bones of the bats standing out clearly, as if in an X-ray picture. Then all the green turned black. It was 3:05 p.m.”
— Stephen King, The Tommyknockers

15:06:00
“The clock on the 'Lal Girja's' tower stood at six minutes past three.”
— Michael Moorcock, Breakfast in the Ruins

15:07:00
“3:07 p.m. The hotel, lovingly crafted from the careful blending of four or five separate mediaeval townhouses, had a timeless, almost rustic quality.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

15:08:00
“In a few minutes, namely at 3:08, Pnin would have to get off at Whitchurch.”
— Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin

15:09:00
“On the next day he boarded the London train which reaches Hull at 3:09. At Paragon Station he soon singled out Beamish from Merriman's description.”
— Freeman Wills Crofts, The Pit-Prop Syndicate

15:10:00
“It was the final day of Heinz's trip to Amsterdam. The tower clock on the Royal Palace showed ten minutes past three.”
— K. Heidi Fishman, Tutti's Promise

15:11:00
“Heart rate one thirty-two, one thirty-one, one thirty, and dropping. She was walking south on Park Avenue in the rain. The time was now eleven past three p.m.”
— Patricia Cornwell, The Scarpetta Factor

15:12:00
“Aug 28 at 3:12 p.m. Subject: Your listing is UN-SNOOZED! "Hi Smith, congratulations, you have successfully un-snoozed your listing Beautiful One Bedroom with Balcony on Upper West Side."”
— Mary Adkins, When You Read This

15:13:00
“Friday, 3:13 p.m. Her phone chimes. She set an alert to let her know when the latest batch of ransom money cleared the Bitcoin system and landed in their Swiss bank account.”
— Adrian McKinty, The Chain

15:14:00
“A signal sounded. "There's the 3:14 up," said Perks. "You lie low till she's through, and then we'll go up along to my place, and see if there's any of them strawberries ripe what I told you about."”
— Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children

15:15:00
“It was nine o'clock at midnight at a quarter after three When a turtle met a bagpipe on the shoreside by the sea.”
— Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

15:16:00
“The Nimrod rendezvoused with the light aircraft at 15:16 GMT.”
— Iain Banks, The Crow Road

15:17:00
“From the kitchen came the rackety-banging of the alarm-clock, proving that, as the clock was set to ring at six, Peter had found a mother for the fatherless children at just seventeen minutes past three.”
— Ellis Parker Butler, The Jack-Knife Man

15:18:00
“3:18 p.m. Vance cocked the Pakistani's Uzi and trained it on the door, not sure what to do. The fear was that he might inadvertently kill a friendly. Hostage situations always presented that harrowing possibility.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

15:19:00
“At nineteen minutes past three Cecily Thorogood, still self-possessed, but no longer very prettily clad, was submerged in the chilly Atlantic up to her shoulders and clinging to the life-line of an upturned jolly-boat.”
— Lewis Anselm da Costa Ritchie, The Long Trick

15:20:00
“At twenty past three I dropped once more down into the bathyscaphe and pulled the hatch cover tight behind me.”
— Alistair MacLean, Fear is the Key

15:21:00
“3:21 p.m. "Let them go," Ramirez said. "We have what we need." He bent down and picked up the box.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

15:22:00
“"What time is it?" he gasped. "Ohhh, let's see," I said, drawing the watch from my pocket. "Twenty-twenty-two minutes past three." No reply. "P.M.," I added.”
— Louis Bayard, The Pale Blue Eye

15:23:00
“It is twenty-three minutes past three, and his plane leaves at eight a.m.”
— Evan Hunter, Candyland

15:24:00
“At length Dr. Steiner lifted the wrist and bent with intentness over the bed. He then drew back, and, putting on his glasses, looked into Governor Stephen's face and said, "I'm afraid he is gone." This was precisely at twenty-four minutes past three.”
— Richard Malcolm Johnston, Life of Alexander H. Stephens

15:25:00
“We were still talking quietly at twenty-five minutes past three when we happened to see the handsome Mr. Jason Hamilton pass by again. So slow, so dreamy, so doomed.”
— Anne Rice, The Tale of the Body Thief

15:26:00
“By banging on the wire she endeavoured to attract his attention, but he was sunk in torpid gloom. A clock showed above the stables opposite; it was twenty-six minutes past three.”
— Dennis Wheatley, Mediterranean Nights

15:27:00
“And she rang the Reverend Peters and he came into school at 3:27 p.m. and he said, "So, young man, are we ready to roll?"”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

15:28:00
“It was 3:28 p.m. when the knock that I had been expecting finally pulled me back to where I was. Still no luck with the numbers. A definite sign. I took a deep breath. Counted to five. Then I stood up.”
— Amanda Jayatissa, You're Invited

15:29:00
“I can only assume that at 3:29 p.m. on the dot I dragged myself away from the radiator, polished off a packet of Golden Wonder crisps (smoky bacon flavour) and a Wagon Wheel, and said "Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit better now..."”
— Bob Fischer, Wiffle Lever to Full!

15:30:00
“By half past three in the afternoon he knew, with miserable certainty, that he was lost. Pack and riders were nowhere to be seen.”
— H.E. Bates, When the Green Woods Laugh

15:31:00
“Thursday, 3:31 p.m. Wendy Patterson picks up Denny from Rowley Elementary School, takes him to soccer practice at Rowley High School, then drives into Ipswich and gets herself a soy chai latte from the Starbucks.”
— Adrian McKinty, The Chain

15:32:00
“He fumbled for his watch. "Three-thirty-two. Please-confine-your-selves-to- twenty-minutes-each."”
— George R. Stewart, Doctor's Oral

15:33:00
“A draft whistled in around the kitchen window frame and I shivered. The digital clock on Perkus's stove read 3:33.”
— Jonathan Lethem, Chronic City

15:34:00
“It was 15:34 now and the sleepiness felt like lead inside him.”
— Deon Meyer, Devil's Peak

15:35:00
“It was the hour, within the time span of minutes: 3:35 in the afternoon.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Ultimatum

15:36:00
“Meanwhile a girl was standing in an airport concourse. A big clock suspended from the ceiling said it was twenty-four minutes to four.”
— Michael Marshall Smith, The Intruders

15:37:00
“Time to go. I had been here long enough. I glanced at the bedside clock 3:40, it now said. The chimneypiece clock ticked solemnly on, its hands at 3:37.”
— Alan Bradley, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

15:38:00
“Mendez took a marker and added to the line for the day Karly Vickers disappeared: 15:38 traffic ticket issued by F. Farman.”
— Tami Hoag, Deeper than the Dead

15:39:00
“It was 3:49 when he hit me because of the two hundred times I had said, "I don't know." He hit me a lot after that.”
— Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File

15:40:00
“He looked at his watch. It was 3:40. A rendezvous, he thought, how long has it been since I had a rendezvous?”
— Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, The Passenger

15:41:00
“It's nineteen minutes to four. Mum and Dad are looking very stressed. Dad's put his elbow in his beer three times. A couple of secs ago a thought hit me. Perhaps they're worried that when the kids arrive, they might all try to bash me up.”
— Morris Gleitzman, Belly Flop

15:42:00
“3:42 p.m. No missed calls, no new messages. Michael was supposed to meet Daniel at three thirty. Michael himself had suggested three thirty at the specific Starbucks on Sixtieth and Broadway.”
— Lisa Ko, The Leavers

15:43:00
“He reached out a hand toward her, but she gave him such a terrible look that he pulled back and let her alone. At three forty-three, she set her jaw and kept going.”
— Holly Black, Doll Bones

15:44:00
“I rush through to the kitchen beginning to feel nauseous. The clock on the wall. Stopped. Three forty-four p.m. I edge away, out into the centre of the room and as I move, it seems the shadows on the walls are following me.”
— Keith Stuart, The Frequency of Us

15:45:00
“Utility workers burying cable on Route 83 discovered the body at about 3:45 p.m. The remains will be transported to Bismarck where forensic analysis will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner's Office.”
— Jung Yun, O Beautiful

15:46:00
“"I authorize you to leave this room at fourteen minutes to four.... Not a moment before fourteen minutes to four.... Is it understood?"”
— Maurice Leblanc, The Blonde Lady

15:47:00
“One day, the 30th of September, at 3:47 p.m., a telegram, transmitted by cable from Valentia (Ireland) to Newfoundland and the American Mainland, arrived at the address of President Barbicane.”
— Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon

15:48:00
“At 15:48 the satellite passed out of the 'area of interest' determined by the Madrid computer.”
— James Follett, Doomsday Ultimatum

15:49:00
“3:49 home p.m. Get off school bus at”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

15:50:00
“When I arrived at the tearoom, I did a quick circuit, looking for the red hat. There were no women with red hats. My watch showed ten minutes to four.”
— Haruki Murakami, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

15:51:00
“3:51 p.m. They park outside a salvage yard with a sign that says WHOLESOME IRONMONGERS, radiators and baths and sinks piled in their rusty dozens behind the fence like an old house multiplied in a broken mirror.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

15:52:00
“3:52 p.m. Given that it was the only stained-glass window in the entire church, Archie felt rather foolish for not having noticed it sooner.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

15:53:00
“It was 3:53 p.m. Fermi had run the pile for 4.5 minutes at one-half watt and brought to fruition all the years of discovery and experiment.”
— Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb

15:54:00
“We were visible in the lower part of the frame of the feed from the east side of Eleventh at 3:54 p.m.”
— James Patterson, Deadly Cross

15:55:00
“"Ohhhhh! Three fifty-five. Excuse me. All right, 3:55. You set off the alarm, even though you know very well you have to turn it off before you go downstairs, and what's your first instinct?"”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

15:56:00
“At four minutes to four o'clock, Jacob presses blotting paper over the page on his desk in Warehouse Eik. He drinks another cup of water of which he shall sweat every last drop.”
— David Mitchell, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

15:57:00
“The clerk had stepped into the hall, and when he came leisurely in at three minutes to four, Caxton discovered that he had written his petition on the back of a blank marriage license.”
— Charles W. Chesnutt, The Colonel's Dream

15:58:00
“The clock atop the clubhouse reads 3:58.”
— Don Delillo, Underworld

15:59:00
“As it lacked one minute to four when Hedworth Westerling, chief of staff in name as well as power now, alighted from the gray automobile that turned in at the Galland drive.”
— Frederick Palmer, The Last Shot

16:00:00
“"The only thing we found was a slip of paper on the floor by that little table, '2 p.m. Rakosky, Hotel Principe e Savoia; 4 p.m. Garamond, Dr. Belbo.' You say he did come to see you. Tell me what happened."”
— Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum

16:01:00
“Only fragments remain when he wakes for the second time: he's wandering through Chelsea, can't remember where the gallery is; he's being sought by, not the police, someone more frightening than the police. This second time, he's right on schedule-4:01.”
— Michael Cunningham, By Nightfall

16:02:00
“4:02 p.m. "Can I help you?" the security guard challenged them as they approached through the main works entrance.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

16:03:00
“As the plane taxied to the terminal, Nasrin Bukhari checked her watch and reset it to 4:03 in the afternoon. She didn't dare carry a phone, even a burner. She couldn't take the risk.”
— Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny, State of Terror

16:04:00
“At four past four he was aware of a rustling train's rush down the steps, and now was like a man with his neck on the block, awaiting the axe.”
— M.P. Shiel, The Lord of the Sea

16:05:00
“He made a few calls and texts the day he died. At 3:30, his mother called him. He called Charlie Hanson at 4:05. He texted his sister Sophie's phone a few minutes later and again five minutes after that.”
— Brenda Chapman, Shallow End

16:06:00
“Tyler called over, "Do you know what time it is?" I always wear a watch. "Do you know what time it is?" I asked, where? "Right here," Tyler said. "Right now." It was 4:06 p.m.”
— Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

16:07:00
“But he released him immediately because the ladder slipped from under his feet and for an instant he was suspended in air and then he realised that he had died without Communion, without time to repent of anything or to say goodbye to anyone, at 7 minutes after 4 on Pentecost Sunday.”
— Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

16:08:00
“He had never before worn a timepiece and now he had one just like mine. When I consulted the luminous digital readout on the oversized face on my wristwatch, I saw 4:08 p.m.”
— Dean Koontz, Seize the Night

16:09:00
“"He's right upstairs... Oh ye gods! Illya!" He looked at his watch. It was nine minutes past four. "He's sitting in the middle of an ultrasonic field upstairs and I'm ten minutes late to get him out. Come on!"”
— David McDaniel, The Final Affair

16:10:00
“The change came at four-ten. Lying on the sand, the woman in the black suit saw it coming and relaxed.”
— Ray Bradbury, The Women

16:11:00
“4:11 p.m. Thurs. A Huey helicopter flies east overhead as the last of the U.S. Marines make ready to leave the beach; a buzzard dangles in the thermals closer over the town.”
— Denis Johnson, Seek

16:12:00
“At precisely twelve minutes after four a body of cavalry rode into the square, four abreast, clearing a way for the funeral cortège.”
— J. Sydney Jones, The Empty Mirror

16:13:00
“"At some time during to-day four clocks were brought here. The hands of these four clocks were set at thirteen minutes past four. Now does that time suggest anything to you?"”
— Agatha Christie, The Clocks

16:14:00
“4:14 p.m. Jennifer turned the obelisk over in her hands, studying each side carefully. Tom noted that, for now at least, her curiosity seemed to have provided her with a welcome distraction from the shock of Levy's death.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

16:15:00
“4:15. Not 4 not 4:30 but 4:15. She thought to intimidate me with the use of quarter hours.”
— Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

