Karin Slaughter Quotes & Sayings

The reason the middle class had it so good was because they expected things to be better. They wouldn't settle for less than they were worth. They'd just get into their shiny cars and go where they were appreciated. Poor people, on the other hand, were used to just taking what was given to them and being grateful for it. — Karin Slaughter

Forever was never as long as you thought it was. — Karin Slaughter

I have a few unusual fans, as you can imagine, so I try to protect the privacy of my home life. — Karin Slaughter

My typical morning involves some time on the treadmill, but obviously I skip that a lot. Mostly, I wake up, check my email, then get to work on the various interviews and questions and phone calls that come with being an author. — Karin Slaughter

When I was little, my grandmother would take me to church with her, and she would introduce me to people. — Karin Slaughter

Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches. — Karin Slaughter

Reading is power. Reading is life. — Karin Slaughter

I'm fine. Will put his hand on Amanda's foot again. He could feel a steady pulse near her ankle. He'd worked for this woman most of his career but still knew very little about her. She lived in a condo in the heart of Buckhead. She had been on the job longer than he had been alive, which put her age in the mid-sixties. She kept her salt-and-pepper hair coiffed in the shape of a football helmet and wore pantyhose with starched blue jeans. She had a sharp tongue, more degrees than a college professor, and she knew that his name was Wilbur even though he'd had it legally changed when he entered college and every piece of paper the GBI had on file listed his legal name as William Trent. — Karin Slaughter

Jeffrey felt too blindsided — Karin Slaughter

Well, it's not like the good guys are lining up to date a cop, and I'm certainly not attracted to the type of useless asshole who'd want to marry a female police officer. — Karin Slaughter

I hadn't planned on sounding like J.J. from Good Times, but that's the gist. — Karin Slaughter

That's when you fall in love with somebody. The lust and fucking like rabbits and letting your life fall to shit so you can be around him - that's passion. It's borderline obsession. And it always burns itself out. You know that, Liddie. That high never, ever lasts. But being in that hospital, taking care of him, I started to realize that what I had with Paul, what I thought I had, that was more than love. That was being in love. It was so tangible I could almost touch it with my hands. I could bite it with my teeth. — Karin Slaughter

Holy shit." Nolan's tone was reverential. Claire had seen men get harder over Paul's garage than they ever got over a woman. — Karin Slaughter

As Kate had told her Oma the night before, there was no society more viciously controlled by rumor than your local police force. — Karin Slaughter

She had felt capable of anything. — Karin Slaughter

There was no part of this house that felt inviting. Paul's cold, calculating hand could be seen behind every choice. The concrete on the entryway floor was polished to a dark mirror straight out of Snow White. The spiral stairs looked like a robot's asshole. The endless white walls made Lydia feel like she was trapped inside a straightjacket. The sooner she was out of here the better. — Karin Slaughter

Broken:
Never underestimate the power of a shared history. — Karin Slaughter

The most enduring stories in literature generally have some kind of crime at their center, whether it's the bloody butchery of 'Hamlet,' the lecherous misanthropes of Dickens or the lone gunman from 'The Great Gatsby.' — Karin Slaughter

Like every Southern writer, I thought that I needed to write the next 'Gone With the Wind.' — Karin Slaughter

He was playing chess and she was sucking at checkers. — Karin Slaughter

But they soften you in ways you can't imagine. It's so unexpected. They just smooth out your hard lines. — Karin Slaughter

Her hearing had faded out as soon as he'd touched her - maybe it was the angels playing harps or the exploding fireworks. Maybe her drink was too strong or her heart was too lonely. — Karin Slaughter

In Abigail's experience, women certainly loved their mothers, but there was always some kind of thing that lived between them. Envy? History? Hate? This thing, whatever it was, made girls gravitate toward their fathers. For his part, Hoyt Bentley had relished spoiling his only child. Beatrice, Abigail's mother, had resented the lost attention. Beautiful women did not like competition, even if it was from their own daughters. — Karin Slaughter

