I'm a better writer now because I've worked very hard at getting better. My long-range goal will always be to write better books.

If the storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death.

The crime part is the engine that moves the narrative and allows me to write the other things I want to write about.

We get schooled by the people around us, and it stays inside us deep.

Any time you have poverty, joblessness, sub-par public schools, and a lack of opportunity, you're going to have a high rate of crime.

I'm proud to be a crime novelist. What I've chosen is the best way to convey the questions I'm trying to raise.

I live in a blue-collar neighborhood, and if anyone knows what I do for a living, they don't seem to care.

The Next Right Thing has humanity, humor, and insight to burn. Author Dan Barden takes the clay of the California hard-boiled novel and shapes it into something new.

Top-shelf fiction, a Crown Royal ride into the heart of Night and New York. Con Lehane's work is reminiscent of the best of Lawrence Block, which is to say that this is very good stuff, indeed.

Though I exist in the realms of day and night, I'm only truly alive in the moments between.

Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership.

There can be theory but, you know, the problem is you've got to be able to test it. So theories are one thing, testing is another.

The ultimate destiny of the human race is the greatest moral perfection, provided that it is achieved through human freedom, whereby alone man is capable of the greatest happiness.

Airs of importance are the credentials of impotence.

My motive, and I will make it clear and look you in the eyes, is to attack major league baseball. That's my motive.

I am very proud to be featured, especially when you consider the outstanding champions who have had this honor. It is great company to be in.

Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time.

I want to thank everyone for believing in me, even though I only have 27,000 Instagram followers.

If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.