There's a real emphasis on being witty in Scotland, even in crime novels.

I think the negative traits are what makes us love other human beings, the foibles and the flaws.

I grew up in London under Thatcher and that really was disgusting. A feeding frenzy.

There's always these giant baffling books, like 'The Da Vinci Code.' People say it's not as well written as 'Midnight's Children.' Why aren't people reading 'Midnight's Children?' Nobody knows why these phenomenons happen but they're great.

My upbringing was middle-class but my parents' families were both working-class so I had this odd combination of working-class background but in a privileged position.

Even if people do wrong, we're social animals, so what can we do about stopping them doing the same things in future? Saying people are 'bad' or 'evil' is just an unwillingness to engage; an unwillingness to try to empathise. That sanctimonious attitude doesn't help anyone

Usually when I'm trying to establish character, I try and find out where they live.