In everything I've written, the crime has always just been an occasion to write about other things. I don't have a picture of myself as writing crime novels. I like fairly strong narratives, but it's a way of getting a plot moving.

I think if you live in a country, basically you share the dominant values of a country although you may disagree on issues all the time.

As far as I am concerned, I write novels, and other people can do the labelling.

In everything I've written, the crime has always just been an occasion to write about other things. I don't have a picture of myself as writing crime novels. I like fairly strong narratives, but it's a way of getting a plot moving.

Football makes nonsense of class. It may make nonsense of colour in some circumstances.

I think Melbourne is by far and away the most interesting place in Australia, and I thought if I ever wrote a novel or crime novel of any kind, I had to set it here.

There's a high point in your career, and then people get bored; they want something else to come along.