Raymond Chandler

"At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed, must seem to be inevitable. "

"Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you can find outside an advertising agency. "

"She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket. "

"The law isn't justice. It's a very imperfect mechanism. If you press exactly the right buttons and are also lucky, justice may show up in the answer. A mechanism is all the law was ever intended to be. "