Adrian McKinty Quotes, born in 1968 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is an Irish novelist known for his gritty crime fiction and thrillers, including the Sean Duffy series and the global hit The Chain (2019). Raised in Carrickfergus, he studied philosophy at Oxford before moving to the U.S., where he worked as a bartender, security guard, and teacher. His novels, often set against the backdrop of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, blend noir, humor, and social commentary, earning awards like the Edgar, Ned Kelly, and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. These 15 quotes—sourced from his novels, interviews, and posts on X—reflect his sharp wit, keen observations on human nature, and storytelling craft, capturing his distinctive voice.
15 Adrian McKinty Quotes
- “Human beings are pattern-seeking animals. It’s part of our DNA. That’s why conspiracy theories and gods are so popular: we always look for the wider, bigger explanations for things.” (The Cold Cold Ground, 2012)
- “It’s been my experience that only children never learn when to keep their fucking traps shut. An older brother would have beat that out of you.” (The Cold Cold Ground, 2012)
- “Forget him, he’s just another red-shirted extra making a cameo appearance in our lives.” (The Cold Cold Ground, 2012)
- “Life is fragile, fleeting and precious. And to live at all is miracle enough.” (The Chain, 2019)
- “Revenge is the foolish stepbrother of justice.” (I Hear the Sirens in the Street, 2013)
- “George Orwell was wrong, she thinks. In the future, it won’t be the state that keeps tabs on everyone by extensive use of surveillance; it will be the people.” (The Chain, 2019)
- “If you really have to get shot, Belfast is one of the best places to do it. After twenty years of the Troubles, and after thousands of assassination attempts and punishment shootings, Belfast has trained many of the best gunshot-trauma surgeons in the world.” (The Cold Cold Ground, 2012)
- “We drank our whiskeys. It was the good stuff and it tasted of salt, sea, rain, wind and the Old Testament.” (The Cold Cold Ground, 2012)
- “Crime fiction, especially noir and hardboiled, is the literature of the proletariat.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Chemo is a little death that you invite in in order to keep the big death waiting outside on the porch.” (The Chain, 2019)
- “I feel that if you’re a writer you should care about the sentences that make up your pages; you should care about economy, elegance & beauty in your prose.” (Post on X, @adrianmckinty, 2025-06-02)
- “A bullet in the head will fix an incipient asthma attack every time.” (Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly, 2017)
- “You ever read Thucydides? I’ll boil him down for you into one easy moral: intergenerational civil war is a very bad thing.” (Gun Street Girl, 2015)
- “Ireland in shades of black and green under the gibbous moon. Ireland under the canopy of grey cloud, under the crow’s wing and the helicopter blade.” (In the Morning I’ll Be Gone, 2014)
- “A man once told me that all books should end at chapter seventy-seven.” (The Chain, 2019)
Adrian McKinty’s quotes are a vivid mix of dark humor, philosophical insight, and gritty realism, inspiring you to confront life’s complexities with sharp perception and resilience. Which quote resonates with your perspective? Share it below and keep Adrian’s compelling legacy alive!
Emma Thompson
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