--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...both Tom and I adore detective…" description: "\"“...both Tom and I adore detective stories. Isn't that so, Tom?\" [Lady Brace] \"Right!\" agreed her husband…\"But they've got to be proper detective stori..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/carter-dickson-39142_books_both-tom-and-i-adore-detective-stories-i_1313467.jpg" --- # ...both Tom and I adore detective stories. Isn't that so… ![“...both Tom and I adore detective stories. Isn't that so, Tom?" [Lady Brace] "Right!" agreed her husband…"But they've got to be proper detective stories. They've got to present a tricky, highly sophisticated problem, which you're given fair opportunity to solve." "And," amplified Virginia, "no…” quote by Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/carter-dickson-39142_books_both-tom-and-i-adore-detective-stories-i_1313467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/carter-dickson-39142_books_both-tom-and-i-adore-detective-stories-i_1313467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/carter-dickson-39142_books_both-tom-and-i-adore-detective-stories-i_1313467.jpg) > ““...both Tom and I adore detective stories. Isn't that so, Tom?" \[Lady Brace\] "Right!" agreed her husband…"But they've got to be proper detective stories. They've got to present a tricky, highly sophisticated problem, which you're given fair opportunity to solve." "And," amplified Virginia, "no saying they're psychological studies when the author can't write for beans." "Correct!" her husband agreed again. "Couldn't care less when you're supposed to get all excited as to whether the innocent man will be hanged or the innocent heroine will be seduced. Heroine ought to be seduced; what's she there for? The thing is the mystery. It's not worth reading if the mystery is simple or easy or no mystery at all.”” [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Detective stories should present complex, sophisticated puzzles that challenge readers, not simple or sentimental plots. **In simple terms:** Good mysteries are complex and challenging. Key Takeaway Seek stories with intricate puzzles. Themes detective fiction complexity reader engagement Mood intrigued critical Type literary analytical When to use this quote - reading clubs - writing workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts plot intricacy psychological depth Questions to Reflect On - What makes a mystery truly compelling? - How do you balance complexity and readability? A Different Perspective Simple mysteries may feel unsatisfying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Detective stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective-stories/) [Innocent man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-man/) [Mysteries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysteries/) ## Related quotes > [If you're reading a mystery novel, you kind of want the character to solve the crime instead of completely bumble their way through it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/if-you-re-reading-a-mystery-novel-you-kind-of-want-the-character-to/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [“Firstly,” Jackaby said with a sigh, “a ‘proper detective’ is about the last thing a good detective wants to look like, most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ritter/firstly-jackaby-said-with-a-sigh-a-proper-detective-is-about-the-last/) [William Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ritter/) > [I believe there's a landscape that exists underneath everything that we can see in present-day stuff. And I think that makes life kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hopkins/i-believe-there-s-a-landscape-that-exists-underneath-everything-that/) [Stephen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hopkins/) > [Writing detective stories is about writing light literature, for entertainment. It isn't primarily a question of writing propaganda or classical literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-detective-stories-is-about-writing-light-literature-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-average-detective-story-is-probably-no-worse-than-the-average/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Detective stories keep alive a view of the world which ought to be true. Of course people read them for fun ... But underneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/detective-stories-keep-alive-a-view-of-the-world-which-ought-to-be/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I read a lot of detective stories because they always deliver. They give you a beginning, a middle, and an end - a resolution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-read-a-lot-of-detective-stories-because-they-always-deliver-they/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [Just imagine how interesting it would be if I were to publish a romance of the "Secret Annexe." The title alone would be enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/just-imagine-how-interesting-it-would-be-if-i-were-to-publish-a/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [make no mistake about it, the detective-story is part of the literature of escape, and not of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/make-no-mistake-about-it-the-detective-story-is-part-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“It is to be feared that about a hundred detective stories have begun with the discovery that an American millionaire has been murdered; an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-to-be-feared-that-about-a-hundred-detective-stories-have-begun/) [G.K. 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It's like following a detective story, piecing together what's going on in the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-love-facts-and-figures-it-s-like-following-a-detective-story/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I don’t think I would ever want to be a writer of detective stories - but I would like to be a detective and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-lavin/i-don-t-think-i-would-ever-want-to-be-a-writer-of-detective-stories/) Mary Lavin > [You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/you-find-when-you-re-writing-a-detective-story-that-you-re-actually/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) ## More by Carter Dickson > [“Put it in terms of the not-too-serious, if you like. Who got into that locked room? And how was it done? And why should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/put-it-in-terms-of-the-not-too-serious-if-you-like-who-got-into-that/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“That's the point. If these Labour MP's were really working men, they'd have some sense. But most of 'em, or at least the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/that-s-the-point-if-these-labour-mp-s-were-really-working-men-they-d/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“Not that anybody cares two pins about history in these days.We've got rid of history; history is all my eye. But I've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/not-that-anybody-cares-two-pins-about-history-in-these-days-we-ve-got/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“That sounds silly, doesn't it? Running away just because you don't want to hurt somebody's feelings? 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I see."… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/but-the-curator-said-nothing-mattered-so-long-as-it-looked-all-right/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“Though the pictured face was floridly coloured, you suspected pallor; a mind lightly balanced, and liable to snap from sheer weight of dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/though-the-pictured-face-was-floridly-coloured-you-suspected-pallor-a/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“When a man can't sleep, he won't let anybody else sleep either. If he doesn't go off to dreamland the moment his head hits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/when-a-man-can-t-sleep-he-won-t-let-anybody-else-sleep-either-if-he/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) > [“I never met a gal who represented a mystery to me in quite the fetchin' way you did. It'd be dull and dreary just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-dickson/i-never-met-a-gal-who-represented-a-mystery-to-me-in-quite-the/) [Carter Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) [Explore all 11 Carter Dickson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-dickson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...both Tom and I adore detective stories. Isn't that so, Tom?\" [Lady Brace] \"Right!\" agreed her husband…\"But they've got to be proper detective stories. They've got to present a tricky, highly sophisticated problem, which you're given fair opportunity to solve.\" \"And,\" amplified Virginia, \"no saying they're psychological studies when the author can't write for beans.\" \"Correct!\" her husband agreed again. \"Couldn't care less when you're supposed to get all excited as to whether the innocent man will be hanged or the innocent heroine will be seduced. Heroine ought to be seduced; what's she there for? The thing is the mystery. 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