There is no detective in England equal to a spinster lady of uncertain age with plenty of time on her hands.
All I needed was a steady table and a typewriter...a marble-topped bedroom washstand table made a good place; the dining-room table between meals was also suitable.
Desperate ills need desperate remedies.
The past is the father of the present.
Books are a habit-forming drug.
Unless you are good at guessing, it is not much use being a detective.