A Measure of Darkness Quotes

“We are who we are in relation to others.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“As soon as a new form of communication arises, people will find a way to use it to embarrass themselves. Call it Zuckerberg’s Law.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“WHOEVER DEFINED INSANITY as doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results never conducted a police interview. You ask the same question a thousand times because most people can’t stand to give the same answer a thousand times. Human beings crave variety. Eventually, they slip, out of carelessness or boredom. All interview rooms are the same. All police stations are, at root, the same: incubators for psychological breakdown. The risk is that the subject starts inventing things, to please you or to get you off their back.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Cold sun flashed in the red-and-blue Costco sign, stirring within me an intense need to purchase forty-eight of something.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Buntley’s argument emerged from a pragmatic observation: children were, at heart, selfish. “One may claim, with some measure of truth, that all mankind shares this egotistical aspect. However, it is most pronounced in the young, for whom hands of the clock hold no sway. Past and future do not exist; there is only the eternal present, which is to say, the desire of the mind in the moment. One may as well cry at the rising tide as fight against this tendency. Therefore we do not fight it. We allow it to exist. Only in freedom will the child come to integrate both halves of the personality, the Shadow and the Light.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Surely there were other new and exciting methods. No species on earth outdoes humans for innovation, especially when it comes to stealing other people’s shit.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“What was so funny before?” I asked. “When…? Oh,” she said. “The look on your face.” “My face?” “Like you showed up to prom and your best friend had on the same dress.” “Is that it.” “Pretty much.” “Marcia Marcia Marcia.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Beneath our laughter lay a fundamental difference in how we each viewed the world. Psychologists believe people can change. They have to, or else what’s the point of psychology? The opposite is true for law enforcement. We rely on the principle that people tend to make the same stupid mistakes, over and over.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Although it’s an unfortunate fact that Coroner’s cases are often young. Young people are disproportionately likely to die of violence. I suspect, rather, it was the general feeling of failure, the collective guilt, that permeates the unit following any mass casualty event. Reality has gone off the rails. What did we do to get here? Why didn’t we do something to prevent it? Deep down, we know we’re powerless. We’re not on the front lines. And those on the front lines are pretty much powerless themselves. All of us, however, would like to imagine that we’re contributing in some small way to keeping the world orderly. Then comes along a stark reminder to the contrary. Then come the families. Whose photos are no longer accurate. Whose calendars have acquired a hideous new holiday. Those broken apart by grief; those already broken, for whom death will provide the worst reason to mend fences. The mothers emptied, like amputees of the heart; the fathers bewildered. Sisters without confidantes and brothers missing necessary rivals. Circles of lovers and friends, irreparably deformed.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“Yessir Sarge sir. I still had a hard time thinking of him as my superior. Looking at him now it struck me how much he had aged in the last year and a half. No more butt slapping or wet willies in the locker room. Now he was somber and impatient, the skin of his jowls starting to loosen, shoulders bowed under the burden of his own authority.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“People had their own lives. Her children had gone and gotten children for themselves. They’d found places in the world. That alone was proof of a life well lived.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“His happiness was your happiness. That takes love, and it takes courage. It’s what makes the two of you good together.” I raised my glass. “It’s a lesson we could all stand to learn. It’s what I’m striving for, and I thank you both for showing me a path. To my brother the hustler, and the woman who is his equal. Your happiness is ours. I wish you a lifetime supply of it, getting better every day. Cheers.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness

“When we were little,” I said, louder, “people used to mistake the two of us for twins. At least, that’s what my mom tells me. Ask me, I never saw it. For one thing, I’m obviously a lot better-looking than he is. But enough about that, I don’t want him crying on his special day.”
― Jonathan Kellerman, A Measure of Darkness