Sue Grafton quotes

Sue Grafton was an American novelist best known for her "alphabet series" of mystery novels featuring detective Kinsey Millhone. Her books are celebrated for their sharp wit and strong, relatable female protagonist. She left a lasting impact on the mystery genre and inspired generations of writers. Here are 65 of her quotes:

We all need to look into the dark side of our nature - that's where the energy is, the passion. People are afraid of that because it holds pieces of us we're busy denying.

Sue Grafton

I attended the University of Louisville my freshman year, transferred to what was then Western Kentucky State Teachers College for my sophomore and junior years, and then graduated from the University of Louisville in the summer of 1961.

Sue Grafton

Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they're right--a chilling thought when you sit down to dinner with a family of five. All those potential killers passing their plates.

Sue Grafton

If high heels were so wonderful, men would be wearing them.

Sue Grafton

Insecure people have a special sensitivity for anything that finally confirms their own low opinion of themselves.

Sue Grafton

A woman should never, never, never be financially dependent to anyone, especially a man, because the minute you were dependent, you could be abused.

Sue Grafton

No one with a happy childhood ever amounts to much in this world. They are so well adjusted, they never are driven to achieve anything.

Sue Grafton

Sometimes the hardest part of my job is the incessant reminder of the fact we're all trying so assiduously to ignore: we are here temporarily ... life is only ours on loan.

Sue Grafton

You can't save others from themselves because those who make a perpetual muddle of their lives don't appreciate your interfering with the drama they've created. They want your poor-sweet-baby sympathy, but they don't want to change.

Sue Grafton

Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb.

Sue Grafton

I know there are people who believe you should forgive and forget. For the record, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of forgiveness as long as I'm given the opportunity to get even first.

Sue Grafton

The hard thing about death is that nothing ever changes. The hard thing about life is that nothing stays the same.

Sue Grafton

To many women mistake a man's hostility for wit and his silence for depth.

Sue Grafton

Smile. It gives your face something to do.

Sue Grafton

Lucky is the spouse who dies first, who never has to know what survivors endure.

Sue Grafton

You try to keep life simple but it never works, and in the end all you have left is yourself.

Sue Grafton

You never know which people will affect your life.

Sue Grafton

I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I've learned to trust my own instincts and I've also learned to take risks.

Sue Grafton

I spent the first twenty years of my writing career preparing for the mystery genre, which is my favorite literary form.

Sue Grafton

Having reached the halfway mark in the alphabet, my prime focus is on writing each new book as well as I can.

Sue Grafton

I started writing seriously when I was 18, wrote my first novel when I was 22, and I've never stopped writing since.

Sue Grafton

Of the first seven novels I wrote, numbers four and five were published. Numbers one, two, three, six, and seven, have never seen the light of day... and rightly so.

Sue Grafton