--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a licensed private investigator and…" description: "\"I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while. I'm a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I've been in jail m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/raymond-chandler-629_alleys_i-m-a-licensed-private-investigator-and_2791752.jpg" --- # I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for… ![“I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while. I'm a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I've been in jail more than once and I don't do divorce business. I like liquor and women and chess and a few other things. The cops don't like me too well, but I…” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/raymond-chandler-629_alleys_i-m-a-licensed-private-investigator-and_2791752.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/raymond-chandler-629_alleys_i-m-a-licensed-private-investigator-and_2791752.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f17/raymond-chandler-629_alleys_i-m-a-licensed-private-investigator-and_2791752.jpg) > “I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while. I'm a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I've been in jail more than once and I don't do divorce business. I like liquor and women and chess and a few other things. The cops don't like me too well, but I know a couple I get along with. I'm a native son, born in Santa Rosa, both parents dead, no brothers or sisters, and when I get knocked off in a dark alley sometime, if it happens, as it could to anyone in my business, nobody will feel that the bottom has dropped out of his or her life.” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A gritty, self‑destructive detective reflects on his lonely, risky life and its inevitable end. **In simple terms:** Detective lives a dangerous, solitary life. Key Takeaway Accept the risks, but seek purpose. Themes loneliness danger morality identity consequences Mood cynical reflective Type literary character study When to use this quote - private investigation - personal reflection - crime scenes - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts existentialism antihero urban noir Questions to Reflect On - What does he truly value? - How does his isolation affect his choices? A Different Perspective His worldview may romanticize self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Chess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chess/) [Cop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cop/) [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Jail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) [Lone wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lone-wolf/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Native son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-son/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Private Investigator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-investigator/) [Santa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/santa/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) ## Related quotes > [I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that's how VI came to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-thought-it-was-time-for-a-tough-smart-likable-female-private/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [“Curiosity was a bad character trait for a private investigator to have. It created work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-henderson/curiosity-was-a-bad-character-trait-for-a-private-investigator-to/) [Dee Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-henderson/) > [“But there’s something about sitting at someone else’s desk that makes you feel like looking in the drawers. I resisted the impulse briefly. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/but-there-s-something-about-sitting-at-someone-else-s-desk-that-makes/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Hired a Private Investigator to follow my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/hired-a-private-investigator-to-follow-my-heart/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“If you want to last more than five minutes as a private investigator, you've got to have the instincts of a chameleon. Gumshoes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-mcdermid/if-you-want-to-last-more-than-five-minutes-as-a-private-investigator/) [Val McDermid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-mcdermid/) > [“It was my father who called the city the Mansion on the River. He was talking about Charleston, South Carolina, and he was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/it-was-my-father-who-called-the-city-the-mansion-on-the-river-he-was/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“Crossing the line, that's what the Highway Patrol woman said. Neely was on a gurney, his injuries deemed non-life-threatening, she was taking her initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendric-neal/crossing-the-line-that-s-what-the-highway-patrol-woman-said-neely-was/) [Kendric Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendric-neal/) > [During the years when the barely educated immigrants were being replaced by barely educated native sons, Hollywood . . . proved a more reliable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/during-the-years-when-the-barely-educated-immigrants-were-being/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [How great would it be to have a native son lead us out of turmoil and trouble to peace and justice? Someone who follows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-long/how-great-would-it-be-to-have-a-native-son-lead-us-out-of-turmoil-and/) [Wendy Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-long/) > [A wonderful, warm, positive individual who exhibits the values that are prerequisite to a significant faculty post in higher education, I think that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cerone/a-wonderful-warm-positive-individual-who-exhibits-the-values-that-are/) David Cerone > [“Richard Wright, a Mississippi-born negro, has written a blinding and corrosive study in hate. It is a novel entitled "Native Son".