16:16:00
“4:16 p.m. Where had it all gone wrong? When had he passed from being a high achiever to an average Joe, a stand-up guy, but one who, according to his superiors, didn't quite have what it took to go all the way?”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

16:17:00
“Claire grabs her coat and starts for the door. She pauses, glances back over her shoulder at the office where she thought she might get to make something great-silly Holly Golightly dream-and once more checks her watch: 4:17 and counting.”
— Jess Walter, Beautiful Ruins

16:18:00
“And then, over the loudspeaker, she heard an announcement: the 16.18 was due to arrive on platform two, calling at Plymouth, Liskeard, Par, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, St Erth and Penzance.”
— Nicci Gerrard, The Moment You Were Gone

16:19:00
“It is 12:20 in New York a Friday three days after Bastille day, yes it is 1959 and I go get a shoeshine because I will get off the 4:19 in Easthampton at 7:15 and then go straight to dinner and I don't know the people who will feed me”
— Frank O'Hara, The Day Lady Died

16:20:00
“On April 17, 2009, at 1620 hours, Elizabeth Ellen "Lizzie" Nance, eleven, left the Isabelle Dumas School of Dance, located in the Park Road Shopping Center, heading for the Charlotte Woods apartment complex on East Woodlawn.”
— Kathy Reichs, Bones Never Lie

16:21:00
“The clock in the main hall told me it was twenty past four. At twenty-one past four I inferred that the initial hostilities had not damaged its works.”
— Günter Grass, The Tin Drum

16:22:00
“It was 4:22 p.m., a perfectly logical time for it to be, except any ordinary sense of time seemed to have been canceled. It felt like hours since he'd seen the man biting the dog in the park.”
— Stephen King, Cell

16:23:00
“Summer, teetering down a sidewalk in skyscraper heels. When I last checked the clock, it was 4:23.”
— Kathy Reichs, Flash and Bones

16:24:00
“Mike winked at Ashley and continued with the remaining greetings and hugs and handshakes. The time was 4:24. Six hours to go. The minutes seemed to just melt away.”
— Travis Thrasher, Teardrop

16:25:00
“Once I had established my right to exercise, one of the policemen would take me out of my cell. The first day he said, "It is 25 to four now. You have an hour's exercise. You finish at 25 past four."”
— Raymond Suttner, Inside Apartheid's Prison

16:26:00
“She thought, "I don't know him. Nor does he know me. Nor ever shall we." She put her bare hand in the sun, where the wind would weather it. It was twenty-six minutes after four.”
— Charlotte Armstrong, Catch-As-Catch-Can

16:27:00
“Still no sign of Juliet. Patricia gave a surreptitious glance at her watch; twenty-seven minutes past four-no! nearly twenty-eight past-Oh, hurry up, Juliet, hurry up, do!”
— Elinor Brent-Dyer, Visitors for the Chalet School

16:28:00
“"It's now," I checked my watch to give myself a moment to catch my breath, "4:28 p.m."”
— Kirsty Brooks, The Vodka Dialogue

16:29:00
“Dick looked at his watch. "Half a minute to half-past four," he whispered. "They've done it." "I say," whispered Dorothea. "How many more days? They'll never, never be able to keep it up like that."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Picts and the Martyrs

16:30:00
“At four-thirty I dash out of the hotel, resolved to make a last-minute stab at it. Just as I turn the corner I brush against Walter Pach. Since he doesn't recognize me, and since I have nothing to say to him, I make no attempt to arrest him.”
— Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer

16:31:00
“No sooner had he pocketed it again than a terrible suspicion came over him. With trembling fingers he accessed the list of outgoing calls. The most recent entry was his own home number, dialled at 16:31 on 16.07.”
— Thomas Glavinic, Night Work

16:32:00
“At 4:32 p.m., only Bridger was standing watch at the two-way mirror. Connor and Hailey sat beside each other on the floor, their backs to the passage wall.”
— Mark T. Sullivan, Triple Cross

16:33:00
“At 4:33 p.m., a short bald man puffing on a cigar arrived at the library. He approached a huge cabinet storing thousands of alphabetically arranged cards and slid a drawer out. The tips of his fingers were bandaged.”
— José Latour, Havana World Series

16:34:00
“A bedroom stocked with all the ordinary, usual things. There was a wardrobe in the corner. A bedside table with a collection of water glasses of varying ages and an alarm clock with red digital numbers-4:34 p.m.”
— Steven Hall, The Raw Shark Texts

16:35:00
“"For the record, we're recording this interview, Tuesday, October 4. Time is now 4:35 p.m. Detectives Kala Stonechild and Paul Gundersund are with me. You know why you're here, Mrs. Thompson?"”
— Brenda Chapman, Shallow End

16:36:00
“At thirty-six minutes past four, the last division of the wheel had been reached.”
— Alvarado M. Fuller, A.D. 2000

16:37:00
“She should have been home by now. 1637. Yes. It's as if I had the date of a year on my arm. Every day is a piece of world history.”
— Hallgrímur Helgason, 101 Reykjavik

16:38:00
“I let him put me in the car and drive me to the station. At twenty-two minutes to five by the clock in the station house I was in front of a cell in the Mill River jail.”
— Robert B. Parker, A Catskill Eagle

16:39:00
“4:39 p.m. "I met that guy!" says Raf. "Morris."”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

16:40:00
“Four forty p.m. Besta sang another hymn. Everyone knew something was wrong. How long did they wait? The mayor was going crazy inside, as was the mayor's wife, as was their daughter. Seiji could barely contain his rage. He was turning as red as his red tuxedo.”
— Tip 'T.I.' Harris with David Ritz, Trouble & Triumph

16:41:00
“Thursday, November 16, 2006, 4:41 p.m. To: Junior. Subject: Hi! "Dear Junior: I love it here in Montana. It's beautiful. Yesterday, I rode a horse for the first time."”
— Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

16:42:00
“The Captain Kidd, Wapping High Street, London. 6th January - 4:42 p.m. Tom gazed through the window, his finger tapping absent-mindedly against the table's pitted and cigarette-charred surface. Outside, the Thames slid past, slate-grey and viscous from the cold.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

16:43:00
“The deputies huddled in the lee of the Land Cruiser while Cork briefed them. Oren Esterville had called the sheriff's office at 4:43 p.m. to report his wife missing.”
— William Kent Krueger, Corpus Delicti

16:44:00
“Then, with a sense of certainty that her dad was indeed watching them from wherever he had gone, she glanced at her watch. It was 4:44 p.m.”
— Karina Yan Glaser, A Duet for Home

16:45:00
“"There's a KLM flight at four forty-five p.m. today that would get me into Amsterdam just before six."”
— John Connolly, The Nameless Ones

16:46:00
“At 4:46 an obese, middle-aged man shuffled in. Wearing a starched guayabera and dark green pants, Ure?a asked for a book on confectionery, then took a seat at the end of the same reading room.”
— José Latour, Havana World Series

16:47:00
“4:47 p.m. Mom once stuck me into a casino. We were going on vacation to Crater Lake and we stopped at a resort on an Indian reservation for the buffett lunch.”
— Gayle Forman, If I Stay

16:48:00
“It was 4:48 when the scientists came, with cameras and fingerprint kits and other items of equipment, and Wolfe and I and the others were herded out to the extension, under guard.”
— Rex Stout, Fourth of July Picnic

16:49:00
“"Tuesday at 4:49 p.m. local time." "I've got an interview tomorrow at ten, and then two on Thursday. I think."”
— Christina Lauren, Beautiful

16:50:00
“It's ten minutes to five. He stares at the clock for a moment and then walks back to me. "Lie down," he says, lifting the covers. I crawl into bed and he scoots in behind me.”
— Colleen Hoover, Verity

16:51:00
“4:51 p.m. "It's him!" Bailey exclaimed, tapping the screen excitedly with his finger. "It must be." "Are you sure?" Cody urged. "We only get one shot at this. If we tail him and someone else shows up, we'll miss them."”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

16:52:00
“The corrida was to begin at five o'clock. The five-footed beasts make a point of arriving at the latest at eight or seven minutes to: ritual again. At eight minutes to five, there they were. The urchins gave them a tap on the shoulder: another bit of ritual.”
— Henry De Montherlant, Chaos and Night

16:53:00
“At seven minutes to five, one of the customer lines on the switchboard went off. It was the first time that a call had come in on that line since the hunt began, some nine hours before.”
— John Skipp & Craig Spector, The Light at The End

16:54:00
“It was 16:54 local time when the Red October broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, forty-seven miles east of Norfolk. There was no other ship in sight.”
— Tom Clancy, The Hunt for Red October

16:55:00
“A cold wind came whistling down the platform. Both men shivered. Lieutenant Dubosc managed to cast a surreptitious glance at his watch. Five minutes to five-only five minutes more!”
— Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

16:56:00
“And when that final Friday came, when my packing was mostly done, she sat with my dad and me on the living-room couch at 4:56 p.m. and patiently awaited the arrival of the Good-bye to Miles Cavalry.”
— John Green, Looking for Alaska

16:57:00
“I checked the time on my phone 4:57. I could probably go to the bar now.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Lies

16:58:00
“He wants to look death in the face. Two minutes to five. I took a handkerchief out of my pocket, but John Dawson ordered me to put it back. An Englishman dies with his eyes open. He wants to look death in the face.”
— Elie Wiesel, Dawn

16:59:00
“4:59 p.m. There's a sort of famished muscularity to bicycle couriers that you also see in gay men who've kept clubbing for a few years too long.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

17:00:00
“I forgot all about setting the alarm and might have slept long past 5:00 p.m., but Elmore jumped on my chest at quarter past four and began to sniff at my face. That meant he'd cleaned his dish and was requesting a refill.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

17:01:00
“"Oh yes. His clocks were set at one minute past five, four minutes past five and seven minutes past five. That was the combination number of a safe, 515457. The safe was concealed behind a reproduction of the Mona Lisa."”
— Agatha Christie, The Clocks

17:02:00
“5:02 p.m. The round pond was encircled by trees. As arranged, Archie was sitting on one of the park benches sheltered under their swaying branches.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

17:03:00
“"Good evening, Chris. Say hello to the wife for me." "I sure will. Thanks. Bye," he said, waving to Elliot, who returned the goodbye. It was 5:03 when Elliot rested the handset in its cradle.”
— José Latour, Comrades in Miami

17:04:00
“I furrowed my brow, glancing at my watch. It was only four minutes past five o'clock. Irritated my whole team had left without saying goodbye, I sat down in a huff and plugged my laptop back into my workstation.”
— Sonya Lalli, Serena Singh Flips the Script

17:05:00
“The time was 5:05 p.m. Not the best of all the signs, but certainly a very, very good one.”
— Amanda Jayatissa, You're Invited

17:06:00
“5:06 p.m. The bell rang again, more insistently this time. Tom crept out of the kitchen and then, keeping close to the wall, made his way to the front door.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

17:07:00
“Thus at about seven minutes past five Mlle Jeanne, the fortune teller, was already dead, with two knife wounds in her back.”
— Georges Simenon, Signed, Picpus

17:08:00
“This, then, was the position in which my distant cousin Montrose found himself at eight minutes past five on this misty evening. A position calculated to test the fortitude of the sternest.”
— P.G. Wodehouse, Blandings Castle and Elsewhere

17:09:00
“She looked at her watch and saw it was nine minutes past five. It's happening, Daddy! The sun's going out! Yes, he agreed.”
— Stephen King, Gerald's Game

17:10:00
“"When the Guardian checked again at 5:10 p.m., it expected to find it sunward of us, but it was absent from the predicted path."”
— Chris Walley, Shadow and Night

17:11:00
“Ten minutes later—5:11—a Number 58 arrived, and Conrad boarded and presented the driver with a dollar bill. The man just shook his head. Either a token or $1.50 in change.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

17:12:00
“5:12 p.m. Tom wasn't sure when the idea had first occurred to him. Perhaps when he had realised that his only real chance of stealing the Mona Lisa was to somehow get it beyond the safety of the Louvre's protective walls.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

17:13:00
“So at 17:13 Callum Green was buying a necklace and something like a couple of hours later he was dead.”
— G.J. Minett, Lie in Wait

17:14:00
“"Do you know what time it is, Atticus?" she said. "Exactly fourteen minutes past five. The alarm clock's set for five-thirty. I want you to know that."”
— Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

17:15:00
“In the room beyond, a clock chimed. A single sound. Fifteen minutes past five o'clock. That was all! And yet in the short space of half an hour all of life had changed, lost its colour, its vividness, its whole meaning.”
— Nella Larsen, Passing

17:16:00
“5:16-Mank on phone to Secretary of State Brown: "Mr. Brown, we're profoundly disturbed about this situation in the 21st. We can't get a single result out of there."”
— Hunter S. Thompson, On the Campaign Trail '72

17:17:00
“5:17 p.m. "What's wrong?" Dominique's eyes were wide with concern. "Is Archie back?" Tom was breathing heavily, his voice strained.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

17:18:00
“Lupin rose, without breaking his contemptuous silence, and took the sheet of paper. I remembered soon after that, at this moment, I happened to look at the clock. It was eighteen minutes past five.”
— Maurice Leblanc, The Confessions of Arsène Lupin

17:19:00
“The call came at 5:19 p.m. The line was surprisingly clear. A man introduced himself as Major Liepa from the Riga police. Wallander made notes as he listened, occasionally answering a question.”
— Henning Mankell, The Dogs of Riga

