Quote Tag

Stripped of ethical rationalizations and philosophical pretensions, a crime is anything that a group in power chooses to prohibit.

Crime is a fact of the human species, a fact of that species alone, but it is above all the secret aspect, impenetrable and hidden. Crime hides, and by far the most terrifying things are those which elude us.

Until we all start to take responsibility, until we do all we can to improve the character of our communities, we’ll never break the cycle of violence and indifference.

Every one of my books is written from the viewpoint of cops, with the exception of my book Killer on the Road, which is written from the viewpoint of a serial killer.

Just about every year, Congress passes another crime bill – spending billions of dollars to build more prisons, to place more band-aids on society’s scars.

Every murderer is probably somebody’s old friend.

Noir is dead for me because historically, I think it’s a simple view. I’ve taken it as far as it can go. I think I’ve expanded on it a great deal, taken it further than any other American novelist.

If we were really tough on crime, we’d do more to stop it from happening in the first place.

Anybody who doesn’t know that politics is crime has got a few screws loose.

I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest.