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Avg. Rating: 4.5
"There were passages of conversation which [s/he] shouldn't have heard, or having heard, should have forgotten."
When Sir Clicksby Breen, at age 69, decides to retire as Master of Lonsdale College, Oxford, two in-house candidates become the frontrunners to succeed him. In both cases, their wives are at least as interested in acquiring the title of "Lady," which comes with the appointment, as their husbands are in becoming Master, and in both cases the wives have something in their backgrounds to hide.
In this somewhat fragmented mystery in which the action evolves on parallel tracks, Inspector Morse is called to investigate the murder of a young woman, Rachel James, in what appears to have been a case of mistaken identity. She is the next door neighbor of Geoffrey Owens, a reporter who dabbles in blackmail, and many people have reason to want him dead, including both of the Oxford dons and/or their wives.
Filled with red herrings and digressions, the mystery follows the life of the dons, the Master, their wives, reporter/blackmailer Geoffrey Owens, a neighbor who may be providing Owens with an alibi, and even the madam of a house of ill repute. The finicky and grammatically precise Inspector Morse, accompanied by his more relaxed and less educated assistant, Sgt. Lewis, play off each other to provide some moments of good humor, and the reader comes to know Morse in new ways--in his increasing fondness for drink and in his new diagnosis of diabetes. He also becomes attracted to a new woman.
Though the mystery is entertaining, it is less polished than some others in this series. With a large cast of characters to develop, Dexter sometimes allows the overlaps and complexities of the characters' relationships to obscure the issue of who murdered Rachel James in her home and why, and when a second murder occurs later in the novel, the case becomes particularly complex, since the murdered person has been one of the suspects in Rachel's murder. The ending, which ties up all the loose ends, comes abruptly, and the motivation of the murderer is not as strong as it is in some of Morse's other cases. An excellent mystery, but not one of Morse's best. n Mary Whipple
Dexter writes with an enchanted pen...
Oh how I miss Morse! I have never read all the Dexter books, nor have I seen all of the Morse videos. So when I pick one up again that I have not been through, it is such a treat of fine writing. And of course, I will continue to see John Thaw in my mind as the very fallible Inspector Morse, who is so difficult to work and live with, but who somehow has people who care about him. It's like loving a prickly pear cactus...
This book is another fine example of mystery writing in the maze of Oxford. Morse has to deal with the deaths of two people in the same housing area, and first determine if they are related, and if they are, how and why? Morse sends poor Lewis to do a lot of the leg work, while he drinks his way through the neighboring pubs and getting gems of information from those who knew the victims.
In the midst of this, is another tale of professorially competition. It's alive and well in Britain, just as well as it is here in the U.S. In this case, only two men are up for the coveted position, and they both want the position...and both their wives want the position for their husbands...to the point of doing things most people wouldn't even consider doing.
Morse finally recognizes as the intelligent person he is, that his body is trying to tell him something, and that if he doesn't do something soon, he may not live. He winds up in the hospital with severe diabetes...and promises to change his lifestyle, kind of...
Those like Lewis who care about Morse, know this scare is not going to be enough to change Morse's heavy drinking habits...but continue to work with and for him. Lewis continues to try to nag Morse into healthy change, realizing it's probably a lost cause. Morse in the meantime, continues to tease apart the pieces of the puzzles to these collegial murders, even as he deals with his own health and his own mortality. This time he is so busy with this stuff, he doesn't have a chance to fall somewhat in love with someone...
Karen SAdler
Good read all told
Again, Dexter gives the goods. A tad slow in places, but Morse gets through well. I foudn myself wanting a pint often in this one.
A great read about a cop who is a cut above the rest.
Morse and Lewis are made for each other. Morse's crankyness shows that he is every bit all too human. Lewis is too much the company man and can't always see beyond the obvious. If anything the two complement each other. Together they have solved yet another baffling crime that would have stumped lesser minds.
A mystery with wit, suspense and humanity.
Colin Dexter is a masterful writer who has done a magnificent job in developing the characters of Chief Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis. I have truly enjoyed watching them develop in his novels over the years and have marveled at the friendship that has developed in these characters of such opposite demeanor.In this most fascinating mystery, Morse faces his own mortality in some rather surprising ways while trying to resolve a murder that appears to have been a mistake. Blackmail, tabloid journalism and the secrets of Oxford dons all weave together in ways that ultimately reveal a devious but logical solution. One of the author's finest novels -- highly recommended.
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