“...though I am still...exceedingly puzzled as to why our murderer should decide to draw almost inevitable attention to himself by wearing such a conspicuous pair of plimsolls and running around Burford for two and a half hours.”

“This was exactly why holidays were so valuable, he told himself: they allowed you to stand back a bit, and see where you were going rusty.”

“Walters looked quizzically at Morse, who sat reading one of the glossy 'porno' magazines he had brought from upstairs."You still sex-mad, I see, Morse," said the surgeon."I don't seem to be able to shake it off, Max." Morse turned over a page. "And you don't improve much either, do you? You've been examining all our bloody corpses for donkey's years, and you still refuse to tell us when they died.”

“Morse stared morosely at the blotting paper. "It's just not my sort of case, Lewis. I know it's not a very nice thing to say, but I just get on better when we've got a body - a body that died from unnatural causes. That's all I ask. And we haven't got a body.”

“I always drink at lunchtime. It helps my imagination.”

“He sighed and knew that life was full of ‘if only’ for everyone”

“There's always time for one more pint. - Chief Inspector Morse”