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Inspector Morse #10
The Way Through the Woods
"Cunning...Your imagination will be frenetically flapping its wings until the very last chapter."THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLDMorse is enjoying a rare if unsatisfying holiday in Dorset when the first letter appears in THE TIMES. A year before, a stunning Swedish student disappeared from Oxfordshire, leaving behind a rucksack with her identification. As the lady was dishy, young, and traveling alone, the Thames Valley Police suspected foul play. But without a body, and with precious few clues, the investigation ground to a halt. Now it seems that someone who can hold back no longer is composing clue-laden poetry that begins an enthusiastic correspondence among England's news-reading public. Not one to be left behind, Morse writes a letter of his own--and follows a twisting path through the Wytham Woods that leads to a most shocking murder.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1992
472 people are currently reading
2305 people want to read
About the author
Colin Dexter
177 books712 followersNorman 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews
March 6, 2023
Inspector Morse mystery No. 10 - A mysterious letter in The Times leads to the opening of a cold case about a missing tourist presumed dead, whilst Morse was off on holiday. Morse, Lewis and Johnson find that more letters are printed and more facts uncovered... that they might be in the midst of a conspiracy. Interesting twists in this Morse mystery. 6 out of 12, Three Star read.
2012 read
2012 read
April 2, 2023
This is a particularly twisted addition to Colin Dexter's Oxford based Chief Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis series, which I listened to on audio, wonderfully narrated by Samuel West, and is almost 10 hours long. It begins with Morse on holiday in Dorset, a surprise as he is really not a man for vacations, where he finds himself interested in a woman staying at the hotel. He finds himself drawn to an unsolved Oxford case of the Swedish Maiden, a Swedish student, Karin Erikksson who disappeared, and assumed to be dead, but no body has ever been recovered. A letter in The Times newspaper triggers others that interpret the clues with a suggestion the body might be found in Wytham Woods, and Morse is now in charge of the inquiry with Lewis. Whilst a body is discovered in the woods, it does not bring the answers expected, in fact in a intricate and intriguing case, nothing is as it appears. Definitely a Morse mystery worth reading.
November 24, 2024
The Way Through the Woods is the tenth novel in the Inspector Morse series, and won the Gold Dagger Award in 1992. It is perhaps the quintessential Morse novel. Its title, part of the couplet,
"There once was a way through the woods
Before they planted the trees"
is taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. In the novel Colin Dexter continues his predilection for starting each chapter with a quotation. They are not all from literary sources, however. They can be taken from anywhere, as long as the author considers them pertinent to the context. For instance, one is from the magazine, "Homes and Gardens", but it does relate to the Oxford properties and social groupings which comprise the setting of the following chapter.
In addition to these stylistic devices, one satisfying element of this novel is the inclusion of many possible solutions to an intellectual puzzle - a devious conundrum which forms part of the plot. When the detectives, and the reader, solve the puzzle, then we believe the explanation to the story - the disappearance of a young woman from Uppsala in Sweden - will be clearly revealed.
The reader is implicitly invited to spend a great deal of thought deconstructing the cryptic poem which is presented, and assessing the various theories as to what the "clues" are. Many eminent scholars present their views in the newspaper. Which is correct?
In terms of the story itself, the plot is typically complex, and only to be hinted at here. We are moved into the story step by step. Much as in an earlier story when Morse becomes intrigued in a case from his hospital bed, in this novel he is reluctantly on holiday in Lyme Regis. However George Bernard Shaw's expressed view that,
"A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of Hell"
(which significantly is a chapter heading), also exemplifies Morse's attitude to vacations. Bored out of his mind, he is repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to follow the "Coleridge Trail" to Ottery St. Mary and Nether Stowey. He then tries putting his detective and deductive skills to use by covertly watching and finding out about a woman in the hotel, Louisa, to whom he is attracted. She tells him she works for a model agency, intrigued despite herself by his, "keen blue eyes." He in turn, notices that her eyes partially obscured by make-up, "seemed somehow darkened by a sadder, more durable shadow." And inevitably she does later have a connection to the case in which he becomes involved.