17:20:00
“At five-twenty that afternoon, I parked my Sunliner in the lot adjacent to the Witcham Street Baptist Church. It had plenty of company; according to the signboard, there was a 5:00 p.m. AA meeting at this particular church.”
— Stephen King, 11/22/63

17:21:00
“For instance, a silken purse, through the interstices of which some gold was visible; a watch, which however had been injured by the explosion, and had stopt just at the moment—twenty-one minutes past five-when the catastrophe took place.”
— Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Ancestral Footstep

17:22:00
“Joubert drove there to help with the interrogation, compare alibis. Hours of listening to lies, sparring with teenage bravado and blatant provocation. But at 17:22 Lieutenant Petersen's patience eventually ran out.”
— Deon Meyer, Dead Before Dying

17:23:00
“"Do you know the Royal batsman, near Central Station? We could meet tomorrow at five?" "Five twenty-three," I said, to exert some control over the situation.”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

17:24:00
“Five twenty-four p.m. Your first fear is that André has jimmied the latch on the trunk and is free and seeking retribution. Your second fear is that someone in the neighborhood has summoned the vice squad: you check to make sure your blouse is buttoned.”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

17:25:00
“Twenty-five past five on a cold autumn Friday. Outside, Central London growled and shoved its way homewards in a blaze of white, green, red and amber light.”
— Tom Holt, In Your Dreams

17:26:00
“5:26 p.m. The room was quiet, the only sound the muted commentary from an unseen cricket match being screened on one of the plasmas in the other room. All eyes were on the small shard of amber that lay cradled on Archie's rough palm.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

17:27:00
“Peckriver estate, North London, 5:27 p.m. I had spent most of the day sat by the window, drinking a cup of tea, staring into the outside world from the quiet peace of my bedroom, watching as the day turned to night.”
— JJ Bola, The Selfless Act of Breathing

17:28:00
“And so, when he told her on May 15 at 5:28 in the afternoon that he had to be moving on, she passed out. She was in his bed at the time.”
— Judy Blume, Smart Women

17:29:00
“At 5:29 I grabbed my shoulder bag, crossed the flagstone patio, and tapped on the glass pane in Henry's back door. Most of the time he leaves it unlocked, but our unspoken agreement is to respect each other's privacy.”
— Sue Grafton, U is for Undertow

17:30:00
“Each week day I dropped the girls off to school at eight a.m., then worked solidly until I collected them from afterschool club at five-thirty, often returning to the Longing once they were in bed.”
— Carolyn Jess-Cooke, The Lighthouse Witches

17:31:00
“Tuesday 5:31 p.m. "It's the best I can manage, Michael." Nogami's voice was apologetic. "Nobody knows I keep this place, not even my wife. Afternoon business conferences. You catch my meaning."”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

17:32:00
“My watch told me it was 5:32. Less than half an hour before I could go home. I remembered I didn't want to cook and began going over options. Fast food? Leftovers?”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Destiny

17:33:00
“The last two pictures were marked 05:33 and showed the same pair in the corridor, and then standing at the elevator, and then gone.”
— Bill Napier, Revelation

17:34:00
“5:34 p.m. "There it is!" Djoulou, sweat beading his brow, pointed at the convoy ahead of them as it bulldozed through the early-evening traffic, cars leaping out of its way as if they'd been stung.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

17:35:00
“I squinted at the clock. "It says twenty-five before six," I said and rolled away from him.”
— Luke Rhinehart, The Dice Man

17:36:00
“"I wanted to be back at the Cathedral as Evensong ended at about 20 to 6 in order to talk to the choirmaster before he left. I saw I only had 4 minutes before it ended." "So that occurred at precisely 24 minutes before 6?"”
— Charles Palliser, The Unburied

17:37:00
“"Look, Lucille," said Joe when Lucille strolled into the office at 5:37. "I don't know what you said to this gal, but it seems to have had exactly the opposite of the desired effect. She's got some bee in her bonnet about Harvard Law School."”
— Helen DeWitt, Lightning Rods

17:38:00
“Voices shouted, whistles blew, doors were banged shut. The 5:38 drew slowly out of Brackhampton station. An hour and five minutes later it stopped at Milchester.”
— Agatha Christie, 4.50 From Paddington

17:39:00
“It's 05:39 so we can have dinner, it's quick noodles. While they're in the hot water, Ma finds hard words to test me from the milk carton like nutritional that means food, and pasteurized that means laser guns zapped away the germs.”
— Emma Donoghue, Room

17:40:00
“He glanced again at the large clock on the far wall. Twenty to six. Then he looked at the closed door. He had to speak to Gamache, before whatever was going to happen that night happened. There could be nothing left unsaid between them.”
— Louise Penny, Glass Houses

17:41:00
“"All right, people, let's haul ass. Sunset's at 17:41 and we've got twenty-three k to go." Staff Sergeant Beyhn got to his feet and the platoon followed.”
— Tanya Huff, The Heart of Valor

17:42:00
“It's 5:42 p.m., and Anna hasn't returned. It's been over three hours since she left. Three hours of Fidgeting and worrying, the shotgun laid across my lap, leaping into my hands at the slightest noise.”
— Stuart Turton, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

17:43:00
“5:43 p.m. The Ilesam Lokali tea garden lies just off the Divan Yolu, the ancient Road to the Imperial Council that stretches from the ruins of the Roman Hippodrome.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

17:44:00
“Via del Gesù, Rome. 17th March - 5:44 p.m. Ignoring her phone's shrill call, Allegra Damico grabbed the double espresso off the counter, threw down some change and stepped back outside into the fading light.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

17:45:00
“"So long," I said. "I have to go too." It was a quarter to six by the clock inside the bar. "Ciaou, Ettore." "Ciaou, Fred," said Ettore.”
— Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

17:46:00
“The hands of the Dutch clock in the hall pointed to thirteen minutes past nine; those of the ormolu clock in the sitting-room to eleven minutes past ten; those of the carriage clock on the bookshelf to fourteen minutes to six.”
— P.G. Wodehouse, Three Men and a Maid

17:47:00
“The line was moving too fast for her liking-she was halfway through it now, a little over one and a half rows to go. 17:47. They'd take her into custody, first things first.”
— Amy Laurens, Rush Job

17:48:00
“Father came home at 5:48 p.m. I heard him come through the front door. Then he came into the living room. He was wearing a lime green and sky blue check shirt and there was a double knot on one of his shoes but not on the other.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

17:49:00
“"It's eleven minutes to six, Insert Name Here," said the imp meekly. "Good grief! Why didn't you tell me!" "Because you said you didn't want to be interrupted!" the imp quavered.”
— Terry Pratchett, Thud!

17:50:00
“Esterville had called the truck stop, but no one had seen his wife come in. She hadn't returned home. Cork and McDougal found her red Mustang at 5:50.”
— William Kent Krueger, Corpus Delicti

17:51:00
“The sun was red and the shadows were long and dark. It wanted but nine minutes to six, and within the hotel the disgraceful National Swill was in full flow, men pouring as much liquor down their throats as possible before the fatal hour of drought arrived.”
— Arthur Upfield, Venom House

17:52:00
“It was eight minutes to six o'clock. "I must get him," he told the telephone girl for the dozenth time. "Sorry-no one will answer," she said wearily.”
— Hugh S. Fullerton, Jimmy Kirkland and the Plot for a Pennant

17:53:00
“"I should think I have!" exclaimed I, in indignant recollection of my education. "All right; keep your temper. What time are you?" "Seven minutes to six."”
— Talbot Baines Reed, The Adventures of a Three-Guinea Watch

17:54:00
“"And yet," Edward Henry Machin reflected as at six minutes to six he approached his own dwelling at the top of Bleakridge, "and yet—I don't feel so jolly after all!"”
— Arnold Bennett, The Old Adam

17:55:00
“I pull into the parking lot at five minutes to six. Lily must have been waiting for me, because she exits her store and locks the door behind her before I'm even out of my car. As soon as I lay eyes on her, I get even more nervous.”
— Colleen Hoover, It Starts with Us

17:56:00
“The train I take in the evening, the 5:56, is slightly slower than the morning one-it takes one hour and one minute, a full seven minutes longer than the morning train despite not stopping at any extra stations.”
— Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train

17:57:00
“She smiles a bit but the next breath comes out louder like a moan. At 05.57 I say, "Ma, it's nearly six." So she gets up to make dinner but she doesn't eat any.”
— Emma Donoghue, Room

17:58:00
“Pest, he thought, glancing at his watch. Two minutes to six. Time to get going or the bloody cat would have succeeded in delaying the entire inspection. Fine state of affairs that would be.”
— Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

17:59:00
“He ran across the square and into the booking hall. The hands of the big clock stood at one minute to six. He hurried to the ticket window and fished money from his pocket.”
— Ken Follett, Fall of Giants

18:00:00
“His stricken face would appear on millions of TV screens at six o'clock and pictures would appear all over the morning editions of every newspaper.”
— Eric Sykes, UFOs Are Coming Wednesday

18:01:00
“6:01 p.m. "So you lost him?" Even the several thousand miles between them could not hide the disappointment in Carter's voice.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

18:02:00
“At two minutes past six o'clock, he stood outside of the coffee house as instructed, to the right of the entrance, and waited to be contacted. Over the noise of the street traffic and the guitar, he heard a soft tuneless jangling-tinkling.”
— Dean Koontz, Sole Survivor

18:03:00
“Above it all rose the Houses of Parliament, with the hands of the clock stopped at three minutes past six. It was difficult to believe that all that meant nothing any more, that now it was just a pretentious confection that could decay in peace.”
— John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids

18:04:00
“"We will celebrate it with thanksgivings, all the years of our life." "We will, we will, Alonzo!" "Four minutes after six, in the evening, my Rosannah."”
— Mark Twain, The Complete Works of Mark Twain

18:05:00
“At five past six, every day, the same question: "Katie, what have you done?"”
— Rebecca Campbell, Slave to Fashion

18:06:00
“Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome. 17th March - 6:06 p.m. Allegra could just about make out one of the men's low voices. A pathologist, she guessed.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

18:07:00
“The minutes ticked by. The silence in the room roared in their ears. At seven minutes past six, Charles's phone rang.”
— Fern Michaels, The Jury

18:08:00
“By the time I get down to the street it's 6:08 and I don't trust the subway to get me uptown on time. I hail a cab.”
— Carola Lovering, Tell Me Lies

18:09:00
“Bimingham New Street 5:25. Walsall 5:55. This train does not stop at Birchills, for reasons George has never been able to ascertain. Then it is Bloxwich 6:02, Wyrley & Churchbridge 6:09. At 6:10 he nods to Mr. Merriman the stationmaster.”
— Julian Barnes, Arthur and George

18:10:00
“Edward using multiple question marks? She checked her watch: 6:10 p.m. He would be clearing off his desk, readying to head over to the cocktail reception being held at the embassy before the P.U.S.'s more intimate dinner.”
— Anne Korkeakivi, An Unexpected Guest

18:11:00
“The first explosion occurred at eleven minutes past six. The chart-house and part of the bridge were blown to pieces.”
— George Barr McCutcheon, West Wind Drift

18:12:00
“6:12 p.m. As if in celebration, the first bats of the day became visible. Lord Murugan's peacock, incarnated here in the Southern Hemisphere as a flying vermin, emitting a sharp squeal as it approached.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

18:13:00
“It marks thirteen minutes past six. As I have already mentioned, I waited for the door of my prison to open, thoroughly resolved not to fall asleep again, but to spring upon the first person who entered and force him to answer my questions.”
— Jules Verne, Facing the Flag

18:14:00
“Croft pursed his lips and waited in silence until Daniel met his eyes. The clock on the mantel should have beat out the long seconds, but in the excitement of the day, Mrs. Phipps had neglected to wind it, and it was stalled at fourteen minutes past six.”
— Audrey Blake, The Girl in His Shadow

18:15:00
“From that point on, Gloria is the only witness. According to Gloria, Theo went into Margot's consulting room and stayed there longer than expected. At a quarter past six, Theo left, never to be seen at the practice again.”
— Robert Galbraith, Troubled Blood

18:16:00
“The clock above the door said sixteen minutes past six. The pictures showed the door opening and a rug coming in—just the rug, flat, held up perpendicular, hanging straight down. Of course there was someone behind it.”
— Rex Stout, If Death Ever Slept

18:17:00
“"Dizzy, come on." He turned slowly, coaxing the animal down on to the pillow. The clock read six-seventeen. A second cat, Miles, purred on contentedly from the patch in the covers where Resnick's legs had made a deep V.”
— John Harvey, Lonely Hearts

18:18:00
“It was at 18:18 when a sixty-one-year-old Tibetan woman telephoned for a fire engine to put out a burning car.”
— Ben Trebilcook, My Name is Not Jacob Ramsay

18:19:00
“I abort a groan. Gravesend's a black cloud. Vinny and Stella and Mam are in it. Are it. My watch says 18:19 and the Captain Marlow'll be cheerful and chattery as the evening regulars drift in.”
— David Mitchell, The Bone Clocks

18:20:00
“By the time Elliot's mother arrived at twenty past six, Mrs. Sen always made sure all evidence of her chopping was disposed of.”
— Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies

18:21:00
“5:20 p.m.--6:21 p.m. Miss Pettigrew found herself wafted into the passage. She was past remonstrance now, past bewilderment, surprise, expostulation. Her eyes shone. Her face glowed. Her spirits soared. Everything was happening too quickly.”
— Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

18:22:00
“Clock overturned when he fell forward. That'll give us the time of the crime. Twenty-two minutes past six.”
— Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage

18:23:00
“He glanced at his watch, and the hands stood at 6:23.”
— Stephen King, Salem's Lot

18:24:00
“We were cleared by the tower at 18:24 and got airborne seven minutes after the scheduled departure time. The evening sky was almost clear, with a scattering of cumulus along the southern horizon and the windsocks hanging limp.”
— Adam Hall, Quiller's Run

18:25:00
“6:25 p.m. Fourpetal was right about Camberwell Grove: it doesn't look anything like the rest of Camberwell.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

18:26:00
“I checked the time on my mobile phone — 18.26 p.m. "Do you want to a grab a pizza?" Cara asked as she walked in twenty minutes later. I looked up at her. She shook her head smiling, questioning.”
— Ananth, Play With Me

18:27:00
“"It's as much as your job is worth if a riot detail isn't down here in two minutes. Two minutes, I said. It is now precisely twenty-seven minutes past six o'clock."”
— William Tenn, Here Comes Civilization

18:28:00
“"Suit yourself," said Remo, turning on the TV. It was twenty-eight minutes past six. "And, speaking of that barracuda, isn't she way overdue? Like into her ten or eleventh month?"”
— Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir, Terminal Transmission

18:29:00
“Lieutenant Hershel Mote could not keep the note of near hysteria out of his voice when Wesley returned his telephone call at twenty-nine minutes past six p.m. "You're where?" Wesley asked him again on the speaker phone.”
— Patricia Cornwell, The Body Farm

18:30:00
“At six-thirty Mother came home, and she always stopped in and said hi to Luke before rushing out to do a whole day's work in the few hours before bedtime.”
— Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Hidden

18:31:00
“6:31 p.m. Raf has been up now for about thirty hours.”
— Ned Beauman, Glow

18:32:00
“Monday 6:32 p.m. Tanzan Mino was dressed in a black three-quarter sleeved kimono, staring straight ahead as he knelt before the sword resting in front of him. His hands were settled lightly on his thighs, his face expressionless.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

18:33:00
“I feel pleased to see that I've beat Wally here, even if he arrives just a few minutes after me, at 6:33 p.m., jogging up the ramp, hat bobbing on his head.”
— Sally Hepworth, The Good Sister

18:34:00
“It's really down to what's allowed and what isn't, continued the pilot's train of thought-and as trains of thought go, this one's the Sundays- Only 06:34 service from Llanelli, stopping at all stations to Neath.”
— Tom Holt, Here Comes the Sun

18:35:00
“Matheson used the phone on the wall to make a 999 call and the police arrived on the scene at twenty-five minutes to seven. The body was removed to the mortuary and the room was searched, photographed and dusted for fingerprints.”
— John Mortimer, Rumpole on Trial

18:36:00
“Putt had picked up his bureau car at the Wickstown airport at 1836 hours and driven straight through to the guard gate with no more trouble than a broken right rear spring and dented right fender.”
— Luke Rhinehart, The Search for the Dice Man

18:37:00
“"Come to the 'Gray's-Inn Coffee-House," Pinto said, "and I will tell you how the notch came to the ax." And we walked down Holborn at about thirty-seven minutes past six o'clock.”
— William Makepeace Thackeray, The Notch on the Ax

18:38:00
“At half past five every day he did the whole journey in reverse, reaching home at between 18:24 on a good day and 18:38 on a bad one.”
— Gareth P. Jones, The Case of the Wayward Professor

18:39:00
“6:39 p.m. "So that's put the kibosh on that, then?" Archie's familiar voice broke into Tom's thoughts. "Thank God!"”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

18:40:00
“The cop looked at his watch, then at Johnny's grubby clothes and wild, black hair. It was forty minutes after six on a school day.”
— John Hart, The Last Child

18:41:00
“He made it to Grand Central well in advance. Stillman's train was not due to arrive until six forty-one, but Quinn wanted time to study the geography of the place, to make sure that Stillman would not be able to slip away from him.”
— Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy

18:42:00
“Lo and behold, at 18:42 a young man entered the store, made a beeline for the magazine rack, and then fell over and started shaking like a leaf.”
— J.A. Konrath, Whiskey Sour

18:43:00
“It's 6:43, which means that I can be home and showered in time to watch Love Island. Don't judge. It's an underrated show.”
— Ali Hazelwood, Love on the Brain

18:44:00
“Simon is happy to travel scum class when he's on his own and even sometimes deliberately aims for the 6:25. But today the 6:25 is delayed to 6:44.”
— Mark Lawson, The Deaths

18:45:00
“"Mr. Smith and I are catching the six forty-five. I should prefer you, Jameson, to sleep upstairs in my room tonight; if you put the bowl in the back room as usual, it will be quite safe then. Not that I suppose anything could possibly happen."”
— G.K. Chesterton, The Song of the Flying Fish

18:46:00
“3 May. Bistritz. Left Munich at 8.35 p.m., on 1 May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6.46 p.m., but train was an hour late.”
— Bram Stoker, Dracula

18:47:00
“The clock said 6:47 p.m. With growing fear, I walked stiffly around the apartment, turning on all the lights-even the overhead lights in the living room, which we generally didn't use because they were so stark and bright.”
— Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

18:48:00
“We were soon dashing quickly along the streets. I did not know Liverpool well, and consequently could not exactly tell where the man was going. When I got into the hansom it wanted twelve minutes to seven o'clock; these minutes were quickly flying, and still no station.”
— Robert Eustace, A Master of Mysteries

18:49:00
“6:49 p.m. "The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs."”
— Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

18:50:00
“Still ten minutes to seven. She'd been invited to the Cafe Kroner but ordered to the Prince Heinrich, and she would arrive with a business message, exactly what he hated on his sacred Saturdays.”
— Heinrich B?ll, Billiards at Half-Past Nine

18:51:00
“His death, which occurs at 6:51 p.m., is the only natural death to occur in Jeru'Salem's Lot on October 6.”
— Stephen King, Salem's Lot

18:52:00
“Alice had been duped too often in the past by their seemingly honest faces and had learned long ago to rely on her watch. Sure enough, she lapsed back in time as she entered the kitchen, where the microwave insisted that it was only 6:52.”
— Lisa Genova, Still Alice

18:53:00
“So that was the key to asking my questions, to wait exactly 77 minutes before seven minutes to seven and I would then get my answer.”
— Stephanie Hudson, The Quarter Moon

18:54:00
“"I saw him do it. It was only... only..." He looked at his watch. The hands were stuck in place, stopped for ever at six minutes to seven.”
— Garth Nix, Abhorsen

18:55:00
“The play was set to begin at seven o'clock and finish before sunset. It was 6:55. Beyond the flats we could hear the hockey field filling up.”
— Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex

18:56:00
“The clock said: 6:48. His heart was beating too fast. His stomach was cramped with hunger heightened by despair and fear. When the couple reached the head of the line, it was 6:56. Conrad was beside himself.”
— Tom Wolfe, A Man in Full

18:57:00
“John disappeared to look at his watch, which was now called a chronometer because John was the master of a ship. "Three minutes to seven," he said. He had thought of putting it into ship's time, but it would have taken him a moment or two to be sure what it was.”
— Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons

18:58:00
“Today was Tuesday, the fifteenth of August; the sun had risen at eleven minutes past five this morning and would set at two minutes before seven this evening.”
— Donald E. Westlake, The Hot Rock

18:59:00
“At 6:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, I stand in my Sunday best in Clare's vestibule with my finger on her buzzer, fragrant yellow freesia and an Australian Cabernet in my other arm, and my heart in my mouth.”
— Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife

19:00:00
“Old Fezziwig laid down his pen, and looked up at the clock which pointed to the hour of seven.”
— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

19:01:00
“"Arrested yesterday at about seven. Prostitution." "No," the girl said. The children were out of earshot.”
— Lauren Groff, Florida

19:02:00
“It was evening in Ithaca when Homer finally drew up in front of the telegraph office. The clock in the window said two minutes past seven.”
— William Saroyan, The Human Comedy

19:03:00
“7:03 p.m. Inside the hospital, as Danny was running up the stairs to meet Sonja, someone came running down.”
— Aravind Adiga, Amnesty

19:04:00
“At four minutes past seven this evening I made contact with Redruth in the Café Balzac.”
— John Gardner, The Secret Families

19:05:00
“It was five past seven, a little past his normal time, when Hubert got back to the flat which he supposed he ought now to call home, but in which he still felt as ill at ease as a guest who is beginning to suspect that he has outstayed his welcome.”
— P.D. James, A Certain Justice

19:06:00
“Percy subscribed to that old axiom about how you should get right back on the horse that had thrown you, because here he came through the door at six minutes past seven, resplendent in his blue uniform.”
— Stephen King, The Green Mile

19:07:00
“She fell into unconsciousness and so remained two days and five hours, until Tuesday evening at seven minutes past seven, when the release came. She was twenty-four years and five months old.”
— Mark Twain, Chapters from My Autobiography

19:08:00
“7:08 p.m. Tom glanced at Archie, who gave a slight nod. He had seen who it was too.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

19:09:00
“Wallander was lucky and managed to catch a taxi right outside. When he got to Rosengard it was nine minutes past seven. He hoped that Mona was running late. But when he read the note he had posted on the door he realised that this was not the case.”
— Henning Mankell, The Pyramid

19:10:00
“The pause, we finally concluded, was to allow the other important people to catch up, those who had arrived at 7:10 waiting for those who had arrived at 7:20.”
— C. Northcote Parkinson, Parkinson's Law, Or The Pursuit of Progress

19:11:00
“Your voice was reassuring. 19:11:00, the clock said. I put the phone back on its hook and I ran. The seat I got, almost the last one in the carriage, was opposite a girl who started coughing as soon as there weren't any other free seats I could move to.”
— Ali Smith, The Whole Story

19:12:00
“"Never meet people at 7:45 or 6:30, Jasper, but pick times like 7:12 and 8:03!"”
— Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole

19:13:00
“"I looked out of the corridor window of my carriage just before the train left at seven-thirteen, to find it dawning upon me with perfect certainty that I had seen the pattern of glass and steel roof above the platforms before."”
— W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz

19:14:00
“I jump onto Rocker to look at Watch, he says 07:14. I can skateboard on Rocker without holding on to her, then I whee back onto Duvet and I'm snowboarding instead.”
— Emma Donoghue, Room

19:15:00
“"Right now it's about seven-thirty," he said. "So we must arrive at seven-fifteen exactly. It's an hour and a half's walk to the wood so we must leave here at a quarter to six."”
— Roald Dahl, Danny, the Champion of the World

19:16:00
“To-day is Monday, the fifth of August, and the sun sets in sixteen minutes past seven. It will be dark when we get to headquarters.”
— Edward Sylvester Ellis, The Boy Patrol on Guard

19:17:00
“Colonel Putnis knocked on his door at 7:17 p.m. The car was waiting in front of the hotel, and they drove through the dark streets to police headquarters. It had grown much colder during the evening, and the city was almost deserted.”
— Henning Mankell, The Dogs of Riga

19:18:00
“It stopped at eighteen minutes past seven somewhere, some day, and hasn't ticked since.”
— Frierik Erlingsson, Fish in the Sky

19:19:00
“It was only nineteen minutes past seven. Fashionably late, she told herself and hurried up the brick walk.”
— Margaret Maron, Corpus Christmas

19:20:00
“At seven-twenty a single flash of hard white light shot out of Geiger's house like a wave of summer lighting. As the darkness folded back on it and ate it up a thin tinkling scream echoed out and lost itself among the rain-drenched trees.”
— Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep

19:21:00
“Gripping her gym bag in her right hand, Aomame, like Buzzcut, was waiting for something to happen. The clock display changed to 7:21, then 7:22, then 7:23.”
— Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

19:22:00
“7:22 p.m. The shower consisted of a yellowing curtain covered in small black spots of mould suspended from a sagging length of string over a chipped bath.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

19:23:00
“"What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool?" asked Thomas Flanagan. "At twenty-three minutes past seven," replied Gauthier Ralph; "and the next does not arrive till ten minutes after twelve."”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

19:24:00
“From the buildings opposite, a recorded announcement crackled into life, echoing out under the roof awning. "Platform one for the 19:24 South West Trains service to Alton, calling at Alton only."”
— Fergus McNeill, Knife Edge

19:25:00
“At twenty-five minutes past seven: Ker Karraje, Engineer Serko and Captain Spade advance to the extremity of the point, where they sweep the north-western horizon with their telescopes.”
— Jules Verne, Facing the Flag

19:26:00
“Hotel St Merri, 4th Arrondissement, Paris. 7:26 p.m. Tom threw his head back under the shower's massaging pulse and closed his eyes, letting it run through his hair.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

19:27:00
“His appointment with the doctor was for 8:45. It was 7:27.”
— Henning Mankell, The Return of the Dancing Master

19:28:00
“"It says here that you called your mother at 7:28 p.m. this evening." "There's some sort of mistake. I didn't get the chance to call anyone."”
— Tom Hilpert, Superior Justice

19:29:00
“High tide the previous night had been at seven twenty-nine, and if the boy had fallen into the water, or if he had fallen before high-water so that his body was taken out by the tide, it would not be washed up again at Westover.”
— Josephine Tey, Brat Farrar

19:30:00
“I left Mum's house at seven-thirty. I went around all the rooms one last time to make sure there was nothing left behind.”
— Claire Kohda, Woman, Eating

19:31:00
“I was invited to the Sugiyama residence, outside Kanazawa in the Ishikawa prefecture of Chubu, and arrived at 19:31 UT. The Sugiyama bash house is a compact town house, three stories, pressed tightly on both sides by similar houses.”
— Ada Palmer, Too Like the Lightning

