I see clues everywhere...

I was reading a book the other day and I read a passage where the protagonist and a friend went to the apartment of a potential suspect to ask some questions. Early in the scene, the author says that the elevator seemed to be stuck on a specific floor, so the two characters had to take the stairs.

Aha! I said to myself. Something is going to happen on the elevator, or maybe the suspect is already dead on the elevator.

As it turned out the elevator had little to do with anything, and was never mentioned again. I realized, that I've started seeing clues everywhere I look when reading a mystery novel. Because, as a writer of mysteries, I'm acutely aware of the fact that most everything I put in a book is there for a reason.

If I mention an object, chances are there's a good reason for mentioning the object. But the reason is not always going to be "clue." I may mention something to describe a situation and create a mood or feeling. I may use an object (like an elevator) to speed up or delay action -- in the case of the scene I read the author needed the characters to take longer to get to the apartment.

And of course, there are the red herrings, when I purposely mention something or someone to make it seem like it's related to the mystery in order to misdirect the reader's attention. I suppose every time I read something and immediately expect it to be a clue, and then it turns out not to be, I can tell myself the author meant it as a red herring. But I'd be lying to myself.

And then sometimes an object mentioned, is just that. An object. Maybe used to describe a room a character is in. Maybe to show what kind of "things" the main character likes, as a way of painting a picture of the character.

But I forget all about those "other" reasons for mentioning objects or people when I'm reading and I automatically assume everything mentioned is important and means something.

And it's frustrating. I can't simply sit back and read a mystery and relax and enjoy the book the way I used to before I started writing. Instead I'm constantly alert, looking for clues that aren't there. Making up scenarios that don't happen.

I'm curious if this happens to other mystery writers when they read? Are they able to turn off the writer part of the brain when reading? Or do they also see ghosts, er clues, everywhere they look?