During the course of this, Morse's attention is caught by an anonymous riddle, in the form of a five-stanza poem in "The Times" newspaper. The police have requested help from Howard Phillipson, the Times's literary correspondent. The cryptic clues seem to imply that the missing girl has been murdered. Such clues could almost have been designed to intrigue Morse, the crossword puzzle fanatic. He thus becomes involved with the unsolved case of the Swedish girl Karin Eriksson, a secretarial student, who had disappeared a year previously.
The crime had previously been the responsibility of Chief Inspector Harold Johnson of Thames Valley CID. Unsurprisingly, he does not take kindly to Morse's being given charge of it, or the insistence of Morse that if there was a body to be found, it would not be on the Blenheim Estate, where all the previous investigation had been concentrated, but in Wytham Woods. The reason for this assertion, seemed entirely to hinge on the verses. But their joint boss, Chief Superintendant Strange, has confidence in Morse and wants to give him some leeway,
"He'd have ideas though, wouldn't he, Morse? Always did have. Even if he's been on a case a couple of minutes. Usually the wrong ideas of course, but..."
And as always, Morse's loyal sidekick Lewis, is extraordinarily proud to be working with his exasperating colleague, realising with a flash of inspiration that,
"They were trying to pick his (Lewis's) brains, because they were envious of his relationship with Morse!" On another occasion he tries to take a realistic view,
"'I think he's a great man, but he sometimes gets things awfully wrong, doesn't he?' 'And he more often gets things bloody right!' said Strange with vehemence."
Or as the author observes elsewhere, "logic sometimes held less sway in Morse's mind than feeling and impulse."
For those readers involved in the back story of the series, this is the one in which the "ugly brusque and arrogant pathologist" Maximilan Theodore Siegfried de Bryn" we become aware of the close relationship pertaining between the two curmudgeonly characters; how similar they both are and possibly how similar too they are to the author himself. Though it has to be said, Dexter has used a fair bit of wish-fulfillment in his creation of the maverick, charismatic, aesthetic, romantic, talented genius Morse.
One particularly satisfying element of this novel is the interweaving of the brain-teasers with the unveiling of the events of the plot. Just as in soft pornography, the gradual shedding of layers is thought to be one of the more titillating elements, Dexter flirts with his reader by strictly controlling and holding back his clues, allowing us odd glimpses now and then to tax our analytical skills. And yes, this novel is typically sleazy, with the women continually viewed by Morse in terms of their "bedworthiness", although it has to be said that Dexter does make more of an attempt to flesh the female characters out (if you'll pardon the pun!) than he did in the earlier novels in the series.
Readers should take warning that this is no "cosy mystery" as presented in the TV series. (This particular novel was adapted for television in 1995.) It does not follow the current trend for graphically explicit, sometimes visceral detail, and in this way the Inspector Morse novels are more "old-school". But the main plot of this one is based on a sordid, socially unacceptable pastime, and the characters involved are depicted as feeling variously ashamed, guilty, secretive or ultimately devastated by it. The novel itself even contains a written academic analysis of pornography at one point, ostensibly written by one of the protagonists, on "Gradualism in my definitive opus on pornography, for it is the gradual nature of the erotic process that is all important, as even that old fascist Plato had the nous to see."
The characters in this novel are diverse, and well described. Their situations are various, ranging between Oxford's "Town and Gown" stereotypes. There is the woman in the hotel, Louisa, an Oxford don Dr. Alan Hardinge and his wife Lynne, a photographer Alasdair McBryde, a head forester David Michaels and his wife Cathy, a Doctor Myton, an odd-job man George Daley, his wife Margaret, and son Phillip, as well as the Swedish family headed by Irma Eriksson, who have now moved back to the outskirts of Stockholm. It is still noticeable that the female characters are mainly "wives", or there to provide fodder for sexual speculation on behalf of Morse (or is it Dexter?) but this is common to all Morse novels. If one takes this on board, the characterisation is good.
The subplots are also varied, and cleverly interwoven so that the reader is not always aware whether it is crucial - influencing the main thrust of the story - or a subplot. There seem to be two murders, but in the end the reader is not sure even of this. Perhaps there was only one actual murder. There is a body, but is it the right one? There are accidents, but again, are they indicative of what is to happen, or has happened? They may be pertinent, they may not. The reader is not sure, but is involved with the characters, feels their pain, and wants to carry on reading even if they are being led up the garden path. Or possibly "through the woods." There is a suicide, the death of a child, bereavement, guilt, remorse; all life is here.
We also learn much about Morse in this novel. Claire Osborne one of his conquests, views him as a "conceited civilised, ruthless, gentle, boozy, sensitive man," which seems quite an accurate thumbnail sketch. We also learn where he lives - in Leys Close - a real location. Drive "through a courtyard, before arriving at a row of two-storey, yellow-bricked, newish properties, their woodwork painted a uniform white." Although the TV dramatisations have not reproduced this location, the interior with its "book-lined walls, the stacks of records everywhere, the pictures" is consistent in both. And if you were to visit this fictitious character, he would doubtless greet you with "an old-world gesture of hospitality" as Morse greets his visitor.
Different too, from the TV dramatisations, is the description of Laura Hobson, who bursts on the scene with her broad North-country vowels, announcing,
"I am not your "dear". You must forgive me for being so blunt: but I'm no one's "luv" or "dear" or "darling" or "sweetheart". I've got a name."
It is a comic moment, but give Dexter his due for attempting to bring his novels into... the 20th century, and giving the females a bit of character. She is "a woman in her early thirties, fair-complexioned, with a pair of disproportionately large spectacles on her pretty nose." And of course, she has to be immediately attracted to our superhero Morse, even though he is a "slightly balding grey-haired man" old enough to be her father, thinking of him later as "the strange policeman who had monopolised her thoughts these last few days."
Although there are features in common with some earlier novels, especially his first one "Last Seen Wearing", this is far better written, and shows just how far the writer has developed his craft. The characters are more fully drawn, and some have become endearingly familar to us. But mostly the quality of this novel lies with the fact that it is a satisfyingly challenging puzzle to read. It is possible to work the solution out, devious though it is, because just a few clues have been carefully inserted at salient points. Barely enough, however, because on a first reading, clouds of obfuscation tend to divert the reader from what then becomes a breathtaking denouement. Dexter's writing is a joy to read too. Colloquial enough in the conversation scenes, there are instances of talent rarely found in detective novels. For example, alliterations such as
"the catalytic factor in the curious chemistry of Morse's mind" "guaranteed genuine!" "slim Selina and mighty Michelle" "party hats perched on their heads" "the honest and honourable Lewis "pestilential pigeons" "a fellow in his forties" "a distanced drink together" and "a vehicular Valhalla".
Some of these, the last especially, with its Wagnerian overtones, reveal just how entwined the character of Morse and the author's voice have become. And at the end Morse seems to become the mouthpiece for Colin Dexter, as he tells his boss,
"We never really understand people's motives. In all these things it's as if there's a manifestation - but there's always a bit of a mystery too."
Colin Dexter has a penchant for leaving just a tiny scrap of ambiguity at the end of a novel. Sometimes it is an addendum, sometimes an event further back. Here the ambiguity is not so much in a detail or an event, but in the motives of one of the characters. But as Wittgenstein says, and Dexter quotes earlier,
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
"There once was a way through the woods
Before they planted the trees"
is taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling. In the novel Colin Dexter continues his predilection for starting each chapter with a quotation. They are not all from literary sources, however. They can be taken from anywhere, as long as the author considers them pertinent to the context. For instance, one is from the magazine, "Homes and Gardens", but it does relate to the Oxford properties and social groupings which comprise the setting of the following chapter.
