--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always credited the private…" description: "\"I've always credited the private detective with a high degree of omniscience. Or is that only true in rental fiction?\" — John Paxton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg" --- # I've always credited the private detective with a high… ![“I've always credited the private detective with a high degree of omniscience. Or is that only true in rental fiction?” quote by John Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg) > “I've always credited the private detective with a high degree of omniscience. Or is that only true in rental fiction?” [John Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paxton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Detectives are often portrayed as all‑knowing, but reality limits their insight. **In simple terms:** Detectives aren’t truly omniscient. Key Takeaway Question the limits of investigative knowledge. Themes detective fiction knowledge limits reality vs fiction Mood skeptical reflective Type literary critical When to use this quote - crime novels - film noir - detective stories Key Concepts Omniscience narrative trope investigative method Questions to Reflect On - Do we expect too much from real investigators? - How does omniscience shape story tension? A Different Perspective Fiction exaggerates detective capabilities, misleading expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Degree Omniscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-omniscience-1905084/) [Great saying by great authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) [Omniscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscience/) [Omniscience True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscience-true-1905083/) [Private Detective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-detective/) [Rental Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rental-fiction-1905082/) ## Related quotes > [A woman went so far as to hire private detectives to contact me to help bring her out of what she called a hypnotic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-pride/a-woman-went-so-far-as-to-hire-private-detectives-to-contact-me-to/) [Charley Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-pride/) > [Walter Mosley was not the first black crime writer, nor was he the first to fuse genre conventions with larger social concerns. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/walter-mosley-was-not-the-first-black-crime-writer-nor-was-he-the/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [“Lord Peter was hampered in his career as a private detective by a public school education. Despite Parker's admonitions, he was not always able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/lord-peter-was-hampered-in-his-career-as-a-private-detective-by-a/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Newspapers and old magazines were piled everywhere. A door to an inner room burst open and Norman Z. Moody emerged. He was about five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/newspapers-and-old-magazines-were-piled-everywhere-a-door-to-an-inner/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [“Eli Hofstadter, Private Detective and Investigative services. I find”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/callie-hart/eli-hofstadter-private-detective-and-investigative-services-i-find/) [Callie Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/callie-hart/) > [“The private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-private-detective-of-fiction-is-a-fantastic-creation-who-acts-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-about-eleven-o-clock-in-the-morning-mid-october-with-the-sun/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Daytime television, you can tell who’s watching by the three kinds of commercials. Either it’s clinics for drying out drunks. Or it’s law firms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/daytime-television-you-can-tell-who-s-watching-by-the-three-kinds-of/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“No visible scars. Hair dark brown, some gray. Eyes brown. Height six feet, one half inch. Weight about one ninety. Name Philip Marlowe. Occupation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/no-visible-scars-hair-dark-brown-some-gray-eyes-brown-height-six-feet/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Because sometimes it's better to believe in the impossible. To believe you are a secret agent or a private detective or a superhero and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-david-anderson/because-sometimes-it-s-better-to-believe-in-the-impossible-to-believe/) [John David Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-david-anderson/) > [Any time I think about sitting at a piano with Barry Manilow, I could start weeping. And then my other idea is that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-everett/any-time-i-think-about-sitting-at-a-piano-with-barry-manilow-i-could/) [Bridget Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-everett/) > [I've actually published two compilations, if only barely. Hire a private detective and possibly you'll be able to locate them. One was called 'Violent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-ve-actually-published-two-compilations-if-only-barely-hire-a/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [I've always felt if you followed a real private detective around, it would be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/powers-boothe/i-ve-always-felt-if-you-followed-a-real-private-detective-around-it/) [Powers Boothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/powers-boothe/) > [“Nolly Wolfstan, private detective, had the teeth of a god and a face so unfortunate that it argued convincingly against the existence of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/nolly-wolfstan-private-detective-had-the-teeth-of-a-god-and-a-face-so/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The private detective of fiction is a fantastic creation who acts and speaks like a real man. He can be completely realistic in every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-private-detective-of-fiction-is-a-fantastic-creation-who-acts-and-2/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More by John Paxton > [“No, it wasn't an accident, I didn't say that. It was carefully planned, down to the tiniest mechanical and emotional detail. But it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/no-it-wasn-t-an-accident-i-didn-t-say-that-it-was-carefully-planned/) [John Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paxton/) > [My second husband was an American. We traveled all over the world and everywhere we went he would say to people, I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/my-second-husband-was-an-american-we-traveled-all-over-the-world-and/) [John Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paxton/) [Explore all 3 John Paxton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paxton/) ## More Great saying by great authors quotes > [Rosalind. Well, this is the forest of Arden. Touchstone. Ay, now am I in Arden, the more fool I. When I was at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rosalind-well-this-is-the-forest-of-arden-touchstone-ay-now-am-i-in/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Maria. Nay, but say true, doesit work upon him? Sir Toby Belch. Like aqua vitae with a midwife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/maria-nay-but-say-true-doesit-work-upon-him-sir-toby-belch-like-aqua/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The great must submit to the dominion of prudence and of virtue, or none will long submit to the dominion of thegreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/the-great-must-submit-to-the-dominion-of-prudence-and-of-virtue-or/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She who does not know she isa patient lies Within a tent of green, and sleeps without a sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kirkup/she-who-does-not-know-she-isa-patient-lies-within-a-tent-of-green-and/) [James Kirkup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kirkup/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrotea letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/popular-culture-entered-my-life-as-shirley-temple-who-was-exactly-my/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuitslikebecoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuitslikebecoming-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Here the crow starves, here the patient stag Breeds for the rifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-stearns-eliot/here-the-crow-starves-here-the-patient-stag-breeds-for-the-rifle/) [Thomas Stearns Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-stearns-eliot/) > [They are not dead! They havebut passed, Beyond the mists that blind us here, Into the new and larger life, Of that serener sphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-luckey-mccreery/they-are-not-dead-they-havebut-passed-beyond-the-mists-that-blind-us/) [John Luckey McCreery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-luckey-mccreery/) > [From disaster good fortune comes, and in good fortune lurks disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/from-disaster-good-fortune-comes-and-in-good-fortune-lurks-disaster/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was a chilly winter's night; And frost was glitt'ring on theground, And evening stars were twinkling bright;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barnes/it-was-a-chilly-winter-s-night-and-frost-was-glitt-ring-on-theground/) [William Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barnes/) > [If Thought is capable of beingclassed with Electricity, or Will with chemical affinity, asa mode of motion, it seems necessary to fall at once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-brooks-adams/if-thought-is-capable-of-beingclassed-with-electricity-or-will-with/) [Henry Brooks Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-brooks-adams/) > [Come dame or maid, be not afraid, Poor Tom will injure nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/come-dame-or-maid-be-not-afraid-poor-tom-will-injure-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Various content To your eyes, ears, and tongue, and every part. If then your body go, what need you a heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/various-content-to-your-eyes-ears-and-tongue-and-every-part-if-then/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) [Browse all 605 Great saying by great authors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-saying-by-great-authors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've always credited the private detective with a high degree of omniscience. Or is that only true in rental fiction?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Paxton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detective-with-a-high-degree-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Great saying by great authors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detective-with-a-high-degree-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/john-paxton-86163_great-saying-by-grea_i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detecti_1786209.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always credited the private detective with a high degree of omniscience. Or is that only true in rental…” — John Paxton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Paxton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paxton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've always credited the private detective...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detective-with-a-high-degree-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paxton/i-ve-always-credited-the-private-detective-with-a-high-degree-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```