“And seeing Shorty in the cage . . . had not just tugged at Hewitt’s heartstrings but had penetrated her chest and locked both hands onto the big red pump.” — Quote from p. 77 of Sheldon Rusch’s For Edgar (NY: Berkley Crime, 2005).
This made me think of what I’ve said about my squirrels: They’ve sunk their claws into my heart.
By the way, For Edgar is a gruesome, but gripping mystery. Probably the only mystery I’ve read that devotes more than two pages to quoting poetry.