In addition to these stylistic devices, one satisfying element of this novel is the inclusion of many possible solutions to an intellectual puzzle - a devious conundrum which forms part of the plot. When the detectives, and the reader, solve the puzzle, then we believe the explanation to the story - the disappearance of a young woman from Uppsala in Sweden - will be clearly revealed.
The reader is implicitly invited to spend a great deal of thought deconstructing the cryptic poem which is presented, and assessing the various theories as to what the "clues" are. Many eminent scholars present their views in the newspaper. Which is correct?
In terms of the story itself, the plot is typically complex, and only to be hinted at here. We are moved into the story step by step. Much as in an earlier story when Morse becomes intrigued in a case from his hospital bed, in this novel he is reluctantly on holiday in Lyme Regis. However George Bernard Shaw's expressed view that,
"A perpetual holiday is a good working definition of Hell"
(which significantly is a chapter heading), also exemplifies Morse's attitude to vacations. Bored out of his mind, he is repeatedly frustrated in his attempts to follow the "Coleridge Trail" to Ottery St. Mary and Nether Stowey. He then tries putting his detective and deductive skills to use by covertly watching and finding out about a woman in the hotel, Louisa, to whom he is attracted. She tells him she works for a model agency, intrigued despite herself by his, "keen blue eyes." He in turn, notices that her eyes partially obscured by make-up, "seemed somehow darkened by a sadder, more durable shadow." And inevitably she does later have a connection to the case in which he becomes involved.
During the course of this, Morse's attention is caught by an anonymous riddle, in the form of a five-stanza poem in "The Times" newspaper. The police have requested help from Howard Phillipson, the Times's literary correspondent. The cryptic clues seem to imply that the missing girl has been murdered. Such clues could almost have been designed to intrigue Morse, the crossword puzzle fanatic. He thus becomes involved with the unsolved case of the Swedish girl Karin Eriksson, a secretarial student, who had disappeared a year previously.
The crime had previously been the responsibility of Chief Inspector Harold Johnson of Thames Valley CID. Unsurprisingly, he does not take kindly to Morse's being given charge of it, or the insistence of Morse that if there was a body to be found, it would not be on the Blenheim Estate, where all the previous investigation had been concentrated, but in Wytham Woods. The reason for this assertion, seemed entirely to hinge on the verses. But their joint boss, Chief Superintendant Strange, has confidence in Morse and wants to give him some leeway,
"He'd have ideas though, wouldn't he, Morse? Always did have. Even if he's been on a case a couple of minutes. Usually the wrong ideas of course, but..."
And as always, Morse's loyal sidekick Lewis, is extraordinarily proud to be working with his exasperating colleague, realising with a flash of inspiration that,
"They were trying to pick his (Lewis's) brains, because they were envious of his relationship with Morse!" On another occasion he tries to take a realistic view,
"'I think he's a great man, but he sometimes gets things awfully wrong, doesn't he?' 'And he more often gets things bloody right!' said Strange with vehemence."
Or as the author observes elsewhere, "logic sometimes held less sway in Morse's mind than feeling and impulse."
For those readers involved in the back story of the series, this is the one in which the "ugly brusque and arrogant pathologist" Maximilan Theodore Siegfried de Bryn" we become aware of the close relationship pertaining between the two curmudgeonly characters; how similar they both are and possibly how similar too they are to the author himself. Though it has to be said, Dexter has used a fair bit of wish-fulfillment in his creation of the maverick, charismatic, aesthetic, romantic, talented genius Morse.
One particularly satisfying element of this novel is the interweaving of the brain-teasers with the unveiling of the events of the plot. Just as in soft pornography, the gradual shedding of layers is thought to be one of the more titillating elements, Dexter flirts with his reader by strictly controlling and holding back his clues, allowing us odd glimpses now and then to tax our analytical skills. And yes, this novel is typically sleazy, with the women continually viewed by Morse in terms of their "bedworthiness", although it has to be said that Dexter does make more of an attempt to flesh the female characters out (if you'll pardon the pun!) than he did in the earlier novels in the series.