19:32:00
“Another minute clicked away. 7:32. RIIIIIIING! The phone, rattling to life in Joe's desk, jolted him. His hand scrambled to pick it up.”
— T.J. Payne, Intercepts

19:33:00
“At thirty-three minutes past seven he stood on the platform of the station at Southampton-clear hour before the train containing Owen could possibly arrive.”
— Thomas Hardy, Desperate Remedies

19:34:00
“7:34 p.m. I can't see anything. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust, for my other senses to balance me out.”
— Rachel Lynn Solomon, Today Tonight Tomorrow

19:35:00
“It was twenty-five minutes to eight; his guests would be coming to dine at eight o'clock and he had not begun to dress.”
— Elinor Glyn, The Reason Why

19:36:00
“The time on the video recorder was 19:36 when the back door slammed and Victor strode into the front room clutching a handful of something so unspeakably vile that it defies description.”
— David Renwick, One Foot in the Grave

19:37:00
“"A ship is making an unauthorized departure from the main orbital terminal tonight at precisely 1937 hours. We need to produce a reaction from Orbital Defense which will appear to be a genuine response to an unauthorized seizure of a vessel."”
— W. Michael Gear, Relic of Empire

19:38:00
“The words boomed in my head like an echo in a cave: We've fooouuund yooouuu, oouund yoouuu, yoouu! The message bore the time, 19:38 that same day.”
— Santiago Gamboa, Necropolis

19:39:00
“February 12, 7:39 p.m. Glittering Neon Tubes Harassed by Scratchy Red on canvas. Dad spent exactly fourteen minutes in the shower before the party. He came out of the bathroom humming and smelling of sharp citrus fruits.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

19:40:00
“She arrives at 7:40, ten minutes late, but the children, Jimmy and Bitsy, are still eating supper and their parents are not ready to go yet.”
— Robert Coover, The Babysitter

19:41:00
“My eyes burned. My throat and mouth were hot, woolly. I went into the kitchen, found a bottle of gin, tilted it to my mouth, and kept it there until I had to breathe. The kitchen clock said seven-forty-one.”
— Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest

19:42:00
“It was 7:42, just over an hour since he had rung Frances. She should have arrived by now.”
— P.D. James, Original Sin

19:43:00
“I checked my watch. It was seventeen minutes to eight. It seemed to me that should give me plenty of leeway, but I hadn't been there five minutes before I started to worry that I'd missed him.”
— Lawrence Block, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart

19:44:00
“"It's not exactly how you'd choose to go, is it? You'd rather die flying a kite with your grandchildren, or at a great party or something. Not on the seven forty-four."”
— Sarah Rayner, One Moment, One Morning

19:45:00
“At quarter to eight in the evening, Emmett was sitting in a run-down saloon at the edge of Manhattan with a glass of beer and a photograph of Harrison Hewett on the bar in front of him.”
— Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway

19:46:00
“The clock on the microwave read 7:46. We'd gone straight from Abernathy's to the Gunther Node to see Viv and hadn't eaten. Malcolm would be starving when he got back.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Destiny

19:47:00
“"I got the call from Sheriff Watson at 19:47."”
— David Kershner, When Rome Stumbles

19:48:00
“All the timers worked on twenty-four-hour clocks. He'd set the first charge to go off at 19:48 hours 7:48 p.m. Maybe a minute or two earlier or later. It had to seem random. After that, there would be five more 'tremors' approximately one minute apart.”
— Randy Wayne White, Everglades

19:49:00
“"When did you next see Dr. Wellesley?" "At just eleven minutes to eight."”
— J.S. Fletcher, In the Mayor's Parlour

19:50:00
“Louis smiled and glanced at his watch. He was amazed to see it was only ten minutes to eight. It seemed that a great deal more time had gone by.”
— Stephen King, Pet Sematary

19:51:00
“The charge d'affaires at the embassy stated unequivocally that he had seen Joel at the Adenauer Bridge "at 7:51 p.m.," approximately 25 minutes after he had broken out of the stone jailhouse on Leifhelm's estate, and less than 10 minutes after he had plunged into the Rhine.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Aquitaine Progression

19:52:00
“At exactly eight minutes to eight Roger ceased his restless tramp up and down the room, and stopped again at the door. Before he could open it, however, there was a light tap—a tap like Beverley's in happier days.”
— C.N. Williamson, The Lion's Mouse

19:53:00
“"What time is it?" "Seven to eight. Won't be long now."”
— Robert Goddard, Never Go Back

19:54:00
“The body was found at six minutes to eight. Doctor Young arrived some thirty minutes later. Just let me get that clear-I've a filthy memory.”
— Ngaio Marsh, A Man Lay Dead

19:55:00
“"Maybe now isn't the best time for you to see her, Mr. Dresden." I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was five minutes before eight.”
— Jim Butcher, Fool Moon

19:56:00
“I have to record the rest now, one hour and forty-two minutes later, at 7:56 p.m., otherwise I'll never be able to sleep, knowing my records are incomplete.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

19:57:00
“By three minutes to eight, I was in my nightdress and slippers waiting for the kettle to boil. Quickly, quickly.”
— Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

19:58:00
“7:58 p.m. Subject: hi, jonah I don't know what to say. This is a common theme when dealing with this part of my life.”
— Jonathan Parks-Ramage, Yes, Daddy

19:59:00
“Quickly, quickly. A minute to eight. My hot water bottle was ready, and I filled a glass with water from the tap. Time was of the essence.”
— Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

20:00:00
“Everything became a problem and I went out less every day, back home at nine, back home at eight, back home at seven, back home at night and I was doing the opposite to everyone else.”
— Najat El Hachmi, The Last Patriarch

20:01:00
“"8:01 p.m., 16 April 1984, Bessbrook, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Interview with Sean Duffy, formerly of the Royal Ulster Constabulary," he said.”
— Adrian McKinty, In the Morning I'll Be Gone

20:02:00
“8:02 p.m.: It's rude to ignore someone, Starling. There are consequences for that kind of behavior.”
— Carola Lovering, Too Good to Be True

20:03:00
“It was 8:03 p.m. I had, earlier that day, texted Maya to ask if we could Skype. She said sure, 8 p.m. would work for her. I had now been just sitting there with my mouse hovering over the button for three minutes. Hank”
— Green, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

20:04:00
“The bleeding was stanched and the hair sprayed hard over the spot. They walked out together. The stage manager was frantic because it was, he said, four minutes past eight and this was a broadcast concert.”
— Robert Ford, The Student Conductor

20:05:00
“The reader will remember that at 5 minutes past 8 in the evening-about 5 and 20 hours after the arrival of the travellers in London-Passepartout had been sent by his master to engage the services of the Reverend Samuel Wilson in a certain marriage ceremony, which was to take place the next day.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

20:06:00
“"Doesn't look like he spent a lot of time on it. A couple calls yesterday morning, then nothing until six minutes past eight last night."”
— Patricia Cornwell, The Scarpetta Factor

20:07:00
“And I could hear that there were fewer people in the little station when the train wasn't there, so I opened my eyes and I looked at my watch and it said 8:07 p.m.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

20:08:00
“One couple came all the way from Casper, Wyoming, to be married on the eighth day of the eighth month of 1988 at 8:08 p.m. in Eighty-Eight.”
— Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue

20:09:00
“He followed the squeals down a hallway. A wall clock read 8:09 - 10:09 Dallas time.”
— James Ellroy, American Tabloid

20:10:00
“"Actually, I was early. I didn't want to make myself conspicuous loitering in the passage, so I killed five minutes walking along the Strand. I was outside the gate at ten past eight. I waited until eight-forty. Venetia never came."”
— P.D. James, A Certain Justice

20:11:00
“The wall-clock had reached eleven minutes past eight. He knew he would have to break all his previous records to make the train on time.”
— Michael Carson, Sucking Sherbert Lemons

20:12:00
“Five days a week, for thirty-six years, I have travelled the eight-twelve train to the City.”
— Roald Dahl, Galloping Foxley

20:13:00
“In the cockpit, everyone noted the sudden lift caused by the release of weight, and the captain recorded the time: 8:13 p.m. But they weren't sure what it meant. They had no way of knowing if the hijacker was still in the plane, and so they flew onward to Reno.”
— Lincoln Child, Bloodless

20:14:00
“"The 20:14 train for Brighton is delayed," said the announcer. "We apologize for the inconvenience."”
— Rick Riordan, The Throne of Fire

20:15:00
“"We have dinner at eight-fifteen," he said. "Only millionaires can afford it. Only millionaire's servants will stand for it nowadays. Lots of lovely people coming."”
— Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

20:16:00
“Later, 8:16 p.m. Olly: you're logged on early Madeline: Are you asking if I'm sick? Olly: yes”
— Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything

20:17:00
“De Gaulle never liked such ostentation sitting out in front and dispensed with them whenever he could. In this manner the convoy entered the Avenue de la Division Leclerc at Petit-Clamart. It was 8:17 p.m.”
— Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal

20:18:00
“"Say they left at seventeen or eighteen minutes past eight. In that case they must have followed Joanne Garland and might well be supposed to be driving faster than she ..."”
— Ruth Rendell, Kissing the Gunner's Daughter

20:19:00
“All was still. It was nineteen minutes past eight.”
— Henry Augustus Hering, The Burglars' Club

20:20:00
“Again the boy knocked. Again there was no response. Gabriel watched and suffered with him until, at twenty past eight, the boy finally gave up and turned away.”
— P.D. James, The Mistletoe Murder

20:21:00
“At 8:21, after a knock at the door, a constable said a military police vehicle had just driven into the courtyard, the driver asking for "Mr. Murray."”
— Len Deighton, The IPCRESS File

20:22:00
“8:22 p.m. Eric Hamblin, formerly of Sweetwater, Texas, had worked as a guard for SatCom for the past two and a half years and he loved the job.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

20:23:00
“20:23. In a few minutes she would go down. She could have borrowed some mascara from her daughter Sally, but it was too late. She could have rung her mother in Northam, but it was too late. Seven minutes of solitude she had, and then she would descend.”
— Margaret Drabble, The Radiant Way

20:24:00
“At 8:23 there seemed every chance of a lasting alliance starting between Florin and Guilder. At 8:24 the two nations were very close to war.”
— William Goldman, The Princess Bride

20:25:00
“He already felt drunk enough at the thought of being with Sunny. He glanced at his watch. Eight-twenty-five. He loosened his tie, dark yellow with a muted pattern, and unbuttoned the top button of his blue shirt.”
— Elizabeth Adler, It All Began in Monte Carlo

20:26:00
“Restaurant Le Pavé, 4th Arrondissement, Paris. 8:26 p.m. The restaurant was old-fashioned and busy, smoke lazily rising from between gesticulating fingers, dented cutlery chiming against the dull glaze of white china.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

20:27:00
“At seven-and-twenty minutes past eight Mrs. Lofthouse was seated at Aurora's piano, in the first agonies of a prelude in six flats.”
— Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Aurora Floyd

20:28:00
“"My father died exactly twenty-five years ago." Lindell looked up. "Exactly?" "Yes, exactly. Twenty-eight minutes past eight, on this exact date twenty-five years ago."”
— Kjell Eriksson, Stone Coffin

20:29:00
“"Twenty-nine and a half minutes past eight, sir." And then, from habit, he glanced at the clock in the tower, and made further oration. "By George! that clock's half an hour fast!"”
— O. Henry, The Four Million

20:30:00
“I supplied various well-known dates and facts and that moved the conversation along briskly. We left Galatoire's finally for a small, quiet Bourbon Street café and continued our conversation until well after eight thirty that evening.”
— Anne Rice, The Witching Hour

20:31:00
“The time display read 20:31 on the same evening. Almost dusk. The scene was motionless save the soft rustling of leaves, but the rumble of a car engine and the crunch of tires on gravel must have triggered the recording.”
— Barbara Fradkin, None So Blind

20:32:00
“He slammed home the bolt, laid the rifle back down on the counter, and checked his watch. It was twenty-eight minutes to nine. He was running a little late.”
— Laurence Gough, The Goldfish Bowl

20:33:00
“On the night it happened-July 5-the sun didn't set until 8:33.”
— Lee Martin, The Bright Forever

20:34:00
“It was 8:34 p.m. The steady pounding of the subwoofer seemed to be wiped away. A much larger pulse rippled through the concrete wall.”
— Frank Winter, Homecoming

20:35:00
“3 May. Bistritz. Left Munich at 8:35 p.m., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late.”
— Bram Stoker, Dracula

20:36:00
“20:36 Rimmer stood in the main wash-room on the stasis deck and combed his hair.”
— Grant Naylor, Red Dwarf

20:37:00
“8:37 p.m. Braque sat in a Pepto-Bismol pink toilet stall in the otherwise empty women's bathroom and opened the jar of green sweet pepper jelly.”
— J. Ryan Stradal, Kitchens of the Great Midwest

20:38:00
“And at twenty-two minutes to nine, at the beginning of the third act, he stood up and, trying not to make too much noise, left the auditorium and walked up to the second floor.”
— Javier Marías, While the Women are Sleeping

20:39:00
“The clock on the dashboard said 20:39 as Jack turned into a private road. The car was so silent I could hear the hammering of my heart.”
— Simon Kernick, The Final Minute

20:40:00
“Graham was sweating by the time the taxi drew up in front of the Riviera Club on the Avenida Vieira Souto overlooking the tranquil waters of Ipanema Beach. He glanced at his watch: eight-forty. Siobhan had told them to be there at eight-thirty.”
— Alastair MacNeill, Night Watch

