Crime Solving Quotes

“There are no crimes and no criminals in these days. What is the use of having brains in our profession? I know well that I have it in me to make my name famous. No man lives or has ever lived who has brought the same amount of study and of natural talent to the detection of crime which I have done. And what is the result? There is no crime to detect, or, at most, some bungling villainy with a motive so transparent that even a Scotland Yard official can see through it.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

“I should prefer that you do not mention my name at all in connection with this case, as I choose to be only associated with those crimes which present some difficulty in their solution.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story

“I fear that if the matter is beyond humanity, it is certainly beyond me.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Die Teufelskralle

“Murder, other than in the most strict forensic sense, is never soluble. That dark human clot can never melt into a lucid, clear suspension. Our detective fiction tells us otherwise: everything is just meat and cold ballistics. Provide a murderer, a motive and a means, and you have solved the crime. Using this method, the solution to the Second World War is as follows: Hitler. The German economy. Tanks. Thus, for convenience, we reduce the complex events.”
― Alan Moore, From Hell

“Statistics show that the nature of English crime is reverting to its oldest habits. In a country where so many desire status and wealth, petty annoyances can spark disproportionately violent behaviour. We become frustrated because we feel powerless, invisible, unheard. We crave celebrity, but that’s not easy to come by, so we settle for notoriety. Envy and bitterness drive a new breed of lawbreakers, replacing the old motives of poverty and the need for escape. But how do you solve crimes which no longer have traditional motives?”
― Christopher Fowler, Ten Second Staircase

“All my instincts are one way, and all the facts are the other, and I much fear that British juries have not yet attained that pitch of intelligence when they will give the preference to my theories over Lestrade's facts.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Norwood Builder - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story

“The inspector sat down on a stair, fired up a cigarette, and entered an immobility contest with a lizard.”
― Andrea Camilleri, The Snack Thief

“When the lights suddenly go out, hold onto your diamonds for dear life. - Nancy Drew, The Mystery of Lilac Inn”
― Carolyn Keene

“(About "From Hell") The idea was to do a documentary comic about a murder. I concluded that there was a way of approaching the [Ripper] murders in a completely different way. I changed the emphasis from 'whodunit' to 'what happened'. I'd seen advertisements for Douglas Adams' book "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". A holistic detective? You wouldn't just have to solve the crime, you'd have to solve the entire world that that crime happened in. That was the twist that I needed.”
― Alan Moore

“Kalian ingin menghentikan kriminalitas tetapi tidak tahu apa-apa tentang dunia kriminal? Itu naïf namanya.”
― Adham T. Fusama, Dead Smokers Club Part 1

“Ask yourself this question: Of this had been a white child found dead in a black neighborhood, would they be knocking on every door? 'Yes, sir.' Searching high and low? 'Yes, indeed.' It this had been a white child, would they paint him as a sinner and not a saint? 'Lord, no...”
― Ravi Howard

“Imagination (is) to building a police case what mortar is to a bricklayer.”
― Helen Nielsen

“No one is better suited for solving crimes."
Meg cocked her head to one side, her fiery-red ponytail swaying in the light breeze. "If you consider the scheming I did for Hades crime work, then maybe. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is one small gig." A gig that would barely pay the rent, but she couldn't be choosy. There wasn't a large market for women who'd recently been freed from the Underworld, and she needed to make money.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology