I've been fascinated by the idea that evil is the absence of empathy.

I find that I take a great deal of pleasure knowing I get up people's noses to some degree.

There is a very conservative element of crime writers that don't recognise what I do is crime fiction.

Writers are magpies by nature, always collecting shiny things, storing them away and looking for connections of things.

I feel that I'll be buried in Ireland and don't think I'll ever live in the U.S. I'm not comfortable with many aspects of U.S. society - especially the justice system.

If you work at home, you're always on call in a way.