Readers should take warning that this is no "cosy mystery" as presented in the TV series. (This particular novel was adapted for television in 1995.) It does not follow the current trend for graphically explicit, sometimes visceral detail, and in this way the Inspector Morse novels are more "old-school". But the main plot of this one is based on a sordid, socially unacceptable pastime, and the characters involved are depicted as feeling variously ashamed, guilty, secretive or ultimately devastated by it. The novel itself even contains a written academic analysis of pornography at one point, ostensibly written by one of the protagonists, on "Gradualism in my definitive opus on pornography, for it is the gradual nature of the erotic process that is all important, as even that old fascist Plato had the nous to see."
The characters in this novel are diverse, and well described. Their situations are various, ranging between Oxford's "Town and Gown" stereotypes. There is the woman in the hotel, Louisa, an Oxford don Dr. Alan Hardinge and his wife Lynne, a photographer Alasdair McBryde, a head forester David Michaels and his wife Cathy, a Doctor Myton, an odd-job man George Daley, his wife Margaret, and son Phillip, as well as the Swedish family headed by Irma Eriksson, who have now moved back to the outskirts of Stockholm. It is still noticeable that the female characters are mainly "wives", or there to provide fodder for sexual speculation on behalf of Morse (or is it Dexter?) but this is common to all Morse novels. If one takes this on board, the characterisation is good.
The subplots are also varied, and cleverly interwoven so that the reader is not always aware whether it is crucial - influencing the main thrust of the story - or a subplot. There seem to be two murders, but in the end the reader is not sure even of this. Perhaps there was only one actual murder. There is a body, but is it the right one? There are accidents, but again, are they indicative of what is to happen, or has happened? They may be pertinent, they may not. The reader is not sure, but is involved with the characters, feels their pain, and wants to carry on reading even if they are being led up the garden path. Or possibly "through the woods." There is a suicide, the death of a child, bereavement, guilt, remorse; all life is here.
We also learn much about Morse in this novel. Claire Osborne one of his conquests, views him as a "conceited civilised, ruthless, gentle, boozy, sensitive man," which seems quite an accurate thumbnail sketch. We also learn where he lives - in Leys Close - a real location. Drive "through a courtyard, before arriving at a row of two-storey, yellow-bricked, newish properties, their woodwork painted a uniform white." Although the TV dramatisations have not reproduced this location, the interior with its "book-lined walls, the stacks of records everywhere, the pictures" is consistent in both. And if you were to visit this fictitious character, he would doubtless greet you with "an old-world gesture of hospitality" as Morse greets his visitor.
Different too, from the TV dramatisations, is the description of Laura Hobson, who bursts on the scene with her broad North-country vowels, announcing,
"I am not your "dear". You must forgive me for being so blunt: but I'm no one's "luv" or "dear" or "darling" or "sweetheart". I've got a name."
It is a comic moment, but give Dexter his due for attempting to bring his novels into... the 20th century, and giving the females a bit of character. She is "a woman in her early thirties, fair-complexioned, with a pair of disproportionately large spectacles on her pretty nose." And of course, she has to be immediately attracted to our superhero Morse, even though he is a "slightly balding grey-haired man" old enough to be her father, thinking of him later as "the strange policeman who had monopolised her thoughts these last few days."
Although there are features in common with some earlier novels, especially his first one "Last Seen Wearing", this is far better written, and shows just how far the writer has developed his craft. The characters are more fully drawn, and some have become endearingly familar to us. But mostly the quality of this novel lies with the fact that it is a satisfyingly challenging puzzle to read. It is possible to work the solution out, devious though it is, because just a few clues have been carefully inserted at salient points. Barely enough, however, because on a first reading, clouds of obfuscation tend to divert the reader from what then becomes a breathtaking denouement. Dexter's writing is a joy to read too. Colloquial enough in the conversation scenes, there are instances of talent rarely found in detective novels. For example, alliterations such as
"the catalytic factor in the curious chemistry of Morse's mind" "guaranteed genuine!" "slim Selina and mighty Michelle" "party hats perched on their heads" "the honest and honourable Lewis "pestilential pigeons" "a fellow in his forties" "a distanced drink together" and "a vehicular Valhalla".
