Lisa Gardner Quotes

Winners never quit, quitters never win ~ Lisa Gardner

His job already had him lying and manipulating me. My past had me lying and manipulating him. Both of us thought we were right. ~ Lisa Gardner

It was not the past that broke you. - It was the empty future, the endless string of days filled with none of the people who mattered most. ~ Lisa Gardner

Let me be the first to say, there isn't a hell big enough for some of the assholes we have walking here on this earth. ~ Lisa Gardner

What I learned is that it's arrogant to be certain of anything. The world is a complex place and only idiots or assholes think they know it all. ~ Lisa Gardner

it, Shep does his ordering for the department and for himself all from the same manufacturer. ~ Lisa Gardner

Whomever speaks first gives up some power. ~ Lisa Gardner

Special Agent Quincy had earned his stripes as one of the Bureau's finest profilers. ~ Lisa Gardner

You know what gets to me, though? You know what's truly ironic?

What?

She needed us. She was exactly the kind of person that my father and I have sworn our lives to protect. She wasn't tough. She made bad choices. She drank too much, she dated the wrong men, she believed anyone's pack of lies. God, she desperately needed someone to save her from herself. And we didn't do it. I spent so much of my childhood resenting her. Crying, complaining Mandy who was always upset about something. Now, I just wonder why we didn't take better care of her. She was in our own family. How could we fail her so completely? ~ Lisa Gardner

Asked Thomas; it's just him and me and has been for a very long time. We tell each other we are ~ Lisa Gardner

Expect nothing and life will be velvet. ~ Lisa Gardner

I don't know much about international policing and I would love to learn more. Especially in this day and age when the Internet is rapidly reducing borders and crime can happen on a larger scale than ever before. These things intrigue me. ~ Lisa Gardner

It's kind of the yin and yang that fascinate me. That for all the evil men do, there are also people who work obnoxiously long hours and sacrifice their personal lives because it is a calling - if they don't keep our streets safe, if they aren't there to advocate for and save beaten women and children and murder victims, who will? ~ Lisa Gardner

Mothers hold close, fathers let go. Maybe that's the way of the world. ~ Lisa Gardner

Sugar and fat a socially acceptable drugs. ~ Lisa Gardner

Dad, I don't know why I'm still alive...

Because God took pity on me, Kimberly. Because without you, I think I would've gone insane. ~ Lisa Gardner

the front doors. Flashbulbs flashed. A roar rose up from the crowd at the sign of fresh activity. Then Rainie caught a new sound - the faint beating of helicopters bearing down upon them. The medevac choppers had finally arrived to carry the wounded away. And Rainie couldn't help thinking that it would be much later before the ME's office came for the bodies. Officer Luke Hayes was thirty-six years old, balding, and shorter than most women. His trim build, however, was a compact one hundred fifty pounds that turned many ladies' heads and became useful in a fight. In Rainie's opinion, however, Luke's biggest asset was his steely blue eyes. She ~ Lisa Gardner

It's not the flying that's the hard part; it's the landing. ~ Lisa Gardner

Harris Reed: "Ah, you caught me."
Bobby: "And now's the part when I throw you back. ~ Lisa Gardner

I'd clawed my way back to the land of the living. Because of Vero. She needed me. ~ Lisa Gardner

I'm very intrigued by e-books, the topic du jour in the industry today. As a number one bestselling Kindle author, I love the way e-books make an author's backlist accessible to new readers. Of course, price point remains a source of concern. Personally, I don't have any of the answers, but I'm intrigued by the questions. ~ Lisa Gardner

Start fresh." "And Maryanne?" "She's devastated about what James put us through. I think she'd like a fresh start, too, and more time with Nathan. On the other hand ... you know, she really loves James. Even after everything, I don't think she can bring herself to leave him." James was in a coma. Between the blood loss and damage to his internal organs, his system had shut down. Doctors didn't think he'd ever regain consciousness. Mostly, they were surprised the man was still alive. "Maybe someday," Bobby said. Catherine nodded. "Maryanne likes Arizona. She mentioned they'd always talked about buying a home out there. So maybe, afterwards ... " His turn to nod. Now they both watched Nathan. The boy's cheeks were flushed, his breath coming in frosty pants. Trickster nipped at his ~ Lisa Gardner

