Quotes from Robert Crais

What was it Jiminy Cricket said? Little man, you've had a busy night. I put some of the chili paste on the squid and some on the rice and mixed it and ate and drank the beer. I'm a big brown mouse, I go marching through the house, and I'm noooot afraid of anything!

Nobu Ishida had lived in an older split-level house on a Leave-It-to-Beaver street in Cheviot Hills, a couple of miles south of the Twentieth Century-Fox lot. It was dark, just after nine when we rolled past his home, rounded the block, and parked at the curb fifty yards up the street. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked.

You. Yeah, you, c'mon, get up." He spoke perfect English, but Jack couldn't tell if the Korean kid understood English or not. The guard motioned him to get up, so he slowly stood. The guard motioned him closer, so he went closer. He didn't shuffle forward with downcast eyes like the others. He held himself erect and met the guard's eyes.

The cold grew until Cole felt numb. He stared at Steve Brown's house, and wondered who these people were and if everything the woman told Pike was lies. Cole

WHEN COLE CUT HIM FREE, Jon amscrayed back to West Hollywood. He hadn't been home long enough to heat his pool, but Jon stripped as he walked through his house, and hit the water like a naked lawn dart. The cold water slapped him; lit up his skin with a thousand stingers, but was clear, and clean, and cleansing. Jon loved it. First thing he did when he got home from a job: into the pool, out; it was like being reborn. Jon

I went back to the car. Pike said, "Just family, right?" "Or clever impersonators.

The sun was low above Catalina, pushing bright yellow rectangles up my eastern wall when the door opened and Joe Pike walked in. I tipped what was maybe the second or third Modelo bottle at him. "Life in the fast lane," I said. Maybe it was the fourth. "Uh-huh.

The lock was removed, and the door rose with a ratcheting clatter, filling the truck with grim red shadows. Jack checked the time. 2:55 A.M. The people ahead of them started to move. Krista's

Cowly took the hand, and offered a perfunctory smile. "Joyce

The Burbank Studios in beautiful downtown Burbank.

Leopards did not chase prey like cheetahs, or stalk the tall grass like lions. The leopard simply set up on a wet spot, above the mud, out of sight, hidden. The leopard didn't need a cheetah's speed, or have to search for prey like a lion. The leopard knew if he staked out something his prey wanted, his prey would come to him.

Southeast Asians almost never use chopsticks. If you go to Vietnam or Thailand or Cambodia, you never see a chopstick. Even in the boonies. They use forks and large spoons but when they come here and open a little restaurant they put out chopsticks because that's what Americans expect. Ain't life a bitch?

I told myself Tyson was going to pick up their laptops, but half a mile later they joined the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out Burger. Tyson. Eating was constant. Maybe he needed sustenance before they retrieved the laptops.

The man's breathing grew shallow and steady, his heartbeat slowed, and when the surge of his pulse grew no slower, Maggie knew he was sleeping. She lifted her head enough to see him, but seeing him was unnecessary. She could smell his sleep by the change in his scent as his body relaxed and cooled. She

Mrs. Bartello opened the screen wider, her eyes bunching with sorrow. "I'm sorry. You don't know. I'm sorry. Donna passed away." Holman felt himself slow as if he had been drugged; as if his heart and breath and the blood in his veins were winding down like a phonograph record when you pulled the plug. First Richie, now Donna. He didn't say anything, and Mrs. Bartello's sorrowful eyes grew knowing. She

Scott woke the next morning, feeling anxious and agitated. He had dreamed about Marshall and Daryl. In the dream, they stood calmly in the street as the shooting unfolded around them. In the dream, Marshall told Orso and Cowly the five men removed their masks after the shooting, and called each other by name. In the dream, Marshall knew their names and addresses, and had close-up photos of each man on his cell phone. Scott just wanted to know if the man had been there. He

Holman felt the slowness coalesce into a kind of distant calm.

shoulder cast climbed

Amber tried to pull away, but couldn't. "Let go! Lemme go! You can't—" I ignored her and focused on Tyson. "Is anyone here besides you and Amber?" Tyson stood mute, eyes unnaturally wide, too scared to answer. Amber thrashed pretty good.

Stone dropped farther back when the Explorer's blinker came on. He had to be even more careful now in the confined residential streets. His eighty-thousand-dollar Rover stood out in the shabby area like a gleaming black diamond, not that this bothered him. It was another challenge, and Stone loved challenges. They made life interesting. He

She glanced at Pike again. "He doesn't look like a detective." Pike's head moved, just enough to acknowledge he heard her. His shades were so dark, they looked like twin doors to nowhere. He considered her, but said nothing. He turned back to the peephole. Amber grinned.

I jiggled the watch. An authentic Rolex had serial and model numbers cut into the head behind the bracelet, or on the inner rim below the crystal. High-end fakes often had numbers, too, but fake numbers didn't appear in the manufacturer's records.

Amber was cooperative once she got on board, and Tyson was docile. We grabbed Tyson's backpack and toiletries, and Amber stuffed a few clothes and toiletries into a tote bag. I watched what they packed, and checked their bags. Amber moved quickly once she got going, and didn't whine or complain. Tyson said nothing, and avoided eye contact. I grabbed two towels from Amber's bathroom on the way out, and tossed a towel to Joe. He draped it over his gun.

Pike pulled the hose from the side of the house, filled the bucket with sudsy water, then rinsed the car. He began at the nose, rubbing the car with his hand to slough away the dirt. The cat came out to watch. The water splashed his fur with liquid shrapnel, but the cat did not move. Pike