Yeah, I can imagine with the funeral and all, this is the last thing you want to be dealing with right now. Like I said, my condolences." Mayhew took his own deep breath, his far more raspy. "We've got a nutshell, but we're still filling in some blanks. You're not the first person in the county to have this kind of thing happen. We suspect it's a gang of young males who read the obituaries, find out when the funerals are, then Google Earth the house and figure out whether it's worth robbing. — Karin Slaughter

I've always been drawn to historical fiction. — Karin Slaughter

Amanda was probably in her mid-fifties, a small woman, maybe five-three on a good day. Her attitude filled the room, and she walked with a swagger that rivaled a bullfighter's. She wore a simple diamond ring on her wedding finger, though Will knew she wasn't currently married. She had no children, or perhaps she had eaten them when they were young. — Karin Slaughter

As voters and taxpayers, we must demand that our local governments properly prioritize libraries. As citizens, we must invest in our library down the street so that the generations served by that library grow up to be adults who contribute not just to their local communities but to the world. — Karin Slaughter

Sexual predators were like cockroaches. For every one you saw, there were twenty more hiding behind the walls. — Karin Slaughter

I have a lot of men who will say to me, 'I don't read books by women, but I like you.' — Karin Slaughter

I think that characters who are nice all the time and who you sympathize with can get really boring. — Karin Slaughter

Curiosity broke her earlier resolve. "Have you ever been tested?"
"No." He stood behind Sara, holding the camera in front so she could see. "Zoom here," he said, flicking the toggle.
"You could probably-"
"This is macro."
"Will-"
"Super macro." He kept talking over her until she gave up. "Here's where you adjust for color. This is light. Anti-shake. Red-eye." He clicked through the features like a photography instructor.
Sara Finally relented. "Why don't I point and you shoot?"
"All right." His back was stiff, and she could tell that he was irritated.
"I'm sorry I-"
"Please don't apologize."
Sara held his gaze for a few moments longer, wishing she could fix this. There was nothing to say if he wouldn't even let her apologize. — Karin Slaughter

If you have to say you're not doing something, then you probably are. — Karin Slaughter

Talking of the local Sheriff, Jake Valentine, tall and skinny and his wife Myra, She was a short woman, maybe five feet tall in her socks, the top of her head not quite reaching Jake's chest. What she lacked in height she made up for in girth. Jeffrey guessed she was at least a hundred pounds overweight. Standing side by side, the Valentines looked like the living embodiment of the number ten. — Karin Slaughter

Rick shuffled through the cards again. "Where is the tallest mountain on earth?" Lydia put her hand over her eyes so she could concentrate. "You said tallest, not highest elevation, so it can't be Everest." She made some thinking noises that caused the dogs to stir. The cat started making biscuits on her stomach. She could hear the clock ticking in the kitchen. Finally, Rick said, "Think ukulele." She peeked through her fingers. "Hawaii?" "Mauna Kea. — Karin Slaughter

She had felt this intense disembodiment for the last four days, really from the moment the Snake Man had told them to turn around. And then the police, the undertaker, asking if she wanted to see the body one last time and Claire blanching at the word body and sobbing like a child because she had spent every single second since they had taken Paul from her arms trying to remove the image of her lifeless, murdered husband from her mind. — Karin Slaughter

So far, she had nothing but fear and the nauseating sensation that the hour would pass and she would be just as helpless as when she'd first left the Fuller house. The same problems that had plagued her before were on an endless loop that took up every conscious thought. Her mother: persistently unavailable. Huckleberry: worthless. Jacob Mayhew: probably working for the congressman. Fred Nolan: ditto, or maybe he had his own agenda. Congressman Johnny Jackson: Paul's secret uncle. Powerful and connected, and duplicitous enough to stand with the Kilpatrick family during press conferences, as if he had no idea what had happened to their precious child. Adam Quinn: possible friend or foe. — Karin Slaughter

