Even if someone is overcome with rage, it takes amazing arrogance to kill.

I think that's the moment when we all grow up, when we stop blaming our parents for the messes we've made out of our lives and start owning the consequences of our actions.

Judgment is such a useful shield, isn't it? We can hide behind it, rise above others on its crest, keep ourselves safe and separate.

Alafair Burke is one of the finest young crime writers working today.

The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it.

We can't hold on to anyone or anything, you know. We lose everything except that which we carry within us.

A child who's been injured by a parent waits her whole life for some acknowledgment of the wrong that's been done, some validation from him that her pain is real, that he's sorry and will make amends. The child will wait forever, unable to move forward, unable to forgive, without someone to acknowledge the past. In that powerlessness comes a terrible rage.