20:41:00
“By forty-one minutes past eight we are five hundred yards from the water's edge, and between our road and the foot of the mountain we descry the piled-up remains of a ruined tower.”
— Louis Félicien de Saulcy, Narrative of a journey round the Dead Sea, and in the Bible lands

20:42:00
“It was 8:42 on Wednesday, which immediately had her worried that he might want to cancel their fake date.”
— Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis

20:43:00
“It's 8:43 p.m. Janie shakes her head to clear it. Surprised. Slowly, a grin spreads across her face. She did it— she pulled herself out of the dream.”
— Lisa McMann, Wake

20:44:00
“Several soldiers-some with their uniforms unbuttoned-were looking over a motorcycle, arguing about it. The sergeant looked at his watch; it was eight forty-four. They had to wait until nine.”
— Jorge Luis Borges, The Secret Miracle

20:45:00
“At eight forty-five, I called and said, "I need some financial advice. Actually, I'm serious. I'm in a bind."”
— Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

20:46:00
“At the tone, the time will be eight forty six, exactly. One cubic mile of seawater contains about 50 pounds of gold.”
— Tom Lichtenberg, Macedonia

20:47:00
“"Oh, Susan, hi, is Gordon," he said, cradling the phone awkwardly on his shoulder. "Just on my way to the cottage. It's, er, Thursday night, and it's, er... 8:47. Bit misty on the roads..."”
— Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

20:48:00
“"It's exactly eight-forty-eight p.m." "How do you know?" "Sirius wouldn't be where Sirius is, if it wasn't eight-forty-eight p.m."”
— Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

20:49:00
“8:49. I took the phone, cleared my throat, and dialled the keep, the packs stronghold on the outskirts of Atlanta. Just keep it professional. Less pathetic that way.”
— Ilona Andrews, Magic Bleeds

20:50:00
“"That seems very clear," said Weston, after a moment or two. "You and your wife were together changing for dinner in your bungalow until ten minutes to nine."”
— Agatha Christie, A Caribbean Mystery

20:51:00
“It's now 8:51 p.m., nine minutes to nine. Nearly two hours since trick-or-treating ended and Grace Village plunged into darkness, the residents of this bedroom community hunkering down for the night.”
— David Ellis, Look Closer

20:52:00
“It is 8:52 when the old man comes in. An Asian face, white button-down and black pants, silvering hair neatly clipped.”
— Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts

20:53:00
“The second bell rang on the steamer. It was seven minutes to nine, and the last of the luggage was packed. On the floor there still lay a pile of clothing, which was to be left as oil for the wounded joints of the gentlemen who had been flung down stairs.”
— Hall Caine, Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon

20:54:00
“I tried to restart our dinner-table conversation, which had been about the validity of I.Q. tests, but he was back in his funk again, and I didn't feel like trying to jolly him out of it. I was relieved when the bell squawked at six minutes to nine.”
— Robert Goldsborough, Death on Deadline

20:55:00
“By five minutes to nine George had arrived, looking very pale and swollen-eyed and wearing a black armband.”
— Michelle Magorian, Goodnight Mister Tom

20:56:00
“I filled her in on the weekend's events, and she paled when I told her about the gunshot. "Thank the Lord you weren't hurt." We discussed the incident a few minutes longer, and then I noticed the time. Four minutes before nine.”
— Miranda James, No Cats Allowed

20:57:00
“I looked at my watch. It was 8:57. The riot police vans stopped in front of the big fountain at the plaza.”
— Yu Miri, Tokyo Ueno Station

20:58:00
“"What time is it?" she asked, quiet, definite, hopeless. "Two minutes to nine," he replied, telling the truth with a struggle.”
— D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers

20:59:00
“8:59 p.m. Tom was finishing a call when Archie let himself in, chatter of the refrigeration unit on a passing lorry gushing through the open door before draining away the instant it was shut behind him.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

21:00:00
“By nine o'clock Saturday night Lakeside Avenue, the main street, was thronged with some four thousand beer-drinking tourists, about half riding motorcycles.”
— Hunter S. Thompson, Hell's Angels

21:01:00
“He took the long way up Lexington, rounded the corner, and didn't break his stride when he pushed the service gate. It was unlocked, ajar half an inch, and he was in. It was 9:01 p.m.”
— Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle

21:02:00
“9:02 p.m. Tom had arranged to meet Archie in a restaurant a short walk from the station in the old town. The building, originally a carpenters' guildhall, dated back to 1336.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

21:03:00
“The clock showed three minutes past nine. The electric cars to and from the town of Turnhill were rumbling past the very door of the Morfes every five minutes, and would continue to do so till midnight.”
— Arnold Bennett, Why the Clock Stopped

21:04:00
“Pierce checked his watch. It was 9:04. That gave them an hour to find the key before Barlow provided his diversion to cover their escape.”
— Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery

21:05:00
“Nine-five. A voice spoke from the study ceiling: "Mrs. McClellan, which poem would you like this evening?" The house was silent. The voice said at last, "Since you express no preference, I shall select a poem at random."”
— Ray Bradbury, There Will Come Soft Rains

21:06:00
“Secretly, it's only six minutes past nine. I set my huge clock (oversize so that I can see it without my contacts in) nine minutes fast in the hope that somehow this deception will make me on time.”
— Sarah Mlynowski, Milkrun

21:07:00
“He just rolled up his window, switched off the engine, and leaned down to unlock the trunk. I checked my watch. It was seven minutes past nine.”
— Andrew Grant, Even

21:08:00
“Later, 9:08 p.m. Olly's already waiting for me when I go to the window.”
— Nicola Yoon, Everything, Everything

21:09:00
“Nobody would move away and leave such a joyful, friendly kitchen clock. If a clock like that was still here, she must be too. 9:09.”
— Thomas Perry, The Left-Handed Twin

21:10:00
“"Twenty past seven already, I'd better get movin'. Listen, you'd better get down t'the station at nine-ten an' meet the officials. Don't be late, now, d'ye year me?"”
— Brian Jacques, Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

21:11:00
“At 9:11, they swung the grating door open and entered the wine cellar proper. They immediately began the search for the key.”
— Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery

21:12:00
“There was a big full moon that night, the sky clear as glass, and at 9:12 p.m. an old Russian rocket reentered the earth's atmosphere and exploded into flaring comets with long, burning tails that streaked across the sky.”
— Loreth Anne White, Beneath Devil's Bridge

21:13:00
“Gare du Nord, 10th Arrondissement, Paris. 9:13 p.m. Archie walked up the Rue Denain towards the station's main entrance, checking the screen of his one remaining phone every so often.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

21:14:00
“It was a hot evening in late July, still as light as day. As the WPC led him out through a back door, Frank checked his watch: fourteen minutes past nine.”
— Mat Coward, Over and Under

21:15:00
“Benny was amazing. He had worked out everything; she began to see ways of crowding Borgov, finessing Borgov, deceiving him, tying up his pieces, forcing him to compromise and retreat. Finally she looked at her watch and said, "Benny, it's nine-fifteen here."”
— Walter Tevis, The Queen's Gambit

21:16:00
“Reaching out for the glass in front of me, I grip it between my fingertips, pushing it slowly in counterclockwise circles, watching the water inside ripple. The clock on the otherwise bare white wall flashes 9:16 p.m. in bright red lights.”
— Heidi Perks, Her One Mistake

21:17:00
“But the power was off in Ogunquit by then-it had gone at exactly 9:17 p.m. on the evening of June 28 by the electric clocks-and there was no ice cream to be had in town.”
— Stephen King, The Stand

21:18:00
“The same thing would hold true if there were someone in her apartment. In that case he would just say that he had been passing by, recognized her charming house, and thought to drop in. It was eighteen minutes after nine when Mr. Martin turned into Twelfth Street.”
— James Thurber, The Catbird Seat

21:19:00
“The Mendelssohn concerto had started at nine-nineteen, and the bomb was set to detonate at nine-thirty.”
— Ed McBain, Money, Money, Money

21:20:00
“The whole party had dined well. They were satisfied with themselves and with life. The hands of the clock pointed to twenty minutes past nine. There was a silence-a comfortable replete silence. Into that silence came The Voice. Without warning, inhuman, penetrating...”
— Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

21:21:00
“It was nine twenty-one. With one minute to go, there was no sign of Herbert's mother.”
— Dan Rhodes, This is Life

21:22:00
“"No more throwing stones at him, and I'll see you back here exactly one week from now." She looked at her watch. "At nine twenty-two next Wednesday."”
— Dan Rhodes, This is Life

21:23:00
“9:23 p.m. Tom had waited for the protective cloak of darkness to fall before venturing over to this side of town.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

21:24:00
“9:24 I'm swelled after that cabbage. A speck of dust on the patent leather of her boot.”
— James Joyce, Ulysses

21:25:00
“The phone on his desk rang, startling him. It was nine twenty-five. He hadn't realized he had been sitting as if in a fugue.”
— P.D. James, The Lighthouse

21:26:00
“Hamil studied his file for a few moments before offering an opinion. "The terrorists," he began, "crossed the border at 21.26 last night. Four passports were presented to the immigration officer for stamping. Three were of Swedish origin, and one was from Iraq."”
— Jeffrey Archer, Honour Among Thieves

21:27:00
“Amalfi Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas. 17th March - 9:27 p.m. Ever since going freelance, Kyle Foster had never met or spoken to his handler. It was safer that way. For both of them.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

21:28:00
“The clock showed twenty-eight minutes past nine. "The clocks here have to be right, sir," the butler added with pride and a respectful humour, on the stairs.”
— Arnold Bennett, Lord Raingo

21:29:00
“9:29 p.m. "Coffee?" "I need a drink."”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

21:30:00
“Charlie's eyes narrowed and he cleared back-and-forth between the two of us. "Fine," he muttered after a minute. "I'm going to watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty."”
— Stephenie Meyer, Eclipse

21:31:00
“I found his old-fashioned manners charming and resolved then and there to have him come work for me, though I would not broach the subject officially until after 9:31 p.m., when the cookies would have been fully digested.”
— Iris Smyles, Droll Tales

21:32:00
“Geraldine's bus ride back to the sanitarium, in Bensalem Township, would leave at 9:32.”
— Kristina McMorris, Sold on a Monday

21:33:00
“It must have been about twenty-seven minutes to ten when I reached the summer-house. Ralph was waiting for me.”
— Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

21:34:00
“"Thanks; expect me 9:34 p.m. 26th;" which produced, three hours later, a reply: "Delighted; please bring a No. 3 Rippingille stove"-a perplexing and ominous direction, which somehow chilled me in spite of its subject matter.”
— Erskine Childers, The Riddle of the Sands

21:35:00
“The Sergeant jotted it down on a piece of paper. "That checks up with his own story: 9:35 p.m. Budd leaves; the North dame arrives."”
— Georgette Heyer, A Blunt Instrument

21:36:00
“My backpack was already packed, and I'd already gotten the other supplies together, like the altimeter and the granola bars and the Swiss army knife I'd dug up in Central Park, so there was nothing else to do. Mom tucked me in at 9:36.”
— Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

21:37:00
“At 9:37 on Thanksgiving eve, nineteen-year-old Francesca Pena steps from the cramped vestibule of a crappy little apartment building in the East Fifties and hurries north.”
— Peter de Jonge, Shadows Still Remain

21:38:00
“Twenty-two minutes remained until 10 o'clock. He was just turning in upon the footpath behind the swine shed. It would take ten minutes to get to the church. He had less than fifteen minutes in which to get ready.”
— Bo Giertz, The Hammer of God

21:39:00
“Fletch looked at his watch. It was twenty-one minutes to ten. Instinctively he timed the swiftness of the police.”
— Gregory Mcdonald, Confess, Fletch

21:40:00
“It was twenty-one minutes to ten by the clock at the far end of the hall. Lord Groan appeared to be looking through this clock. Three quarters of a minute went by, it was ten seconds-five seconds-three seconds-one second-to twenty to ten.”
— Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan

21:41:00
“"Say that again, Sergeant," asked Warren, although he was pretty sure he had heard her correctly the first time. "A Royal Mail postal delivery van drove past a traffic camera at 2141 hours, about three quarters of a mile south-west of the sports centre."”
— Paul Gitsham, No Smoke Without Fire

21:42:00
“Langdon looked at his Mickey Mouse watch. 9:42 p.m.”
— Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol

21:43:00
“Lloyd asked again if Law would like some water, and this time he nodded, thank God. He stood up. "I'll get us all some," he said. "Chief Inspector Lloyd leaves the room, 21.43 hours," said Judy.”
— Jill McGown, Picture of Innocence

21:44:00
“I checked my phone for the time. 9:44. I sighed and unlocked the middle drawer of the desk.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Peril

21:45:00
“She looked at the clock on the night table and saw it was quarter to ten. She'd slept another two hours. For a moment she was alarmed; maybe she'd suffered a concussion or a fracture after all.”
— Stephen King, Big Driver

21:46:00
“9:46 p.m. "But I'm still finishing the trajectory-default analysis I was supposed to do," LeFarge said to Dore Peretz, hoping he could stall. "I'm only half-"”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

21:47:00
“"Right... nine forty-seven and nine forty-eight. They died at the same time." "That's not the same time, Harry." I waved a hand, impatient.”
— Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

21:48:00
“"Right... nine forty-seven and nine forty-eight. They died at the same time." "That's not the same time, Harry." I waved a hand, impatient.”
— Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

