I am, of course, romanticizing; a chronic tendency of mine.

Some people are little Chernobyls, shimmering with silent, spreading poison: get anywhere near them and every breath you take will wreck you from the inside out.

I wanted to tell her that being loved is a talent too, that it takes as much guts and as much work as loving; that some people, for whatever reason, never learn the knack

Her forehead was a maze of anxious little grooves, from a lifetime of wondering about whether everyone within range was OK.

A bore or an uggo might manage not to get up anyone's nose, but if a girl's got brains and looks and personality, she's going to piss someone off, somewhere along the way.

Don't you ever feel that - that you just need to get away? From everything? That it's all too much?

I hate nostalgia, it's laziness with prettier accessories.

We think about mortality so little, these days, except to flail hysterically at it with trendy forms of exercise and high-fiber cereals and nicotine patches.

The thing about being a mystery writer, what marks a mystery writer out from a chick lit author or historical fiction writer, is that you always find a mystery in every situation.

I don't do that kind of negativity. If you put your energy into thinking about how much the fall would hurt, you're already halfway down.

I had been right: freedom smelled like ozone and thunderstorms and gunpowder all at once, like snow and bonfires and cut grass, it tasted like seawater and oranges.

Most of the time it may seem like I'm staring into nothingness, but there's a whole world playing out in my head.

I know some women go in for excitement and danger. It must make them feel more alive. It's my professional judgment that you're a dangerous man.

But I love being scared. I think you're brave only when you do things that scare you. I've always used fear as a motivator. I'm not sure why.

Crime is stupid, lazy and weak. You can only exploit it and make money out of it.

In order to dream, you need to have a springboard which is the facts... It gives it that touch of reality, and I think that's quite important... truth with fiction.

Reading is the nourishment that lets you do interesting work.

I'm not a feminist. I hail men, I love men.

Depart then satisfied, for he also who releases thee is satisfied.

In a small space, you want to keep the bedding as simple as possible so it looks clean, calm and collected.

When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.