Monday, May 4, 2026

Opening With Quotes

Colin Dexter commonly opens chapters with quotes from other authors. In many cases I read them then forget them. Then there are those that resonate. Those I store for later. This is a new one. One that makes fun of himself, somewhat dryly, and makes the reader smile a bit.

During a particularly slow few chapters in this Inspector Morse novel, when the action was slowing, Dexter inserted this gem at the beginning of his next chapter.

"In the police-procedural, a fair degree of realism is possible, but it cannot be pushed too far for fear that the book might be as dull as the actual days of a policeman (Julian Symons, Bloody Murder)

Colin Dexter - Jewel That Was Ours

That sure made me smile.

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