Some of these, the last especially, with its Wagnerian overtones, reveal just how entwined the character of Morse and the author's voice have become. And at the end Morse seems to become the mouthpiece for Colin Dexter, as he tells his boss,
"We never really understand people's motives. In all these things it's as if there's a manifestation - but there's always a bit of a mystery too."
Colin Dexter has a penchant for leaving just a tiny scrap of ambiguity at the end of a novel. Sometimes it is an addendum, sometimes an event further back. Here the ambiguity is not so much in a detail or an event, but in the motives of one of the characters. But as Wittgenstein says, and Dexter quotes earlier,
"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."
October 6, 2016
Oxford's Chief Inspector Morse rarely ever takes a holiday but here we find him vacationing in Dorset when a letter appears in The Times offering a clue to the whereabouts of a young female Swedish student, Karin Erikksson, who disappeared in Oxfordshire nearly a year earlier. She was never seen again and is presumed dead. The letter writer suggests where the body might be found. This leads to a series of letters published in the paper attempting to interpret the clues that the original writer has offered.
Morse sees the letters and is, of course, intrigued. Back from vacation, he manages to get assigned to the case along with his faithful sergeant, Lewis. From the clues in the paper, Morse determines where the body must be. Sure enough, searchers find the remains of a body but from that point on, things become even more baffling than they were before.
It soon appears that Ms. Erikksson was very short of cash and may have been willing to make some compromises in order to get some money. Morse discovers a cast of creepy characters who may have been involved in her disappearance and slowly sorts things out to a startling conclusion.
This is one of the better books in this series, and Morse continues to be a very appealing protagonist, especially when he's got a pint in his hand and his thinking cap on. As usually happens, there's a randy woman or two who will come his way, brightening his day and the reader's as well. Fans of the series will not want to miss this one.
Morse sees the letters and is, of course, intrigued. Back from vacation, he manages to get assigned to the case along with his faithful sergeant, Lewis. From the clues in the paper, Morse determines where the body must be. Sure enough, searchers find the remains of a body but from that point on, things become even more baffling than they were before.
It soon appears that Ms. Erikksson was very short of cash and may have been willing to make some compromises in order to get some money. Morse discovers a cast of creepy characters who may have been involved in her disappearance and slowly sorts things out to a startling conclusion.
This is one of the better books in this series, and Morse continues to be a very appealing protagonist, especially when he's got a pint in his hand and his thinking cap on. As usually happens, there's a randy woman or two who will come his way, brightening his day and the reader's as well. Fans of the series will not want to miss this one.
February 3, 2024
January 2024 Lunchtime Listen
Another wonderful 4.5 star listen.
Morse is reluctantly persuaded to take the leave (annual holiday) to which he is entitled. This time, rather than stewing in his flat he decides to go to a particularly nice area of southern England called Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset.
Despite many literary distraction to keep him busy in the local area he is, as ever, more distracted by a pretty face in the bar of the hotel he is staying in for a few days. And also a renewed interest in a year old case from Oxford now receiving a lot of publicity in a National Newspaper. A set of verses have been received by and then published in the Times relating to the case of disappearing young Swedish girl. Morse had been absent at the time of the case and it had been investigated by DCI Johnson and Sergeant Lewis, with little success. Little does Morse know that the renewed interest in the case will mean his holiday being cut short and surprisingly that he will come across the woman from his hotel more than once again after he returns to Oxford.
My wife and I enjoyed this so much that a) we watched the John Thaw TV episode of this story the day after we finished this audiobook (condensed storyline but still marvellous, and the acting, oh ! ) and b) I bought three more Colin Dexter / Morse audiobooks to add to the lunchtime listen pile !!
