You have very accurately described the difficulty of presenting my books on film: many of my characters are alone most of the time, and when they do talk, what they say is mostly lies. That can make for a pretty confusing film.

I do have to earn a living, so I'm conscious of probable reactions from readers, but the most important one is still the awareness that if I'm not enjoying a story, the reader won't either.

The characters you refer to as predatory and unsavory are useful. They're the ones who make a novel into a thriller. They're active, and most of the common virtues, the signs of a good person, are not.

I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it.

I don't think the problem is that people don't read enough mystery books, but that people don't read.

Tod Goldberg has long been one of the most interesting writers around, and Gangsterland is his biggest and best book so far.

Yes, in my books I do edit myself to keep from becoming the Village Explainer.