He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.

California, the department store state.

It was a cool day and very clear. You could see a long way-but not as far as Velma had gone.

Police business is a hell of a problem. It's a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest type of men, and there's nothing in it to attract the highest type of men.

I regard psychiatry as fifty percent bunk, thirty percent fraud, ten percent parrot talk, and the remaining ten percent just a fancy lingo for the common sense we have had for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years, if we ever had the guts to read.

The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little.

A good title is the title of a successful book.