Trivia

Dorothea Frazil asks "Have we met?", and when Morse replies "No, I don't think so", comments "Another life, then". This is a reference to Dorothea being played by Abigail Thaw, the daughter of John Thaw who made the character of Inspector Morse famous in Inspector Morse (1987). Her character name is also a reference to him, with "frazil" being a type of ice, and so D. Frazil = Thaw.

When DS Lott tells Morse that he knows Morse spent three years at Lonsdale (college) and then threw in the towel before his finals, it is only half the story. In The Last Enemy (1989), it is revealed that Morse had to leave Lonsdale College when his grant was stopped and he could not fund himself.

Dempsey, the special branch officer, says the government is "still running about with a dustpan and brush after Cliveden." This is a reference to the Profumo Affair, which began when Government minister John Profumo met call girl Christine Keeler at Cliveden House in 1961 and pursued a lengthy adulterous affair with her which became public knowledge in 1963; it burgeoned into a major scandal that lasted for months and involved other members of the so-called "Cliveden Set".

When Morse goes to interview Johnny Franks at the garage where he works, he admires a maroon Jaguar Mark II on the forecourt. This is the same car, registration 248 RPA, that Morse drives in Inspector Morse (1987).

While Morse is explaining how the murder was committed, Rosalind Stromming is singing the aria "Un Bel Di" (One fine day) from Puccini's Madame Butterfly. This is also what she writes on his record when she autographs it.

Colin Dexter: Morse creator and novelist is a fellow drinker in the pub where Morse has his first pint.