There are many reasons we might pick up a detective novel. One is obvious and very simple: We know we enjoyed the last one.

In 1948, poet W. H. Auden confessed to a passion: "The reading of detective stories is an addiction."

The delight of finding the hidden thread that pulls together an array of confusing facts, of solving a puzzle, of revealing the hidden significance of things.

One of the great thrills of detective fiction — the thrill of not knowing.

Our reasons for loving detective fiction are complex and hard to describe.

You discovered mystery novels at a young age. You began reading one and you were instantly enthralled. You gobbled it down in one long fevered gulp ... and then you went searching for the next.