That's what a good crime novelist - any good novelist - should do with you: play with your perceptions while showing you everything in plain sight.

Tragedy is a hell of a teacher. It's much too strict, but it's a hell of a teacher.

I love to make even villains people you can relate to. When you find out who did it, I think you almost like the person, which is not easy to do.

Man plans. God laughs.

I'd never had money growing up, and it's never been that important to me, except maybe to take our kids on a nice vacation or something like that.

Getting into a fight with a popular senior. Pissing off a school teacher and the local chief of police. Hanging with two major-league losers." She slapped my back. "Welcome to high school.

Memories, you see, hurt. The good ones most of all.