I have a cotillion event. Some yacht-club charity fundraiser thingy. Whitney is insisting, and Kit took her side.” Three wide smiles. “Oh shut up.

Death in anonymity is the ultimate insult to human dignity.

Though a good cop, Luc Claudel has the patience of a firecracker, the sensitivity of Vlad the Impaler, and a persistent skepticism as to the value of forensic anthropology. Snappy dresser, though.

If you want to be an anthropologist, you need to study physical anthropology specialized in bones. If you want to be a forensic chemist, get a degree in chemistry. Do you want to do DNA work? Get a degree in microbiology. And do well. Study hard and go to graduate school.

I have come to think of violence as a self-perpetuating mania of the power of the aggressive over those less strong.

Murder mysteries are puzzles that are fun to resolve.

Experience is a valuable thing. It enables us to recognize mistakes when we repeat them.