“Tell me, Francis, do you buy your one-liners wholesale? Only they’re well past their sell-by.”
“That guy should be in porn films.” Barclay frowned. “Why’s that then, Allan?” Ward looked at him. “Tell me, Tam, when did you last see a bigger prick?”
“Scotland is divided into several police regions. Rebus works for Lothian and Borders Police, whose “beat” covers Edinburgh and most points south until you reach the English border. The region’s HQ is based at Fettes Avenue in Edinburgh, and is often referred to by officers as “the Big House.” Other main police stations in the capital include St. Leonard’s (where Rebus is normally based), Leith (the port of Edinburgh), Gayfield Square and West End. The officer in charge of this region is known as the chief constable. He is served, in decreasing order of rank, by a deputy chief constable (DCC), two assistant chief constables (ACCs), and various detective chief superintendents (DCSs),”
“superintendents, chief inspectors, inspectors, sergeants and constables. If an officer works for CID (Criminal Investigation Department), then he or she will carry the prefix D (for Detective). A DCI is a detective chief inspector, DI is a detective inspector, DS a detective sergeant, and DC a detective constable. Officers not assigned to CID would wear a uniform. (Rebus sometimes refers to these unfortunates as “woolly suits.”) Lowest in the pecking order are the PC (police constable) and WPC (woman police constable).”
“At Tulliallan Police College DI John Rebus based at St. Leonard’s police station in Edinburgh DI James “Jazz” McCullough based in Dundee DI Francis Gray based in Glasgow DS Stu Sutherland based in Livingston DI Thomas “Tam” Barclay based in Falkirk DC Allan Ward based in Dumfries DCI Archibald Tennant the Resurrection Men’s boss Andrea Thomson career analyst The Rico Lomax Murder Case Eric “Rico” Lomax murder victim Fenella Rico’s widow “Chib” Kelly Fenella’s current lover, Glasgow bar owner and criminal Richard “Dickie” Diamond Rico’s friend Malky Dickie’s nephew, barman in Edinburgh Jenny Bell Dickie’s onetime girlfriend Bernie Johns deceased Glasgow drug baron”
“St. Leonard’s Police Station DS Siobhan Clarke (pronounced “Shiv-awn”) DI Derek Linford no friend to Rebus, disliked by Siobhan DCS Gill Templer officer in charge of St. Leonard’s DC David Hynds a new recruit DS George “Hi-Ho” Silvers officer with both eyes on approaching pension DC Grant Hood young and unpredictable officer with a crush on Siobhan DC Phyllida Hawes tough female officer, usually based at Gayfield Square DCI Bill Pryde second in command to DCS Gill Templer The Edward Marber Murder Case Edward Marber murdered Edinburgh art dealer Cynthia Bessant friend of the”
“Bessant friend of the deceased, also an art dealer Malcolm Neilson artist William Allison Neilson’s lawyer Dominic Mann art dealer Eric “Brains” Bain detective, computer specialist Professor Gates pathologist Morris Gerald “Big Ger” Cafferty Edinburgh’s preeminent gangster”
“The Weasel Cafferty’s lieutenant Aly the Weasel’s son Ellen Dempsey owner of MG Cabs in Edinburgh DI Bobby Hogan Leith-based detective WPC Antonia “Toni” Jackson experienced uniformed officer at St. Leonard’s PC John “Perry” Mason latest recruit to the uniformed branch at St. Leonard’s Laura Stafford a prostitute Donny Dow father of Laura’s child DS Liz Hetherington Dundee-based detective Ricky manager of the Sauna Paradiso Other Characters Claverhouse detective in the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency Ormiston Claverhouse’s”
“partner ACC Colin Carswell based at police HQ Sir David Strathern chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police Jean Burchill Rebus’s current partner, museum curator”
“While dead men tell no tales, their corpses often speak volumes.”
“Would you say you have a "philosophy" Of your own? If so what is it?'
'If I have it's all skin and bones...If I have any philosophy...it's that life could be better than it is.”
“Pain ripped through my leg, and I knew from the powerful scent and the disturbing warmth that my blood was flowing freely. I kicked instinctively with my left leg, and followed that with another blow from the shovel, this one powered by anger, as well as fear. And to my extreme satisfaction, that bastard hobbled away from me with a dislocated shoulder, mewling like a newborn kitten.
Meow, meow, motherfucker.”
“Erlking,” I told her. “Big-time bad guy. Wants to eat me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Well. I met him,” I said.”
“You're a bastard," I said.
"Uhtred," he began, but could find nothing more to say.
"You're a piece of weasel-shit," I said, "you're an earsling."
"I'm a king," he said, trying to regain his dignity.
"So you're a royal piece of weasel-shit. An earsling on a throne.”
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.