21:49:00
“"Look at when TIMETRV was linked." I read the listing. "May the fifteenth, at eleven minutes to ten. So?" "Now look at when the object file was created." Gib's eyes gleamed.”
— Malorie Blackman, Hacker

21:50:00
“"Ten minutes to ten. I had just time to hide the bottle (after the nurse had left me) when you came into my room."”
— Wilkie Collins, The Law and the Lady

21:51:00
“He looked at his wrist. "Right now it's nine minutes to ten."”
— Rex Stout, Death of a Dude

21:52:00
“I checked my phone. 9:52. I still had things to do, and maybe they'd make me late, but the Nicolliens could wait a few minutes.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Mayhem

21:53:00
“She could not afford the fare, but she could still less afford to lose a possible situation by being late. The bus deposited her about five minutes' walk from Onslow Mansions, an at seven minutes to ten precisely she was outside her destination.”
— Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

21:54:00
“9:54: This is sheer torture. My arms have never ached so much in my entire life. The blankets weigh a ton, and the sheets won't go straight and I have no idea how to do the wretched corners. How do chambermaids do it?”
— Sophie Kinsella, The Undomestic Goddess

21:55:00
“At ten o'clock in the evening, the Rostovs were to call for the maid of honor at the Tauride Garden, and meanwhile, it was already five minutes to ten, and the young ladies were not yet dressed.”
— Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

21:56:00
“9.56 p.m. Even on a cold January evening, the area around the base of the Bronze Horseman was thronged with tourists and locals taking pictures.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

21:57:00
“The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds. "Three minutes to ten," he announced.”
— O. Henry, The Four Million

21:58:00
“Second to last, an inset digital clock blinks from 21:57 to 21:58. Napier's eyes sink, newborn sunshine slants through ancient oaks and dances on a lost river. Look, Joe, herons.”
— David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

21:59:00
“One minute to ten. With a heavy heart Bert watched the clock. His legs were still aching very badly. He could not see the hands of the clock moving, but they were creeping on all the same.”
— Robert Tressell, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists

22:00:00
“Although Una could hardly make her out in the gloom, she felt sure the child was watching her. It was 10 p.m. Should children be up this late?”
— Ragnar Jónasson, The Girl Who Died

22:01:00
“Hannah and Morty were to stay overnight in Flatbush with Morty's family, and so I was put on a subway to Manhattan about ten o'clock and there boarded the bus for New Jersey, upon which I took not just my cock in my hands but my whole life, when you think about it.”
— Philip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint

22:02:00
“It was two minutes after ten; she was not satisfied with her clothes, her face, her apartment. She heated the coffee again and sat down in the chair by the window. Can't do anything more now, she thought, no sense trying to improve anything the last minute.”
— Shirley Jackson, The Daemon Lover

22:03:00
“"Ignite the Lincoln Park one at twenty-two hundred hours. At two-two-oh-three, infra-red sights if necessary, use a laser beam to destroy the radio scanner on top of the rear coach. Wait my flashlight signal-SOS-then ignite the other."”
— Alistair MacLean, The Golden Gate

22:04:00
“The wonder of certain coincidences. Checking the time, I tap my phone, which is sitting on top of a book on my desk, which happens to be Ben Lerner's novel 10:04, and see that the time is 10:04.”
— Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going Through

22:05:00
“Ten o'clock. Ten oh five. Why is he late? I look over at the wall. My phone vibrates, startling me.”
— Kathleen Glasgow, You'd Be Home Now

22:06:00
“"Six minutes after ten," Annie replied. Emily touched my arm and said, "Whatever you do, don't freak out, okay?"”
— Terry Miles, Rabbits

22:07:00
“Near Lyon, France. Two weeks later - 10:07 p.m. "Please remove any metallic objects from your pockets. Keys, coins, mobile phone, glasses. Place them in the containers before stepping through the detector. Thank you."”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

22:08:00
“"My watch is always a little fast," I said. "What time do you make it now?" "Ten eight." "Ten eighteen by mine. You see."”
— Graham Greene, The Quiet American

22:09:00
“10:09 p.m. Several hours later, Jennifer's cheeks glowing a little from the wine and the heat from the stove, they went back through to the sitting room for coffee.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

22:10:00
“He killed an hour in a lounge, took off at 10:10, and landed in Miami on time at 1:05 a.m. He found a bench in an empty gate and tried to sleep, but it was a long night.”
— John Grisham, The Rooster Bar

22:11:00
“"Carter," she said, at 10:11. "I'm going to get in the car and drive around." He sighed, and put down the paper. "Patty" he began, and the phone rang.”
— Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

22:12:00
“It was already 10:12. Either her clues lacked precision (she had relied on an online English-to-Korean translator) or Eunice had decided not to come.”
— Elaine Hsieh Chou, Disorientation

22:13:00
“The keys to one of these vehicles were missing. I checked the logbook and could see it had been signed out at 22:13 by DC Jackson. That was okay, it was black.”
— Tim O'Rourke, Flashes

22:14:00
“Brian Engle rolled the American Pride L1011 to a stop at Gate 22 and flicked off the FASTEN SEATBELT light at exactly 10:14 p.m.”
— Stephen King, The Langoliers

22:15:00
“By ten-fifteen I was done. X-rays, measurement, and gross and microscopic observation revealed that the bones and teeth were compatible with the rest of the sandpit skeleton.”
— Kathy Reichs, Flash and Bones

22:16:00
“The parking spot we'd used before was still empty. My phone said it was 10:16, and the pedestrian traffic had dropped off to almost nothing.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of Peril

22:17:00
“It was already seventeen minutes past ten when Phil closed the door and turned out the light on the landing, but I knew I couldn't leave straight away.”
— Holly Archer, I Never Gave My Consent

22:18:00
“"My watch is always a little fast," I said. "What time do you make it now?" "Ten eight." "Ten eighteen by mine. You see."”
— Graham Greene, The Quiet American

22:19:00
“Bobby looked at his watch. He saw that it was nineteen minutes past ten. He said to the American: "What is your name?" "Virtue," the other answered. "Bertram A. Virtue."”
— E.R. Punshon, Comes a Stranger

22:20:00
“Ten twenty and fifty-six seconds, the clock said. Ten twenty and fifty-seven. Fifty-eight. Fifty-nine. Why, this clock accounted the seconds as flawlessly as Homer accounted his dactyls and Peter the sins of the sinners.”
— Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

22:21:00
“10:21 p.m. Frenziedly press all buttons. Cassette comes out and goes back in again.”
— Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary

22:22:00
“After photographing the print with direct then angled light, I examined every flake twice, upside and downside. I found nothing. The clock said 10:22.”
— Kathy Reichs, Devil Bones

22:23:00
“The date was the 14th of May and the clock on his desk said the time was twenty three minutes past ten, so he tapped in the numbers 10:23. At least, that's what he meant to do. In fact he typed in the numbers 10:03.”
— Andrew Norriss, Ctrl-Z

22:24:00
“Thanks to ten minutes or so of balmy weather, by 10:24 the Earth is covered in the great carboniferous forests whose residues give us all our coal, and the first winged insects are evident.”
— Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

22:25:00
“10:25: Phone call from Luding, very worked up, urging me to return at once and get in touch with Alois, who was equally worked up.”
— Heinrich B?ll, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum

22:26:00
“Fletch sat down. It was twenty-six minutes past ten. He remained waiting in the den. A young, uniformed policeman waited with him, standing at parade rest, carefully keeping his eyes averted from Fletch.”
— Gregory Mcdonald, Confess, Fletch

22:27:00
“Nella looked over at the clock in the lower-right corner of her screen. "The time is ten twenty-seven," she said stiffly.”
— Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl

22:28:00
“On Tuesday night, at twenty-eight minutes past ten o'clock, the Associated Press calls New York City's most closely contested mayoral race in decades for Councilman O'Malley.”
— Mari Passananti, The Hazards of Hunting While Heartbroken

22:29:00
“My cousin looked at me with a slightly confused look on his face. His left ear tilted ever so slightly toward me. "What time is it now?" he asked me. "Ten twenty nine," I replied.”
— Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

22:30:00
“We reach the hotel by 10:30 p.m. By 10:48 p.m., I've unpacked all my luggage and told Chanel I'll be going over to Henry's. She winks at me and makes a not so subtle remark about protection.”
— Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun

22:31:00
“10:31 p.m. Janie drives home slowly, windows rolled down, hand ready on the parking brake. She takes Waverly. Past Cabel's house. Nothing. She falls into bed when she gets home. There are no notes, no phone calls, no visits.”
— Lisa McMann, Wake

22:32:00
“It was ten thirty-two when the bus finally rolled into view. The bus that came was a new type, not like the one I used to take to high school.”
— Haruki Murakami, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

22:33:00
“He looked at his watch: 10:33. He remembered being told, he couldn't recall when or by whom, that it was her practice to take her nightly swim shortly after nine o'clock.”
— P.D. James, Devices and Desires

22:34:00
“He looked at his watch and then spoke loudly for the benefit of the recording devices in the room: "Interview continued at 22:34 on 8 December 2040 by Agent Noah Williams. Location: Interrogation Sit 45, South Asian Sector."”
— Shankari Chandran, The Barrier

22:35:00
“She checked the time, 10:35 p.m. She could call an Uber. But if Jackie picked her up she could make him come in the house with her, head off their mother's questions. Besides, he owed her. She'd covered for him plenty of times over the years.”
— Tracey Lange, We Are the Brennans

22:36:00
“Our take-off time was 22:36 and as I lifted the heavy plane into the starlit night my hands and stomach felt as cold as ice.”
— Hammond Innes, Air Bridge

22:37:00
“10:37 p.m. "Kezman's laying it on pretty thick," Tom observed as the plane taxied to a halt and the stairs folded down. A stretched white Hummer emblazoned with a gilded letter 'A' was waiting to greet them, its neon undercarriage staining the apron blue.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

22:38:00
“The world waited for the door of the crab-like mechanical contraption to open. It took four hours. Then, finally, at 10:38 p.m.: sighs, applause, exuberance, dumbstruck silence, from all corners of the Earth, as Neil Armstrong planted his foot on luna firma.”
— Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures

22:39:00
“She stood up and went purposefully to the phone. She dialed, and waited, and the girl's metallic voice said, "...the time will be exactly ten-thirty-nine."”
— Shirley Jackson, The Daemon Lover

22:40:00
“10:40: Call from Katharina asking me whether I had really said what was in the News.”
— Heinrich B?ll, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum

22:41:00
“10:41 p.m. Indifferent to the execution that they had just witnessed, the armed men started to edge towards the staircase, still covering their cowering captives with their guns.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

22:42:00
“Ellis scanned the wall-mounted clocks spanning four time zones. The local hour read 10:42. Had word of his gaffe already gone all the way to Trimble?”
— Kristina McMorris, Sold on a Monday

22:43:00
“The clock blinks 10:43 p.m. "What was that?" I shrug, out of breath, a pang of guilt seizing my gut.”
— Colleen Oakley, You Were There Too

22:44:00
“Two nights ago, at 10:44 Greenwich time on the earth, Simone Tiasso Wakefield greeted the universe.”
— Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee, The Garden of Rama

22:45:00
“By 10:45, the storefront was empty except for one skinny teenager in artfully torn jeans and a Five Finger Death Punch T-shirt. His question had to do with choosing a university to attend. That one, the oracle charged him $500 for.”
— Melissa McShane, The Book of War

22:46:00
“OLIVE. [At KATHERINE'S elbow-examining her watch on its stand] It's fourteen minutes to eleven. KATHERINE. Olive, Olive! OLIVE. I just wanted to see the time.”
— John Galsworthy, The Mob

22:47:00
“"At ten forty-seven," went on Mr. Tedder, "the witnesses, Mr. Owdon and Mr. Strakey, hear anchors bein' put on deck."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Big Six

22:48:00
“"At ten forty-eight they jump up out of their place of concealment and catch the guilty party apushing of the Cachalot off of the bank. He dodge 'em and they give chase and run him till he lock himself into his own boat."”
— Arthur Ransome, The Big Six

22:49:00
“By forty-nine minutes past ten, we fall in again with a fine portion of the ancient road, which the modern track constantly follows, and descend by some steep windings, hewn in the side of a precipitous cliff.”
— Louis Félicien de Saulcy, Narrative of a journey round the Dead Sea, and in the Bible lands

22:50:00
“So think yourself lucky while you're awake and remember a happy crew. Think of Hamburg on the Magic Night. 22:50 and they went out neatly, just as they should-you couldn't fault Parks, he was always on his route.”
— A.L. Kennedy, Day

22:51:00
“At nine minutes to eleven the door of the house across the road opened. I knelt up in bed and peered out the window. It was Fru Gustavsen; she was walking across the drive with a garbage bag in her hand.”
— Karl Ove Knausg?rd, A Death in the Family

22:52:00
“"He picked up the key to 404 at 10:52, and she got delivered on the motorcycle ten minutes later."”
— Haruki Murakami, After Dark

22:53:00
“He begins to make a record of our observations."1053 hrs," he writes, as we crouch at the top of the stairs, listening to his mother in the hall below.”
— Michael Frayn, Spies

22:54:00
“Alex checks his phone: 10:54. He opens the door. Alex stands there and exhales slowly, eyes on Henry.”
— Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue

22:55:00
“At 10:55 they would enter Farholme Gate, emerging a mere ten and a half minutes later at Bannermere Gate. Forty light-years away.”
— Chris Walley, Shadow and Night

22:56:00
“The watch showed 10:56 p.m. That meant I had been out for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes' sleep. Just a nice doze. In that time I had muffed a mob and lost eight thousand dollars.”
— Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely

