Words to Ponder

I'm reading In the Woods by Tana French. I just began and so far so good. I have just read an amazing paragraph that I must quote. "Why must I?" you may ask. "Because" I will answer. And because has to do it, I really can only say that it is one of those thoughts that you mull over for quite some time.

I don't often remember much about all the books I read. Sometimes I will come away with a general mood, you know, happy little story, very dark tale, that sort of thing. Other times just that it was a good read, held my interest, I actually finished it. There are some books, and I don't remember the titles or authors, where the author put a few words together that linger on. One that runs through my mind over and over is "He has just come through the most serious and painful surgery known to man. He had his eyes opened." How can you beat that? Right! You can't.

This thought is another that will stay in my mind. The book is about a fellow who is a homicide detective. This is how he describes their method of enticing a suspect or witness to provide them with information. Here goes:

"I knew what they did was cruel. Humans are feral and ruthless; this, this watching through cool intent eyes and delicately adjusting one factor or another till a man's fundamental instinct for self-preservation cracks, is savagery in its most pure, most polished and most highly evolved form."

I know a person like that, gender will remain unknown. He/She is not in law enforcement, just feral and ruthless. This person is not trained in the skill of manipulation, this person is a natural and no one ever sees how truly savage this person is. I had no words to describe him/her until now.