Pain has a flavor. The question is ... what does it taste like to you? ~ Lisa Gardner

And a man and woman should fight. Frankly, they should have a good head-to-head battle about every six months, then make love until they break the box springs. ~ Lisa Gardner

IN A DETECTIVE'S WORLD there was one true blight on society, and it wasn't the master criminal; after all, superpredators were few and far between. It was the media. Sunday ~ Lisa Gardner

Stop psychoanalyzing me! Be less therapist, more man --"

"Man? Last time I tried being a man, you looked at me as if I was going to hit you. You don't need a man, Rainie. You either need a blow-up doll or a damn saint! ~ Lisa Gardner

Dual-income families have turned out a batch of superpredators who have no sympathy or remorse. Blast 'em up on Nintendo; blast 'em up on the streets. ~ Lisa Gardner

It's human nature, Rainie. We're all looking for something to believe in, and someone to blame. ~ Lisa Gardner

God was in the details. ~ Lisa Gardner

Mr. Bosu began to get truly resentful. If killing was so damn easy, his employer should do it himself. Honest to God, a little murder and mayhem wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. ~ Lisa Gardner

I think one of the appeals of suspense is to safely explore our innermost fears. ~ Lisa Gardner

The past has a will of its own. It wants to be heard. ~ Lisa Gardner

That brought D.D. up short. ~ Lisa Gardner

Everyone should say what they wanted. It saved time. ~ Lisa Gardner

We're going to find this girl, we're going to save the day, and then we're going to walk out of this park so we can nail the bastard. Deal?

You are a woman after my own heart. ~ Lisa Gardner

I loved ghost stories, creaky staircases, stormy nights. If it guaranteed nightmares I read it by flashlight, after midnight. ~ Lisa Gardner

All I've really ever done is write since I was 17, so I don't know anything about anything. For me to do a novel, I have to talk to people who know things. And what keeps me in suspense is that I am a crime aficionado. ~ Lisa Gardner

No doubt about it: Mac would make an excellent mother. ~ Lisa Gardner

No. I joined the FBI so I could be heavily armed, and also help others. ~ Lisa Gardner

My secret vice is Sudoku puzzles. Can't stop playing them. My parents are accountants. I blame them entirely. ~ Lisa Gardner

Men may be violent, Officer Dodge, but let's face it-women are cruel ... ~ Lisa Gardner

Then we did the best we could, all we could. He was the enemy, Kimberly. He took their lives. And God help both of us, but sometimes the enemy is simply that good. ~ Lisa Gardner

I know you have a past, but personally, I'm vested in our future. ~ Lisa Gardner

You can be the hunter, or you can be the hunted. ~ Lisa Gardner

My mother would watch him and sigh. He's a young soul, she would say, with a tender heart. She worried for him. But never for me. I was the happy one. At least, that's how the story goes. ~ Lisa Gardner

Once, I was my mother's daughter. Now I am my daughter's mother. ~ Lisa Gardner

I have a huge author crush on Stephen King. Have never met him. Would probably embarrass myself. But it would be worth it. ~ Lisa Gardner

It's so much easier to fall in love, and so much more complicated to fall out of it. ~ Lisa Gardner

I still like the relationship part of any story. You don't want your character to figure everything out and then at the end of the day, go home and eat soup from a can by herself. ~ Lisa Gardner

Parents think the worst thing that can happen to their five-year-old is cancer. They're wrong; the worst thing that can happen to their five-year-old is mental illness. ~ Lisa Gardner

They [Cops] were living in the media age, and in the media age, cops didn't get to fire their weapons. Cops were honored if they got themselves killed in the line of duty, but they were never suppose to draw their guns, not even in self-defense. ~ Lisa Gardner

You know what the difference between a cardiac surgeon and God is? God doesn't think he's a cardiac surgeon. ~ Lisa Gardner

When you're on book tours, you definitely need chocolate. At all times. ~ Lisa Gardner

It wasn't that strangers couldn't hurt you. It was simply that the people you loved could do it so much better. ~ Lisa Gardner

Because sometimes pain is knowing, and sometimes pain is sharing that knowledge with someone who loves you but can't do anything to help. ~ Lisa Gardner

