The requisitions of the income tax have added greatly to the attractions of mercenary crime.

To read of a detective's daring finesse or ingenious stratagem is a rare joy.

If I'm home with no chore at hand, and a package of books has come, the television set and the chess board and the unanswered mail will have to manage without me if one of the books is a detective story.

Sometimes it's things that take the joy out of life, like a blowout when you're hitting sixty or a button coming off of a shirt when you're in a hurry, but usually it's people.

The only two kinds of books could earn an American writer a living are cookbooks and detective novels.

If your ego is in good shape you will pretend you're surprised if a National Chairman calls you to tell you his party wants to nominate you for President of the United States, but you're not really surprised.

I don't approve of open fires. You can't think, or talk or even make love in front of a fireplace. All you can do is stare at it.