I first came across Morse books in the early 80s and both read and enjoyed a few. And then in 1987 came the first Morse TV episode which I think blew the minds of anyone who liked detective TV at the time. The filming quality was a huge step above most things that had gone before for TV , and with a cast of brilliant actors ( John Thaw and Kevin Whateley occupying the two major roles) it was a series that broke all viewing figures for its time here in the UK .
Brilliantly followed by Lewis (the series ) and then Endeavour (the Morse prequel) these three tv series' are all a joy to watch and will keep you occupied for many hours.
A slight aside I know, but I thought I'd just show you my love for all things Morse-ian.
By the way this was brilliantly read by the British actor Samuel West (best known for being Siegried Farnon in all Creatures amongst a myriad of other roles).
Another wonderful 4.5 star listen.
Morse is reluctantly persuaded to take the leave (annual holiday) to which he is entitled. This time, rather than stewing in his flat he decides to go to a particularly nice area of southern England called Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset.
Despite many literary distraction to keep him busy in the local area he is, as ever, more distracted by a pretty face in the bar of the hotel he is staying in for a few days. And also a renewed interest in a year old case from Oxford now receiving a lot of publicity in a National Newspaper. A set of verses have been received by and then published in the Times relating to the case of disappearing young Swedish girl. Morse had been absent at the time of the case and it had been investigated by DCI Johnson and Sergeant Lewis, with little success. Little does Morse know that the renewed interest in the case will mean his holiday being cut short and surprisingly that he will come across the woman from his hotel more than once again after he returns to Oxford.
My wife and I enjoyed this so much that a) we watched the John Thaw TV episode of this story the day after we finished this audiobook (condensed storyline but still marvellous, and the acting, oh ! ) and b) I bought three more Colin Dexter / Morse audiobooks to add to the lunchtime listen pile !!
I first came across Morse books in the early 80s and both read and enjoyed a few. And then in 1987 came the first Morse TV episode which I think blew the minds of anyone who liked detective TV at the time. The filming quality was a huge step above most things that had gone before for TV , and with a cast of brilliant actors ( John Thaw and Kevin Whateley occupying the two major roles) it was a series that broke all viewing figures for its time here in the UK .
Brilliantly followed by Lewis (the series ) and then Endeavour (the Morse prequel) these three tv series' are all a joy to watch and will keep you occupied for many hours.
A slight aside I know, but I thought I'd just show you my love for all things Morse-ian.
By the way this was brilliantly read by the British actor Samuel West (best known for being Siegried Farnon in all Creatures amongst a myriad of other roles).
May 19, 2015
Read by................... Michael Pennington
Total Runtime.......... 8 hours 24 mins
Description: They called her the Swedish Maiden - the beautiful young tourist who disappeared on a hot summer's day somewhere in North Oxford. Twelve months later the case remained unsolved - pending further developments - at Thames Valley CID. On holiday in Lyme Regis, Chief Inspector Morse is startled to read a tantalizing article in The Times about the missing woman. An article which lures him back to Wytham Woods near Oxford...and straight into the most extraordinary murder investigation of his career.
For ease of memory, this is the one with Three Little Maids, The Swedish Maiden, the camera, and that hit and run.
4* Last Bus to Woodstock (Inspector Morse, #1)
3* Last Seen Wearing (Inspector Morse, #2)
3* The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (Inspector Morse, #3)
3* Service of All the Dead (Inspector Morse, #4)
3* The Dead of Jericho (Inspector Morse, #5)
4* The Riddle of the Third Mile (Inspector Morse, #6)
3* The Secret of Annexe 3 (Inspector Morse #7)
3* The Wench Is Dead (Inspector Morse, #8)
3* The Jewel That Was Ours (Inspector Morse, #9)
CR The Way Through The Woods (Inspector Morse, #10)
3* Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories
August 3, 2022
4 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Recensie volgt later. Uitgeleend.
Recensie volgt later. Uitgeleend.
