--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had chosen to play the detective—and if…" description: "\"“I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one thing that unites all the detectives I've ever read about, it's their inherent loneliness. The ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/anthony-horowitz-1452_anthony-horowitz_i-had-chosen-to-play-the-detective-and-i_453920.jpg" --- # I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one… ![“I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one thing that unites all the detectives I've ever read about, it's their inherent loneliness. The suspects know each other. They may well be family or friends. But the detective is always the outsider. He asks the necessary questions but he…” quote by Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/anthony-horowitz-1452_anthony-horowitz_i-had-chosen-to-play-the-detective-and-i_453920.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/anthony-horowitz-1452_anthony-horowitz_i-had-chosen-to-play-the-detective-and-i_453920.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/anthony-horowitz-1452_anthony-horowitz_i-had-chosen-to-play-the-detective-and-i_453920.jpg) > ““I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one thing that unites all the detectives I've ever read about, it's their inherent loneliness. The suspects know each other. They may well be family or friends. But the detective is always the outsider. He asks the necessary questions but he doesn't actually form a relationship with anyone. He doesn't trust them, and they in turn are afraid of him. It's a relationship based entirely on deception and it's one that, ultimately, goes nowhere. Once the killer has been identified, the detective leaves and is never seen again. In fact, everyone is glad to see the back of him.”” [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Detectives remain isolated, asking probing questions without forming bonds, leading to a solitary, transient existence. **In simple terms:** Detectives stay lonely and detached. Key Takeaway Accept the detective’s solitude. Themes loneliness investigation trust deception Mood reflective melancholy Type literary character study When to use this quote - Crime investigations - interrogations - solitary work environments Key Concepts Isolation psychology detective archetype social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Can a detective ever truly connect? - How does isolation affect judgment? A Different Perspective Loneliness can hinder emotional health and teamwork. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthony-horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthony-horowitz/) [Detective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Loner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loner/) [Magpie-murders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magpie-murders/) [Murder-mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder-mystery/) [Outsider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outsider/) ## Related quotes > [“As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat a good whodunnit: the twists and turns, the clues and the red herrings and then, finally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-can-t-beat-a-good-whodunnit-the-twists/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“I've watched every episode of Poirot and Midsomer Murders on TV. 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Hogwarts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/what-is-this-place-hogwarts/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [I'm a private victim of a peculiar household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-m-a-private-victim-of-a-peculiar-household/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [My generation has left the globe in a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/my-generation-has-left-the-globe-in-a-mess/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) [Explore all 236 Anthony Horowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) ## More Anthony-horowitz quotes > [“You'd have thought that after twenty years editing murder mysteries I'd have noticed when I found myself in the middle of one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/you-d-have-thought-that-after-twenty-years-editing-murder-mysteries-i/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“I couldn't see myself as some twenty-first century Shirley Valentine, sitting on the rocks, a thousand miles from the nearest Waterstones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-couldn-t-see-myself-as-some-twenty-first-century-shirley-valentine/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“In a whodunnit, when a detective hears that Sir Somebody Smith has been stabbed thirty-six times on a train or decapitated, they accept it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/in-a-whodunnit-when-a-detective-hears-that-sir-somebody-smith-has/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“This business with Sir Magnus Pye had got off to an inauspicious start. 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I was talking about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/breakfast-noah-muttered-greasy-and-disgusting-said-matt-you-don-t/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat a good whodunnit: the twists and turns, the clues and the red herrings and then, finally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-can-t-beat-a-good-whodunnit-the-twists/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“I nearly choked on my milkshake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-nearly-choked-on-my-milkshake/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“I've watched every episode of Poirot and Midsomer Murders on TV. 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We never look at them anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/why-does-anyone-take-photographs-ever-we-never-look-at-them-anymore/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“I held out the packet and suddenly we were friends. That's one of the only good things about being a smoker these days. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-held-out-the-packet-and-suddenly-we-were-friends-that-s-one-of-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) [Browse all 16 Anthony-horowitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthony-horowitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one thing that unites all the detectives I've ever read about, it's their inherent loneliness. The suspects know each other. They may well be family or friends. But the detective is always the outsider. He asks the necessary questions but he doesn't actually form a relationship with anyone. He doesn't trust them, and they in turn are afraid of him. It's a relationship based entirely on deception and it's one that, ultimately, goes nowhere. Once the killer has been identified, the detective leaves and is never seen again. 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