I'm unique for a suspense author in that I don't have a specialty background. A lot of suspense writers used to be lawyers or crime beat reporters. I didn't even know a cop when I started out. I finally figured out that I could visit prisons - I just had to be willing to make the phone calls. ~ Lisa Gardner

I like to believe my suspense novels marry the strong characters from my romance writing past, with the twisty, clever plots of my mystery writing present. ~ Lisa Gardner

There is a breed of men out there, you know, who are attracted to strong women. They just don't know what to do once they win us over. ~ Lisa Gardner

Post-apocalyptic novels tell you that in the future there is some great war. I would tell you that most cops say that it's going on right now. ~ Lisa Gardner

Women cry. Men laugh. Whiners moan. Men laugh. Wimps complain. Men laugh. ~ Lisa Gardner

Who do you love?
It's a question anyone should be able to answer. A question that defines a life, creates a future, guides most minutes of one's days. Simple, elegant encompassing.
Who do you love? ~ Lisa Gardner

Youth is no excuse for sloppiness. ~ Lisa Gardner

Life may not be perfect, at least it offered moments that were perfect enough. ~ Lisa Gardner

Quincy, boyfriends apologize, shrinks analyze. Which are you? ~ Lisa Gardner

So let's catch this son of a bitch, so I can return to my classes, and finish up my degree. Then I'll join law enforcement, neglect my own family, and the cycle will be complete. ~ Lisa Gardner

They died, leaving behind the kind of void that is never filled, a relentless ache that follows an abandoned child throughout her entire life. And ~ Lisa Gardner

Mental illness is a disease and organic mental illness of young kids is becoming more and more of a disease ... we do need to talk about it. ~ Lisa Gardner

Her hand now rested on the top of her left thigh. Where she had the knife strapped, he guessed, and immediately felt his gut tighten with a shot of good, old-fashioned male lust. He did not know why an armed woman should be so arousing, but man oh man, this one was. ~ Lisa Gardner

Look at him. But I can't. Too many things are exploding in my head, and the memories are both simpler and more horrible ~ Lisa Gardner

My mother would like me to start all interviews by stating that she and my father are perfectly normal. They are proud of me, and as perplexed as anyone by my novels. ~ Lisa Gardner

Oh, for the love of God. There is no agent more agent than you. I swear you have pin-striped ties encrypted into your DNA. When you die, the coffin is going to read Property of the FBI. ~ Lisa Gardner

You swim and you keep swimming without a thought in your head because that's what you have to do. And you do the push-ups and you jog and you do all the things beyond exhaustion because you have to. Then one day you'll discover you're in the zone and you don't feel your legs anymore, you don't feel your arms anymore. You exist just as motion. That's the zone. Then you can do anything. ~ Lisa Gardner

Most people don't need the help of strangers to screw up their lives; most of them are quite capable of doing it themselves! ~ Lisa Gardner

The truth did not always set you free. Sometimes it bound you to dark, bloody deeds and cost you the people you loved. ~ Lisa Gardner

The only time you're calm, you're centered, you're at peace, is when someone's trying to kill you. And that's just plain twisted. ~ Lisa Gardner

When it comes to locations, I'm one of those crazy authors who has to see it, touch it, taste it, before I trust myself to recreate it for my readers. Having said that, visiting a locked-down pediatric psych ward was the most intimidating research I've ever done - and I've visited maximum security prisons, shooting galleries, bone collections, etc. ~ Lisa Gardner

I still read romance, and I read suspense. I read them both. And part of it is, I like stories with strong characters, and I like stories where there's closure at the end. And I like stories where there's hope. That's a kind of empowerment. I think romance novels are very empowering, and I think suspense novels are, too. ~ Lisa Gardner

Irresponsible is only irresponsible if you fail. Succeed, however; and irresponsible quickly becomes merely unorthodox. ~ Lisa Gardner

It doesn't matter if you're winning or losing. What matters is that you're playing. ~ Lisa M. Cronkhite

She didn't warn you about me?"
"Should she have?"
Erica finished her drink, relishing the burn in her belly and the flush of heat in her cheeks as she nodded "Definitely."
His gaze smoldered. "It's a good thing danger is my calling, then. ~ Lisa Kessler