22:57:00
“I run the tape back repeatedly, looking at the time indicator in the top left-hand corner of the screen, where the figures covering part of her forehead show the minutes and seconds, from 10:53 to 10:57.”
— W.G. Sebald, Austerlitz

22:58:00
“It was two minutes to eleven when he walked up to the ticket window and introduced himself. The agent on duty handed him his credentials and told him the shortest way to the roundhouse.”
— Graham M. Dean, The Sky Trail

22:59:00
“I roll over and look at the clock on the nightstand: 10:59 p.m. I stretch my legs. Did David move me to bed?”
— Rebecca Serle, In Five Years

23:00:00
“Tom was in an agony. At last he was satisfied that time had ceased and eternity begun; he began to doze, in spite of himself; the clock chimed eleven but he did not hear it.”
— Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

23:01:00
“Sonja Hansson pushed the telephone away and looked at the clock. One minute past eleven. In four minutes Ahlberg would come through the door and relieve her of that helpless, creeping feeling of unpleasantness she ahdat the thought of being alone.”
— Maj Sj?wall & Per Wahl??, Roseanna

23:02:00
“I ended the call. I looked in Recents to make sure I HAD called. His number was there, along with the time 11:02 p.m. I turned off my phone and put it on the night table. I turned off my lamp and was asleep almost at once.”
— Stephen King, If It Bleeds

23:03:00
“The operation had been scheduled for 2303 hours, as soon as the crab races had begun.”
— John le Carré, The Night Manager

23:04:00
“When Nick gets home, I'm asleep. I wake up to hear him taking a shower, and I check the time: 11:04 p.m.”
— Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

23:05:00
“11:05 p.m. Tomorrow after class we go to Paris. What is my life now? I'm glad I've been hoarding my savings for years because I'm going to run out of summer work money faster than expected if I keep up this avid traveler thing.”
— Christine Riccio, Again, But Better

23:06:00
“11:06 p.m. They didn't have long, Tom knew. Each breath used a little more of the oxygen sealed within the bag.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

23:07:00
“Kolchinsky flicked the cigarette butt over the side of the Copacabana Queen then glanced at his luminous watch: 11:07. And still no sign of the Palmira.”
— Alastair MacNeill, Night Watch

23:08:00
“He glanced up so that he could see the time on the datastrip along the edge of his helmet: 11:08:23. Ten minutes. They walked unsteadily on.”
— Chris Walley, The Infinite Day

23:09:00
“11:09 p.m. Don't bother picking me up anymore. I can walk home.”
— Dustin Thao, You've Reached Sam

23:10:00
“"Very good. I want to start by the 11:10 from Waterloo." "That would give me time." "Then, if you are not too sleepy, I will give you a sketch of what has happened, and of what remains to be done."”
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Crooked Man

23:11:00
“Soon after 11 Blomkvist and his sister arrive in Enskede and at 11:11 he calls the police. "That seems to be correct, Miss Marple."”
— Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played With Fire

23:12:00
“I began to watch the illuminated face of the clock in the ceiling. It had registered 23:12; now it was 23:22. The ten minutes Pelham had suggested for a time lapse between passivity and initial action was up.”
— A.E. van Vogt, Far Centaurus

23:13:00
“11:13 p.m. "Colonel Gallo, thank God you're here!" Santos rose, gratefully from his seat and stepped towards him, switching back to Italian.”
— James Twining, The Geneva Deception

23:14:00
“"He was shot twice in the head, in his car, about two blocks from the Chateau Bercy on Franklin. Time, about 11:15 p.m."”
— Raymond Chandler, The Little Sister

23:15:00
“11:15 p.m. Humph. Mum just rang. "Sorry, darling. It isn't Newsnight, it's Breakfast News tomorrow. Could you set it for seven o'clock tomorrow morning, BBC1?"”
— Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones's Diary

23:16:00
“But I couldn't get out of the house straight away because he would see me, so I would have to wait until he was asleep. The time was 11:16 p.m.”
— Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

23:17:00
“Merral, trying to free his head, glimpsed the time on his helmet datastrip. 11:17:45. Less than a minute. They will be sending out the solar flare warnings now.”
— Chris Walley, The Infinite Day

23:18:00
“"What's the time?" Ashley glanced at his watch. "10010 past 1011." Jack did a quick calculation. Eighteen minutes past eleven. It was binary, of course, Ashley's mother tongue.”
— Jasper Fforde, The Fourth Bear

23:19:00
“A whistle cut sharply across his words. Peter got onto his knees to look out the window, and Miss Fuller glared at him. Polly looked down at her watch: 11:19. The train. But the stationmaster had said it was always late.”
— Connie Willis, Blackout

23:20:00
“"Twenty past eleven, Casey," he murmured. "If these destroyers come through early we're apt to have a thousand tons of rock falling on our heads."”
— Alistair MacLean, The Guns of Navarone

23:21:00
“It was twenty-one minutes past eleven by the clock over the elevator doors when Joel Cairo came in from the street. His forehead was bandaged. His clothes had the limp unfreshness of too many hours' consecutive wear.”
— Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon

23:22:00
“"Good! What time is it?" "Twenty-two minutes after eleven," returned Passepartout, drawing an enormous silver watch from the depths of his pocket.”
— Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

23:23:00
“"On Thursday she was found dead in room 212. Murdered. This picture of you is time-stamped 11:23 p.m. Tuesday, the night we think she was killed."”
— James Patterson & Maxine Paetro, 18th Abduction

23:24:00
“11:24 p.m. Willem Voorst was at the controls of the Cessna as they powered through the Aegean night, their heading 210 as they closed rapidly on Andikythera. He was holding their altitude at five hundred meters, their airspeed just under a hundred knots, barely above stall.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Cyclops

23:25:00
“To test the intensity of the light whose nature and cause he could not determine, he took out his watch to see if he could make out the figures on the dial. They were plainly visible, and the hands indicated the hour of eleven o'clock and twenty-five minutes.”
— Ambrose Bierce, A Wireless Message

23:26:00
“Los Angeles. 11:26 p.m. In a dark red room- the color of the walls is close to that of raw liver—is a tall woman dressed cartoonishly in too-tight silk shorts, her breasts pulled up and pressed forward by the yellow blouse tied beneath them.”
— Neil Gaiman, American Gods

23:27:00
“11:27 p.m. The queue snaked in front of them, the air thick with cigarette smoke-filterless Russian brands, mainly—and the humid vapour of restless breath.”
— James Twining, The Black Sun

23:28:00
“Monday 11:28 p.m. It was flawless. They dined in a Gothic, ivy-covered greenhouse in the garden of a maitre nineteenth-century inn where waiters scurried.”
— Thomas Hoover, Project Daedalus

23:29:00
“With a sigh of relief that she had not missed the deadline, she crept between the sheets at twenty-nine minutes past eleven and turned out the light at once.”
— Albert Cohen, Belle du Seigneur

23:30:00
“I pulled out the closet box and glared at the time on it before checking the next one. And the next. "If four of them say it's eleven thirty then it must be true."”
— Susanne Valenti & Caroline Peckham, Kings of Lockdown

23:31:00
“11:31 p.m. On the roof of the building opposite the one he'd just seen Kirk climb up, Kyle Foster unpacked his M24 from his bag and began to assemble it. Just for fun, he did it with his eyes closed, like they'd been trained to back at Fort Benning in Georgia.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

23:32:00
“11:32 p.m. Tom placed the sheet of glass down a few feet away, loosened the suction pads and replaced them in his pack.”
— James Twining, The Double Eagle

23:33:00
“We are on Colaba Causeway now, just for a moment, to reveal that at twenty-seven minutes to midnight, the police are hunting for a dangerous criminal. His name: Joseph D'Costa.”
— Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children

23:34:00
“Eleven thirty-four. We stand on the sidewalk in front of Jean's apartment on the Upper East Side. Her doorman eyes us warily and fills me with a nameless dread, his gaze piercing me from the lobby.”
— Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho

23:35:00
“At 11:35 the Colonel came out; he looked hot and angry as he strode towards the lift. There goes a hanging judge, thought Wormold.”
— Graham Greene, Our Man in Havana

23:36:00
“She opened the watch, read a time of half past fourteen, sat in an empty room with the numbers for a moment, then announced to Saf that it would be midnight in twenty-four minutes.”
— Kristin Cashore, Bitterblue

23:37:00
“Ditmas Park's neighborhood blog posted at 11:37 p.m. Anyone else smell smoke? We've been out on the street for half an hour, trying to trace the origins of the fire.”
— Emma Straub, Modern Lovers

23:38:00
“Jon and Randi reported the same. "It's twenty-two minutes to midnight," Randi added. "So little time." They sped to the long, dark curving stairwell that seemed to drop into dark infinity.”
— Robert Ludlum, The Paris Option

23:39:00
“After painstaking ticket-office conversations and timetable consultations, I established with as much certainty as any tourist can hope for that the 11:39 to Paris Est was a service on which accompanied bicycles could be carried free of charge.”
— Tim Moore, French Revolutions

23:40:00
“Mary Alice Brannigan sat on the roof of the Dreamland carousel at twenty minutes to midnight and considered her work in the light from the lamp on her yellow miner's hat.”
— Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer, Wild Ride

23:41:00
“The clock on the wall continued ticking away. It was nineteen minutes to midnight. It had been such a long day. Maybe time hadn't stopped, but it certainly had slowed down the last twenty-three hours and forty-one minutes.”
— Eric Walters, 90 Days of Different

23:42:00
“The doorbell rang, it's clang causing my heart to seize. I gasped, surprised and thoroughly spooked. It rang again. And again. Then stopped. My alarm clock on my bedside table said it was 11:42 at night.”
— Karina Halle, On Demon Wings

23:43:00
“It was 11:43 p.m. My eyelids hurt, but I didn't want to take a nap on Bee Larkham's bed. That would be rude.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

23:44:00
“I go into the living room and sit down to wait. At 11:44 I smell smoke. I walk back into the kitchen. The dish towel is on fire.”
— Benjamin Ludwig, Ginny Moon

23:45:00
“"I will tell you the time," said Septimus, very slowly, very drowsily, smiling mysteriously. As he sat smiling at the dead man in the grey suit the quarter struck, the quarter to twelve.”
— Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

23:46:00
“In the Kismet Lounge, Mr. Early sees suddenly to his horror it's 11:46 p.m. He's been in this place far longer than he'd planned, and he's had more to drink than he'd planned. Shame! What if, back at the E-Z, his little girl is crying piteously for him?”
— Joyce Carol Oates, Doll: A Romance of the Mississippi

23:47:00
“I don't want to alert Dad to the fact that I'm up at 11:47 p.m. I turn on the tap slowly, making a trickle of water. Small circular clouds of kingfisher blue. I love this color. It's happy, without a care in the world.”
— Sarah J. Harris, The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder

23:48:00
“It's 11:48 p.m. Out of nowhere, the sound of a truck rumbles like thunder, but I can't see it. It is this sound, and the exact time of the clock, that brings me back to that night from nearly two weeks ago.”
— Dustin Thao, You've Reached Sam

23:49:00
“Tom shrugged. He pushed his pinkish ruffled sleeve back, and saw that it was eleven minutes to midnight. Tom finished his coffee.”
— Patricia Highsmith, The Boy Who Followed Ripley

23:50:00
“The clock on the wall read ten to midnight. Cork wanted to turn the hands back, do it all differently, be in all the right places at all the right times. He wanted a second chance at the last few days. The last few years.”
— William Kent Krueger, Purgatory Ridge

23:51:00
“"Due at Waterloo at eleven-fifty-one," panted Smith. "That gives us thirty-nine minutes to get to the other side of the river and reach his hotel."”
— Sax Rohmer, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu

23:52:00
“I unplugged and replugged the machine. I picked it up and shook it. I banged on it with the butt of my hand, then a shoe. Nothing was working. Outside, it was dark. My phone said it was January 6, 11:52 p.m.”
— Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation

23:53:00
“The moon was hidden. There were no streetlights. The weather was not a plus. A bright night would have been better. But it was a business in which you didn't always get to choose. At seven minutes to midnight I pulled over onto the shoulder of the road near the designated spot.”
— Robert B. Parker, Hugger Mugger

23:54:00
“11:54 p.m. She couldn't move-her hands were tied behind her back, her ankles lashed to the chair legs.”
— James Twining, The Gilded Seal

23:55:00
“"What's that?" Her hand, cold marble, gripped his wrist. He restrained an urge to shake it off-how in the hell was he supposed to know what it was? The illuminated clock on his nightstand said it was five minutes to twelve.”
— Stephen King, The Shining

23:56:00
“It would be four minutes to midnight, and then there'd be a new round of arms-control talks, and the clock would go back to five minutes before midnight. It all seems vaguely cheesy and ridiculous now, like everything else from those years.”
— Jonathan Franzen, Purity

23:57:00
“"Then at 11:57 on the thirty-first of December, the best-planned mathematics of the priests went haywire."”
— Steve Erickson, The Sea Came in at Midnight

23:58:00
“If he were able to comply then we'd be home in Wasatch in time for dinner. I heard the chime of the lighthouse and looked at my clock. It showed eleven fifty-eight.”
— Lawrence Gordon Knudsen, The Clock Struck Murder

23:59:00
“At 11:59 p.m., she sat back in her chair and gripped the armrests as if preparing for a turbulent flight. She closed her eyes, tensed her body, took a deep breath, and held it.”
— Margarita Montimore, Oona Out of Order