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-cohn/richard-wright-a-mississippi-born-negro-has-written-a-blinding-and/) David L. Cohn > [“If you walk a city, if you love a city, if you put in your miles and years with open heart and mind, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/if-you-walk-a-city-if-you-love-a-city-if-you-put-in-your-miles-and/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Sugar had grown up in Charleston, South Carolina: possibly the most luscious of the world's garden cities. Behind every wrought-iron gate or exposed-brick wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kate-lynch/sugar-had-grown-up-in-charleston-south-carolina-possibly-the-most/) [Sarah-Kate Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kate-lynch/) > [Pennsylvania couldn't be prouder of our native son, Joe Biden from Scranton. No one knows us better than Joe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-casey-jr/pennsylvania-couldn-t-be-prouder-of-our-native-son-joe-biden-from/) [Bob Casey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-casey-jr/) > [When men are put into these types of circumstances like Bigger in 'Native Son,' or Fonny in 'Beale Street,' it destroys relationships, their love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/when-men-are-put-into-these-types-of-circumstances-like-bigger-in/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/she-jerked-away-from-me-like-a-startled-fawn-might-if-i-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “He \[James Cain\] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i-detest-a-proust-in-greasy/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Alleys quotes > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She glances back before stepping into the alley, and she catches her grandfather looking at her the way he does sometimes--as if she's already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/she-glances-back-before-stepping-into-the-alley-and-she-catches-her/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Victim disarmament types are sick, sick people, who'd rather see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose than see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/victim-disarmament-types-are-sick-sick-people-who-d-rather-see-a/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [In most cases, the best strategy for a job interview is to be fairly honest, because the worst thing that can happen is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-most-cases-the-best-strategy-for-a-job-interview-is-to-be-fairly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If Elmore Leonard met Jim Thompson down a dark alley at midnight they might emerge a week later with thick beards, bloodshot eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/if-elmore-leonard-met-jim-thompson-down-a-dark-alley-at-midnight-they/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [It would be hilarious if I worked in a bowling alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-plaza/it-would-be-hilarious-if-i-worked-in-a-bowling-alley/) [Aubrey Plaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-plaza/) > [...wings—-vast shimmering wings, their reach so great they swept the walls on either side of the alley, each feather like the wind-tugged lick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/wings-vast-shimmering-wings-their-reach-so-great-they-swept-the-walls/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [ Singing, dancing, and acting! The part \[of Roxie in Let It Shine\] was right up my alley. Plus, the thought of playing a rock… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-jones/singing-dancing-and-acting-the-part-of-roxie-in-let-it-shine-was/) [Coco Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-jones/) > [The trees grew too thickly, and their trunks were too big for any healthy New England wood. There was too much silence in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/the-trees-grew-too-thickly-and-their-trunks-were-too-big-for-any/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [You start out with the sublime and you end up in an alley jerking away for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/you-start-out-with-the-sublime-and-you-end-up-in-an-alley-jerking/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [When we come face-to-face with one down a dark alley, we're going to be having a shufti to see if it's solid, aren't we,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-come-face-to-face-with-one-down-a-dark-alley-we-re-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The costume designer, her name is Anne Hardinge. She's done "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." She's really comedic costume designer, which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerusha-hess/the-costume-designer-her-name-is-anne-hardinge-she-s-done-shaun-of/) [Jerusha Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerusha-hess/) > [I wish I could close my eyes and be blown into dust and nothingness, feel all my thoughts disperse like dandelion fluff drifting off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wish-i-could-close-my-eyes-and-be-blown-into-dust-and-nothingness-2/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [One hurries through, even though there's time; the past, the continent, is behind; the future is the glowing mouth in the side of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/one-hurries-through-even-though-there-s-time-the-past-the-continent/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I feel like now if you're going to start a band you have to have an Instagram full of yourself looking a certain way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babatunde-adebimpe/i-feel-like-now-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-band-you-have-to-have-an/) [Babatunde Adebimpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babatunde-adebimpe/) Browse all 255 Alleys quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a licensed private investigator and have been for quite a while. I'm a lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I've been in jail more than once and I don't do divorce business. I like liquor and women and chess and a few other things. The cops don't like me too well, but I know a couple I get along with. 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