" If I told you the truth plainly,” the man said, “you would not understand.” His voice was scratchy and warped, like an old record. But I could still make out the tinge of a French accent. “If life gave you answers outright, they would be meaningless. Each detective must take her clues and solve her mysteries for herself. No one can solve your mystery for you; a book cannot tell you the way.” Now I recognized the man; it was, of course, Jacques Silette, the great French detective. The words were from his one and only book, Détection. "

― Sara Gran , Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #1)