“Instructions are supposed to translate the law into lay terms that the jury can apply to the facts as they determine them.”

Political thriller? International thriller? Financial thriller? Whatever you call it, The Ascendant is smart, edgy, fast-paced storytelling at its best.

In our system, we leave questions of fact to a jury. But to render a verdict, a jury must know the law. For this, we rely upon jury instructions.

Its unlikely hero, Garrett Reilly, reminded me of a young Jack Reacher as a tech-sa What I said: “Political thriller? International thriller? Financial thriller? Whatever you call it,

According to FBI statistics for 2008, only 22 percent of murder victims were killed by strangers.

More than 30 percent were slain by family members, boyfriends, and girlfriends.

All lying – you may think a lie is harmless, but you put them all together and there’s a calamity.

Apparently, an undocumented side effect of dope is a gross overestimation of one’s own intelligence.

Drew Chapman is a debut novelist to watch.

Apathy is grossly undervalued and never there for me when I need it.

Its unlikely hero, Garrett Reilly, reminded me of a young Jack Reacher as a tech-savvy bond analyst.

Anyone who’s had a shower and hasn’t ingested illegal narcotics within a couple of days stands out on a bench in the courthouse.

The Ascendant is smart, edgy, fast-paced storytelling at its best.

Nothing worse than reading a love scene written by your father.

They were asked to listen to the facts and apply the law to the best of their ability in a case the world was watching.

Dopers become convinced they’ve hidden their stash so well a cop won’t find it. They’re always wrong.

Playing well with others isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Government is the only institution that can take a valuable commodity like paper, and make it worthless by applying ink.

Faith, to my mind, is a stiffening process, a sort of mental starch, which ought to be applied as sparingly as possible. I dislike the stuff. I do not believe in it, for its own sake, at all… My lawgivers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St Paul.

When it applies to the Olympics and making a decision, I have to claim Australia as my country.

He stares at me, and I don’t look away. He isn’t a dog, but the same rules apply. Looking away is submissive.

Once war is forced upon us, there is no alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War’s very object is victory-not prolonged indecision.

Ego is constantly attempting to acquire and apply the teachings of spirituality for its own benefit.

To get a roaster clean, send something like baked apples in it to a neighbor. Neighbors always return pans spotless, and you won’t have to use a blow torch on it like you usually do.

There is no more effective medicine to apply to feverish public sentiments than figures.