#WritersRecommend: David Krugler

Recommended Reading

During the pandemic, I’m re-reading the mystery novels of Colin Dexter (paperbacks available at bookshop.org). The series is like a visit from an old friend. A gruff, opinionated, often irascible but always interesting friend—a.k.a. Inspector Morse. Yes, he drinks too much and his manners need polish (would it kill him to say a nice word now and then to his capable, admiring junior partner Robbie Lewis?), but Dexter’s deft presentation of his protagonist is engaging and skillful. Also, at a time when we’re now more dependent than ever on our wireless technology to work, learn, and socialize, it’s comforting to settle into the pre-Internet Thames Valley of Morse and Lewis where typewriters clatter, telephones ring, and Morse works the daily newspaper’s crossword with a pencil. Morse likes to solve cases at the local pubs, a pint in hand; Dexter’s descriptions of wood-paneled, cozy bars help me imagine the time when we can again congregate with friends at a favorite watering hole. Until then, it’s quarantinis during Zoom Happy Hours. As Morse might say to Lewis, “Bloody hell!”

About David Krugler

David Krugler, a historian and novelist, is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where he has taught since completing his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His background in history inspired him to create a series of spy novels featuring a young naval officer investigating communist espionage during World War II. The first title in the series, The Dead Don’t Bleed, appeared in 2016; the sequel, Rip the Angels from Heaven, was published in 2018. For details, visit http://www.davidkrugler.com/fiction