She was the music heard faintly on the edge of sound.

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on principle, so he won't let himself get snotty about it.

I sat down on the edge of a deep soft chair and looked at Mrs Regan. She was worth a stare. She was trouble.

The average detective story is probably no worse than the average novel, but you never see the average novel. It doesn't get published. The average -- or only slightly above average -- detective story does.... Whereas the good novel is not at all the same kind of book as the bad novel. It is about entirely different things. But the good detective story and the bad detective story are about exactly the same things, and they are about them in very much the same way.

To say goodbye is to die a little.

Throw up into your typewriter every morning. Clean up every noon.

The wet air was as cold as the ashes of love.