Minotaur Books

“Tomasetti is the kind of cop who pours everything he’s got into a case. He’s obsessive and intense; he’s to the point. Sometimes he’s not very nice. He’s driven, but he doesn’t get caught up in the drama. Not in an emotional way. It’s something both of us struggled with early in our careers, finally achieving the safe-distance state of mind only recently. That said, some cases hit harder than others. Parallels, I think, and I feel the pain of the connection spread in my chest.”
― Linda Castillo, An Evil Heart

“Leave now and live, or stay here and die. Your choice.”
― Phillip Margolin, The Perfect Alibi

“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

“That’s the thing about being a cop in a small town. Policing is a hell of a lot more personal. You know the people you’ve sworn to serve and protect. Whether it’s to write a speeding ticket, round up escaped livestock, pull someone’s dog from a frozen pond, or tell parents their teenage son has wrapped his Mustang around a tree and didn’t survive, you know them. You know the families. You know their strengths and weaknesses. You know their secrets. Sometimes that personal connection hurts because you have a job to do and there’s no one else.”
― Linda Castillo, An Evil Heart