The Fourth Inspector Morse Omnibus

Inspector Morse #10-12

by Colin Dexter

This anthology features three Inspector Morse novels. In "The Way Through the Woods", a young tourist disappears in North Oxford. In "The Daughters of Cain", Morse takes over an unsolved murder. "Death Is Now My Neighbour" sees Morse on the trail of a killer.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, British Literature

800 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Norman Colin Dexter was an English crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels.

He started writing mysteries in 1972 during a family holiday: "We were in a little guest house halfway between Caernarfon and Pwllheli. It was a Saturday and it was raining - it's not unknown for it to rain in North Wales. The children were moaning ... I was sitting at the kitchen table with nothing else to do, and I wrote the first few paragraphs of a potential detective novel." Last Bus to Woodstock was published in 1975 and introduced the world to the character of Inspector Morse, the irascible detective whose penchants for cryptic crosswords, English literature, cask ale and Wagner reflect Dexter's own enthusiasms. Dexter's plots are notable for his use of false leads and other red herrings.

The success of the 33 episodes of the TV series Inspector Morse, produced between 1987 and 2001, brought further acclaim for Dexter. In the manner of Alfred Hitchcock, he also makes a cameo appearance in almost all episodes. More recently, his character from the Morse series, the stalwart Sgt (now Inspector) Lewis features in 12 episodes of the new ITV series Lewis. As with Morse, Dexter makes a cameo appearance in several episodes. Dexter suggested the English poet A. E. Housman as his "great life" on the BBC Radio 4 programme of that name in May 2008. Dexter and Housman were both classicists who found a popular audience for another genre of writing.

Dexter has been the recipient of several Crime Writers' Association awards: two Silver Daggers for Service of All the Dead in 1979 and The Dead of Jericho in 1981; two Gold Daggers for The Wench is Dead in 1989 and The Way Through the Woods in 1992; and a Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement in 1997. In 1996 Dexter received a Macavity Award for his short story Evans Tries an O-Level. In 1980, he was elected a member of the by-invitation-only Detection Club.

In 2000, Dexter was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature.

From Wikipedia

Series:
* Inspector Morse

Awards:
Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger
◊ 1979: Service of all the Dead
◊ 1981: The Dead of Jericho
Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger
◊ 1989: The Wench is Dead
◊ 1992: The Way Through the Woods

Reviews

[Avarill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes a while to get to know Inspector(Endeavour) Morse. I think Colin Dexter [the author] had fun creating Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis. The author has a quirky sense of humour which pertains to men. The quirky humour is not meant to relate to the sexual explanatories of the book, but certainly to the thinking of the male species nature. What amuses them.
I think what I enjoyed most about the book is Morse's intellectual side. It brings quality to who-done-it plots. Before a chapter begins a quote to a poem or play or book appears relating to the chapter - interesting. Towards the end of the very last story, 'Murder is my Neighbour' I lost the sequence of Morse's thinking, his explanations & the connecting incidents to the murders, but from ch. 62, the last chapters brought it all back together. I must admit that Inspector Morse grew on me, getting to know him, I got to enjoy him.
Would I read another detective story of Inspector Morse by Colin Dexter's or one of his other books; no I don't think so. This book is totally grafted for men only. I needed to read Jane Austen - 'Sandition' written by Jane Austen and another lady. I also read 'Sandition and other stories', published by the Millennium Library. Perhaps I'm a little bit old fashioned.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the series, I much preferred these later books. The relationship between Morse and Lewis becomes more poignant as Morse’s physical fragility becomes more apparent. Not one to change his self-destructive habits though, it doesn’t bode well, knowing that The Remorseful Day is the last book in this iconic series.

[Sue Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Way through the Woods (***1/2): A year ago a Swedish backpacker disappeared, presumably murdered. Morse wanted the case, but was assigned to something else. Now Morse is taking some long overdue leave when Thames Valley receive a mysterious poem through the mail which seems to be a clue to the case. When Strange has the poem published in The Times, Morse follows the letters in response avidly, but at first refuses to cut short his leave to take over the case. So Strange gets Lewis to give him a call.
Daughters of Cain (***1/2): An elderly bachelor Oxford Don is murdered in his home. Once again Morse is late to the case, being assigned it when the wife of the detective in charge is taken seriously ill. Has the murder any relation to a sequence of earlier events in the Don's college involving a student's suicide and the sudden resignation of a scout? It's a messy case for Morse, not helped by illness on his part. Reading it is not helped by a sudden change 3/4 of the way through from a direct, involved style to a detached style.
Death is now my Neighbour (***): A young woman is shot early one morning through her kitchen window. She seems to have been a nice, average young woman and Morse and Lewis cannot find a motive or anyone who would want her dead. Her neighbour is a journalist who was immediately on the spot when the police arrived. Does he know more than he is telling? The case is not helped by Morse being distracted by health issues and thoughts of retirement. It takes concentration to follow the case through Morse's worries.
Three stars or four? I enjoyed them, but would I read them again? Probably not.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable reading in the solid tradition of English whodunnits with the added pleasure of Morse's pedantry around grammar and spelling and his obsession with crosswords.