I think being a woman and writing frankly about violence has gotten me some attention, and as someone who wants people to read my books, I can't complain about that attention, but it does puzzle me that this is something reviewers focus on. — Karin Slaughter

It was like she was standing on the beach in the middle of a hurricane. — Karin Slaughter

If you wanted to know shit about a woman, all you had to do was ask the woman who was pretending to be her friend. — Karin Slaughter

The casket was gunmetal gray with a blanket of white lilies covering the closed lid. The smell of wet earth was pungent as the machine lowered his body into the grave. Claire's knees went weak. Her grandmother stroked her back. Her mother offered her arm. Claire shook her head. She thought of strong things: iron. Steel. Paul. It was not until they were climbing into the back of the black limousine that Claire truly understood that she would never see her husband again. — Karin Slaughter

The spiral stairs looked like a robot's asshole. — Karin Slaughter

The thing about having a bad reputation is that folks will believe just about anything people say about you. — Karin Slaughter

Feminism has been so co-opted, but the fact is, feminism benefits men as well. — Karin Slaughter

I had experienced a TIA, which of course further infuriated your mother (she has always been hostile to abbreviation). — Karin Slaughter

He shrugged. "Are you going to answer me?" "You told me to shut up. — Karin Slaughter

Long Gone is the type of book that should come with a warning. It's a compulsively readable, highly addictive story. The ending will leave you breathless. — Karin Slaughter

Will had found out the hard way that it's nearly impossible to go to sleep with a flatulent Chihuahua sharing your pillow. — Karin Slaughter

I am hard-pressed to find a successful writer who doesn't have a similar story to mine - transformation through the public library. — Karin Slaughter

When I was growing up, my stepmother's sister was the chief detective in one of the adjoining towns, so she piqued my interest in crime. — Karin Slaughter

Everyone had a reason for everything they did, even if that reason was sometimes stupidity. — Karin Slaughter

It's hard because people often don't recognise shyness; they think it's just someone being rude. I have had to work to overcome that, especially if I'm meeting my readers at author events, because I don't want them to think I'm snooty or rude. — Karin Slaughter

My books are never about the crimes. They are about how the characters react to the crimes. — Karin Slaughter

Eighteen years ago, Lydia had told her that the problem with Paul Scott was that he didn't see Claire as a normal, imperfect human being. He was blind to her faults. He covered her missteps. He would never challenge her or scare her or infuriate her or stir up any of those fiery emotions that made it worthwhile to put up with a man's bullshit. — Karin Slaughter

Your mother and I had always been secretly pleased that you were so headstrong and passionate about your causes. Once you were gone, we understood that these were the qualities that painted young men as smart and ambitious and young women as trouble. — Karin Slaughter

I taped the autopsy photos from Marilyn Monroe's death to my lunch box in fifth grade, and I would write stories in which someone inevitably died. — Karin Slaughter

She asked, "Was that really your dinner - two hot dogs and a Krispy Kreme doughnut?" "Four doughnuts." "What does your cholesterol look like?" "I guess it's white like what they show in the commercials. — Karin Slaughter

Even 'Gone With the Wind' had a shocking, cold-blooded murder. — Karin Slaughter

A man who has grown up in an orphanage cannot take a dog to the pound.

Even if it is a Chihuahua. — Karin Slaughter

I think crime fiction is a great way to talk about social issues, whether 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or 'The Lovely Bones;' violence is a way to open up that information you want to get out to the reader. — Karin Slaughter

Inside, he had forgotten what it was like to hear a woman's voice, listen to the sort of complaints that only women could have. Bad haircuts. Rude store clerks. Chipped nails. Men wanted to talk about things: cars, guns, snatch. They didn't discuss their feelings unless it was anger, and even that didn't last for long because generally they started doing something about it. — Karin Slaughter

No matter what happened to you, no matter what horrors you endured when you were taken away, you will always be my pretty little girl. — Karin Slaughter

Because I said so." She paused again. "Sweetheart, I know you're an adult, but adults are like vampires. The older ones are much more powerful. — Karin Slaughter

