What moves you most in a work of literature?

Depth of characterization and, when the subject matter is dark, an empathic, compassionate authorial voice. Glibness really puts me off. Can’t stand those drawing-room mysteries where a corpse is lying in the parlor as twits sip mah-tinis and engage in lighthearted banter.

Tell us about your favorite movie adaptation of a book. And which of your books would you most like to see on the big screen?

Loved “The Grifters.” Two books co-written with my son, Jesse — “The Golem of Hollywood” and “The Golem of Paris” — would make blockbuster films.

Who is your favorite fictional hero or heroine? Your favorite antihero or villain?

I have a soft spot in my heart for Tom Sawyer, probably because I was far from a perfect child. (My mom, now 96 years old, persists in claiming the opposite, but she’s clearly blotted out my adolescence.) I don’t have much use for antiheroes or villains. My experience has been that while human beings are complex and unpredictable, really good guys are usually good and really bad guys are bad. Having worked as a psychologist trying to help people mend from the damage inflicted by bad guys, I have no affection for sociopaths and such. Though I do like to depict them realistically.

What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?

The moment I learned to read, I was off. My parents kept lots of books around the house, and their tastes were eclectic. Thankfully, they were too busy to notice that I habitually got into clearly inappropriate stuff. Like a volume of short stories by James T. Farrell, discovered when I was 9. Gritty amusement for a prepubescent kid. It got me thinking: “Maybe one day I can do this.”

There was also a book on American art that captivated me and helped establish an enduring love for such. I worked my way through college as an illustrator and continue to paint. Is it relaxing? Not the way I do it. Recent attempts have included copying a Singer Sargent and a George Bellows. Were they successful? Not up to me to say.

What book read for school had the greatest impact on you?

The huge load of biblical and Talmudic material I was offered during 12 years of Jewish day school. So much of Scripture deals unflinchingly with the worst aspects of human behavior. The perfect education for a crime novelist.