A god whose creation is so imperfect that he must be continually adjusting it to make it work properly seems to me a god of relatively low order, hardly worthy of any worship. ~ Martin Gardner

We're both going to hell," Kathleen said as he kissed along the seam of her clenched thighs.
"I've always assumed I would." Devon didn't sound all troubled by the prospect. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Telling the truth doesn't matter to a stranger for he knows little and can judge nothing. ~ Lisa O'Donnell

They can only judge us if we let them." She dropped her hands to her sides. "Don't let them, Asher. ~ Lisa Kessler

Once he had taken hold, he did not let go. It was not a handshake, it was a possession. ~ Lisa Kleypas

I wade through the rush of neglect and loss and sadness pouring through a hole in my hull. ~ Merri Lisa Johnson

I swallowed hard, a hot flush blazing a trail across my skin. Reminded me of that old television show, Bonanza. You know, the one with the burning map and the lively western tune? Yeah, my skin was that map, but the song blaring in my head leaned more toward a "bow-chick-a-wow-wow" sound than anything else. Hormone overload! ~ Lisa Sanchez

I've never thought much about whether I was happy or if I had fun as a child. I was a so-so girl who lived with a so-so family in a so-so village. I didn't know that there might be another way to live, and I didn't worry about it either. ~ Lisa See

It has to be now," he insisted, a flick of amusement in his voice. He nudged his burgeoning loins against her. "After all, you can't allow me to go around like this all day."
"From what I've learned so far, this is your natural condition," came her pert reply. ~ Lisa Kleypas

What is happening on the inside, is reflected on the outside. If you lack the confidence, you very well may feel pushy in selling your product or service. If you lack a clear plan on exactly how to grow your business, you're going to play it safe rather than do what it takes. If you feel desperate, your prospect no doubt will feel your push. If you're unclear about your exact target market, then implementing focused marketing will be nearly impossible because you don't know where your target market hangs out, their preferences, and even what and where they buy. The more you nurture your inner entrepreneur, the more it affects the outcomes of your business. ~ Lisa A. Mininni

Passion can sometimes bring out qualities in a person that they never knew they possessed. ~ Lisa Desrochers

Dawn comes after the darkness, and with it the promise that what has been torn by the sea is not lost. All of life is breaking and mending, clipping and stitching, gathering tatters and sewing seams. All of life is quilted from the scraps of what once was and is no more- the places we have been, the memories we have made, the people we have known, that which has been long loved but has grown threadbare over time and can be worn no longer. We keep only pieces. All colors, all shapes, all sizes.
"All waiting to be stitched into the pattern only you can see.
"In the quiet after the storm, I hear you whisper, 'Daughter, do not linger where you are. Take up your needle and your thread, and go see to the mending ... ~ Lisa Wingate

A well-read woman is a dangerous creature. ~ Lisa Kleypas

God," she said, her tone gently reproving, "brought Mr.Kensington to you, and with him, a world of potential. As I see it, each of our lives is a journey, Miss Cora. A path that takes us over the mountain or down through a dark valley. But He never abandons us. Never. That is how He cares for us - walking with us every step of the way. ~ Lisa Tawn Bergren

It's fair to say I don't know what I'm doing. I like to plot my life and proceed carefully, but life doesn't always follow a plan. ~ Lisa See

She remembered the intensity of her desire to undress him, to be naked with him, the way she felt like she could say whatever she wanted and be fully understood and do whatever she wanted and be totally accepted. She remembered how easy it had all been, how open and bright, like being in a whitewashed room with all the windows wide open. ~ Lisa Jewell

Few people can claim they are born into the right period of history. Most of us have to make do with the times we find ourselves in. ~ Sally Gardner

I don't buy into this, 'Oh, poor us. We've got tough budget problems.' ~ Lisa Murkowski

Pandora," he said huskily, holding her against his violently thumping heart. "I love you more than I can bear. You're everything to me. You're the reason the earth turns and morning follows night. You're the meaning of primroses and why kissing was invented. You're the reason my heart beats. God help me, I'm not strong enough to survive without you. I need you too much . . . I need you . . . ~ Lisa Kleypas

Life's most beautiful moments come after the rain." -Beau Bennett ~ Lisa De Jong