I really wouldn't classify the books as mysteries. I prefer to say that they're adventures.

He rooted for the Mets, he wore Foot of the Loom underwear, and he drove a Buick. His loyalties were carved in stone and he wasn't about to be impressed with some upstart of a toaster salesman who drove a Bonneville.

I don't know if it's a good idea to give a woman a box of bullets when she's got a pimple.

I ran three miles, staggered into the lobby, and took the elevator back to my apartment. No point to overdoing this exercise junk. --Stephanie Plum

THE NOTE said the first clue was "in the big one." I looked at the jumble of letters that followed, and I saw no pattern. Not such a surprise, since I was missing the puzzle chromosome and couldn't do puzzles designed for nine-year-olds.

I'd hate to list our specialties. Wreck cars, eat doughnuts, create mayhem.

Your life isn't out of control. It's expanded.