Minotaur Books

“Sometimes the old-age serenity thing is crap.”
― Becky Masterman, We Were Killers Once

“The things we learn in our formative years stay with us. Right or wrong, the lessons of our youth shape our adult view of the world. Having been raised Amish, I was taught to believe the best about people. Most of the time that philosophy serves me well. I still believe that the majority of people are fundamentally good. As a cop, though, I’m keenly aware that many are not.”
― Linda Castillo, An Evil Heart

“Roland “Pickles” Shumaker is my only part-time officer, having semi-retired a few years ago. He’s north of eighty years old now and spends most of his time working the school crosswalk—and occasionally confiscating cigarettes from students who think they’re going to cop a smoke on his watch. The people who know him—and those of us who work with him—do not underestimate Pickles. He may be in his golden years; he may be moving a little more slowly; he may lie about his age. But beneath the grizzled exterior is fifty years of law enforcement experience, a commendation for undercover narcotics work, and the instincts of a man who’ll lay down his life to save your ass.”
― Linda Castillo, An Evil Heart

“There is an incongruity inherent to in being a cop and being formerly Amish. Those two worlds are incompatible and clash in a fundamental and profound way. One repels the other and there is no reconciliation. There’s no fitting them together no matter how hard you try to pound the pieces into place. The divergence of those two worlds is a beast that tracks me as I pull into the long gravel lane of my brother’s farm.”
― Linda Castillo, An Evil Heart