Donna Tartt Quotes

Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.

While 'Visitation Street' has the markings of a traditional whodunnit mystery - starting with a missing girl, intrigue and many suspicious characters - Pochoda shows her hand early on by fingering a culprit. The book turns, then, into a 'whydunnit.'

I always look for good stories and good characters, and if they're placed in a whodunit, then I'm interested.

I read a lot about serial killers.

I've never met a murderer as far as I know. I would hate to.

Every unpunished murder takes away something from the security of every man's life.

… murderer and peasant slayer

People are fascinated by the darker sides of human nature, and I think they're also interested in seeing the ability that a particular detective or group of detectives might have to solve the crime and put the world right again.

There are other ways to create tension and drama than to have somebody stabbed through the back with a sword.

There is hardly a person alive who does not want to know 'what happened next,' in any context.

For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak With most miraculous organ.

Who shot him? I asked. The grey man scratched the back of his neck and said: Somebody with a gun.

A detective sees death in all the various forms at least five times a week.

I love a big, character-rich story with a dark heart, with a compelling mystery or some kind of ticking clock at its center. I want to be lured in by prose, captured by character, and bound by stellar plotting to keep turning the pages.

It's kind of part of human nature to want to know the truth or want to be in on the secret. For stories that focus in on that - like whodunits - it's easy to get drawn into.

I believe the question now is: who murdered my mother?

You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.

Crime cases tend to be fascinating until you figure out what happened.

I like to believe that if you pay close attention to the sentences as they unfold, they will draw you in rather than pushing you away.

It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story.

Nothing of course was ever done to Bill for the killing of Tutt.

I am deeply saddened to hear that the man who murdered my brother, Michael Ensley, has been charged with murder again. I grieve for every family who has been victimized by this heinous individual. My prayers and love go out to the family of Demetra Doyle Heard during this trying time.

I think capital punishment works great. Every killer you kill never kills again.

I've always had a fascination for everything surrounding things that are unexplainable. Not surprising that my first movie was a horror film, even though, of course, at the time I had no experience writing horror music.

I was in Deadwood at the time and on hearing of the killing made my way at once to the scene of the shooting and found that my friend had been killed by McCall.