The Fourth Bear (Nursery Crime, #2)

by Jasper Fforde

“A life lived in fear is a life half lived. A life half lived is fear lived in half. A life half feared is fear half lived.” Some people have a way with words, but Hoffman wasn’t one of them.

Bloody hell!” said Punch in an annoying, high-pitched voice. He opened his glassy eyes wide in shock and grinned even more broadly to reveal two long rows of perfectly varnished teeth. “The pig-bastard baby snatcher! What the ****ing hell do you want?” “I live next door,” said Jack, “and keep your voice down. If I ever hear you swear without asterisk substitution, I’ll arrest you for offensive and threatening language.”

“Have you ever been to the Déjà Vu before?” asked Madeleine as they entered the main doors. Jack looked around the entrance lobby. “I don’t think so,” he answered, “but it does look sort of familiar.”

“If you brought them up to regard water the same way as they regard roads, I don’t think you’d have a problem.”

“Prejudice is a product of ignorance that hides behind barriers of tradition, Inspector.