Quotes from Alafair Burke

Le New York Observer s'était déjà demandé s'il serait un jour possible de voir un homme noir libéré sous caution dans le cadre d'un procès pour meurtre, et je devais bien admettre que non.

The human mind is capable of greatness, but we have been trained to process information with efficiency, which can sometimes mean superficially. We grab on to salient identifiers, often at the expense of devoting attention to more nuanced details. - Hank Beckman, Pg. 266

Remember: children in the back seat cause accidents, but accidents in the back seat cause children. Hey, what's the difference between a G spot and a golf ball? A guy will actually look for a golf ball. Why did the chicken cross the basketball court? He heard the ref was blowing fowls.

said. "For these guys, too. Just kidding. I

Did you know that in survey after survey conducted by women's magazines, those three words were the ones that men most wanted to hear in bed? Please. Don't. Stop.

It's a funny thing. When you're tired, general cognitive ability drops. There's scientific evidence to back that up, no question. Because you're slacking off, some other part of your brain—the base, the lizard, the id, whatever you want to call it—tries to compensate. Eighty-five percent brain-dead, fifteen-percent instinctive genius.

There's no such thing as merit separated from biography, he had told me. The only question is whether you're going to let your biography hold you down or help you up.

Now here's the thing about people who swear by routines. When they decide to break from the usual, they go big. The Greek salad is replaced by a large pepperoni pizza. The skipped day at the gym becomes a month of couch-potatoing.

brand-new hot tub.

That's where the choice words came in, huh? He flashed a conspiratorial grin. "Oh, don't you know it. Choice indeed. So choice you could cut them with a knife and eat them with Heinz 57 sauce.

Whether everything goes right or nothing goes your way, booze always seems like a good idea.

She smiled as she looked at the long, winding Shake Shack line, extending from the hamburger stand, across the south side of the park, and turning north toward the dog run. If

she had that teacher who got her into her poetry. She even talked about applying to a writing program. But then it became clear that it was all just a crush on an older man. It was always about men for her.

Jesse James's next tattoo should be a warning label: Danger. Loving this man could break you.

Before we condemn the jurors who acquitted George Zimmerman, we should remember that they were asked to do something extraordinary. They were asked to listen to the facts and apply the law to the best of their ability in a case the world was watching.

I was the weirdest kid: I wanted to see the police file - in grade school! I was convinced I could crack the case if I just had that file.

I find myself more and more behind these days. You have to be really diligent. I don't have kids, which helps. I'm always working on something, whether a book, or a law review article that no one will ever read, or teaching. It pretty much means I work a lot, but it's all stuff I love.

Anyone who was tempted to draw comparisons between my father's 'Dave Robicheaux' series and my first book quickly gave up.

Hmmm... cooking with wine? I usually drink wine while cooking... I do a good braised short ribs with cabernet, though. We're big red wine drinkers here. All that research showing that it's good for you takes the guilt away.

Now that I think about it, maybe my own literary exploration of the dark secrets held by families could be traced back to V.C. Andrews.

No Time For Goodbye is a deliciously smart thriller, full of surprises and perfect pacing. I'm jealous I didn't write it.

Letterman, despite whatever idiotic (or worse?) things he may have done with women on his staff, was wise enough to realize that silence isn't permanent and peace of mind can't be bought.

Nothing worse than reading a love scene written by your father.

The best crime novels are all based on people keeping secrets. All lying - you may think a lie is harmless, but you put them all together and there's a calamity.