Sara studied him. "Is that a Chihuahua behind your back?"
"No, I'm just happy to see you"
Sara gave him a confused smile, and he reluctantly showed her Betty. — Karin Slaughter

Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors. — Karin Slaughter

This seemed to be how dads taught their boys to be men, but there had to be a point, maybe early on, when they were able to hold their hands. One tiny one engulfed by one big one. — Karin Slaughter

I think a lot of people are curious about what makes people do what they do, and I guess my curiosity isn't hidden in any way. — Karin Slaughter

She took a deep breath and asked, I'm sorry, Captain. I'm feeling a bit discombobulated. Can you please start from the beginning and tell me what happened? — Karin Slaughter

Dr. Monroe and I realized very gradually that drug addiction is a terminal disease. It is a cancer that eats families alive. — Karin Slaughter

Slicing off your retinas and sticking them into — Karin Slaughter

This women's lib stuff works for rich girls, but all you've got going for you is your face and your figure. You need to take advantage of both before you lose them. — Karin Slaughter

He was safe because she would never really give all of herself to him." "I — Karin Slaughter

She took him for granted sometimes. That was the luxury of a long marriage. But she knew that she loved him. She needed him. He was the anchor that kept her from drifting away. — Karin Slaughter

My court-appointed therapist would say I was trying to fill a hole." "Is that what you call your vagina?" Claire chuckled under her breath. — Karin Slaughter

Time to wake up." Rick muted the TV when a commercial came on. He slipped on his reading glasses and asked, "What is the groundnut better known as?" Lydia carefully rolled onto her back so the cat wouldn't be disturbed. "The peanut. — Karin Slaughter

Dad. I knew that was it. No more holding my hand. No more sitting in my lap. No more throwing your arms around my waist when I walked through the front door or standing on my shoes while we danced around the kitchen. I would be the bank now. The ride to your friend's house. The critic of your biology homework. The signature on the check mailed away with your college application. — Karin Slaughter

Alafair Burke understands the criminal mind. Long Gone is both an education and an entertainment of the first order. This is a very clever and very smart novel by a very clever and smart writer. The dialogue crackles, the plot is intriguing, and the pacing is perfect. — Karin Slaughter

Sweetheart, I know you're an adult, but adults are like vampires. The older ones are much more powerful. Claire — Karin Slaughter

A few years after you disappeared, a postal worker named Ben Carver was sentenced to death for murdering six young men. (He is a homosexual, which, according to Huckleberry, means he is not attracted to murdering young women.) Rumors have it that Carver cannibalized some of his victims, but there was never a trial, so the more salacious details were not made public. I found Carver's name in the sheriff's file ten months ago, the fifth anniversary of your disappearance. The letter was written on Georgia Department of Corrections stationery and signed by the warden. He was informing the sheriff that Ben Carver, a death row inmate, had mentioned to one of the prison guards that he might have some information pertaining to your disappearance. — Karin Slaughter

He said that children always have different parents, even in the same family. — Karin Slaughter

Clair watched the young man pour Paul's Scotch with a previously unseen professionalism. Her wedding ring, her gentle brush-offs, and her outright rejection had been minor obstacles compared to the big no of another man kissing her cheek. — Karin Slaughter

I could type in a closet and be fine. It's just a matter of cocooning myself. Just me and the story. — Karin Slaughter

Why are you smiling?" she asked.
I kissed the inside of her wrists and answered what I felt at that moment was the absolute truth. "Because everything is perfect."
This is what I know that I am:
A fool. — Karin Slaughter

She's just come undone," her mother had whispered on the phone to her aunt Bella. It was an old colloquialism, the sort of thing you didn't think people still said.

The phrase fit Sara so completely that she had found herself surrendering to it, imagining her arms and her legs detaching from her body. What did it matter? What did she need arms or legs or hands or feet for if she couldn't run to him, hold him, touch him? — Karin Slaughter

I would've given up without her - not on you, never on you, but on myself. I suppose I can tell you this now, but I wasn't a very good student. I wasn't smart enough to just get by. I wasn't focused enough in class. I rarely passed exams. I skipped assignments. I was constantly on academic probation. Not that your grandmother would ever know, but at the time, I was thinking of doing what you were later accused of doing: selling all my belongings, sticking out my thumb, and hitchhiking to California to be with the other hippies who had dropped out and tuned in.

Everything changed when I met your mother. She made me want things that I had never dreamed of wanting: a steady job, a reliable car, a mortgage, a family. You figured out a long time ago that you got your wanderlust from me. I want you to know that this is what happens when you meet the person you are supposed to spend the rest of your life with: That restless feeling dissolves like butter. — Karin Slaughter

Considering what Pauline's been through ... " Will began, then stopped himself. "She's not very nice."
"She's a cold-blooded bitch."
"I'm surprised I haven't fallen in love with her. — Karin Slaughter

Mrs. Scott, do you mind my asking why the alarm wasn't on?" This was from Mayhew. He had taken out a notebook and pen. His shoulders were hunched, as if someone had asked him to mimic a character from a Raymond Chandler novel. — Karin Slaughter

As a Southerner, I love obstacles for my characters. — Karin Slaughter

[ ... ]but instead of apologizing, I said, 'It's your own fault for playing tennis. — Karin Slaughter

Claire took a stuttered breath. She couldn't stand the soft, reassuring tone of his voice. There was still an infinitesimal part of her that wanted her husband to somehow make it all better. — Karin Slaughter

Their whole life, they're the center of attention. People want to be around them just because they're attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better. And then suddenly, they get bags under their eyes or they put on a little weight and no one cares about — Karin Slaughter

You can only make decisions with the information you have at the time — Karin Slaughter

In her defense, her helicoptering tended to revolve around making sure that Dee could take care of herself. LEARN HOW TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH OR I WILL KILL YOU. LOVE MOM. — Karin Slaughter

Having a teenager is like having a really, really shitty roommate. They eat all your food and steal your clothes and take money out of your purse and borrow your car without asking. — Karin Slaughter

The older sister could have been an overachiever who cast the kind of shadow in which nothing could grow. — Karin Slaughter

If I wasn't a writer, I would probably be a watchmaker. I like putting puzzles together, and that is what a watch is, figuring out how all the gears and everything else works together. I'm patient and good at focusing on a single task. — Karin Slaughter

Reading develops cognitive skills. It trains our minds to think critically and to question what you are told. This is why dictators censor or ban books. It's why it was illegal to teach slaves to read. It's why girls in developing countries have acid thrown in their faces when they walk to school. — Karin Slaughter

He saw the towel in her hands. "I've got this."
"Let me help."
"I think you've helped enough." She thought he was going to leave it at that, but Will told her, "It's been worse today than usual."
"Stress is a contributing factor-when you get tired or if something emotional happens."
He scrubbed hard at the plate in his hands. Sara saw that he hadn't bothered to roll up his sleeves. The cuffs of his sweater were soaked. He said, "I've been trying to dig a new sewer line to my house. That's why my laundry is behind."
Sara had been expecting a non sequitur, but she'd hoped he could hold off for a few moments longer. "My father built this house with money from people who try to do their own plumbing. — Karin Slaughter

Maybe that's why Claire had perfected the art of invisibility. It was a form of self-preservation. You couldn't resent what you could not see. She was so quiet, but she noticed everything. Her eyes tracked the world like it was a book written in a language that she could not understand. There was nothing timorous about her, but you got the feeling that she always had one foot out the door. If the situation got too hard, or too intense, she would simply disappear. — Karin Slaughter

Good writers know that crime is an entre into telling a greater story about character. Good crime writing holds up a mirror to the readers and reflects in a darker light the world in which they live. — Karin Slaughter

No amount of flowers or pretty compliments could ever measure up to a man who did housework. — Karin Slaughter