July 17, 2014
The more I read Morse, the more I want to read Morse, December 6, 2012
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Way Through the Woods (Inspector Morse) (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Way Through the Woods"
I have been spoiled rotten by Colin Dexter or shall I say Inspector Morse. This, my 3rd in this series (although not in order) is no exception. The strange but certain comraderie between Inspector Morse and Lewis is delightful. This particular mystery does not end at all the way it begins. There is such a complete inside out of the original development that it was absolutely outstanding.
If you complain about words used that may not seem the least bit familiar in this or other Inspector Morse mysteries...take heart. You are being educated!
I not only learn from each Inspector Morse I find that I need to go back and re-read many pages. This is no shallow cozy. As a matter of fact after reading this entry into the Morse phenomenon I am unable to take an interest in another lovely cozy book. The depth of satisfaction is just that rewarding to me...the reader.
Yes, I am spoiled rotten by the incredible Inspector Morse and I intend to stay spoiled through the entire series.
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Way Through the Woods (Inspector Morse) (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Way Through the Woods"
I have been spoiled rotten by Colin Dexter or shall I say Inspector Morse. This, my 3rd in this series (although not in order) is no exception. The strange but certain comraderie between Inspector Morse and Lewis is delightful. This particular mystery does not end at all the way it begins. There is such a complete inside out of the original development that it was absolutely outstanding.
If you complain about words used that may not seem the least bit familiar in this or other Inspector Morse mysteries...take heart. You are being educated!
I not only learn from each Inspector Morse I find that I need to go back and re-read many pages. This is no shallow cozy. As a matter of fact after reading this entry into the Morse phenomenon I am unable to take an interest in another lovely cozy book. The depth of satisfaction is just that rewarding to me...the reader.
Yes, I am spoiled rotten by the incredible Inspector Morse and I intend to stay spoiled through the entire series.
June 5, 2024
Viskas prasidėjo nuo „The Times“ išspausdinto laiško. Tiksliau, eilėraščio.
Ne, ne taip. Viskas prasidėjo metais anksčiau, kai be žinios prapuolė švedų turistė. Liko kuprinė su jos asmeniniais daiktais, tačiau pati mergina išnyko, kaip dūmas, neblaškomas vėjo. Ir štai jau metai laiko, kai tyrimas nė per nago juodymą nepasistūmėjo į priekį.
O tada laikraštyje pasirodė tas eilėraštis, kuriame, atrodytų, užšifruota, paslėpta žinutė, galinti padėti atskleisti paslaptį. Tyrimą perima inspektorius Morse‘as. Ir viskas, žinoma, pajuda sriautingu domkratu.
Vienintelis priekaištas, kurį noriu išsakyti Dexteriui, tai vidury romano skaitytojui atskleidžiama viena svarbiausių dėlionės paslapčių. Žinoma, paskui paaiškėja, kad ta dėlionė visai ne tokia, kaip įsivaizdavai, kad neatskleistų paslapčių dar pakaks. Bet vis tiek – įdėmesnis skaitytojas iš esmės jau (kaip sako pats Morse‘as – devyniasdešimčia procentų) tikras dėl to, kas nutiko. Aišku, lieka labai daug niuansų – KAIP? Norėjosi, kad tą raktinį faktą autorius būtų pasitaupęs paskutiniam romano dešimtadaliui.
Bet kas aš toks, kad nurodinėčiau Dexteriui, kuris rašo puikiai? Beveik tobuli penki iš penkių.
Ne, ne taip. Viskas prasidėjo metais anksčiau, kai be žinios prapuolė švedų turistė. Liko kuprinė su jos asmeniniais daiktais, tačiau pati mergina išnyko, kaip dūmas, neblaškomas vėjo. Ir štai jau metai laiko, kai tyrimas nė per nago juodymą nepasistūmėjo į priekį.
O tada laikraštyje pasirodė tas eilėraštis, kuriame, atrodytų, užšifruota, paslėpta žinutė, galinti padėti atskleisti paslaptį. Tyrimą perima inspektorius Morse‘as. Ir viskas, žinoma, pajuda sriautingu domkratu.
Vienintelis priekaištas, kurį noriu išsakyti Dexteriui, tai vidury romano skaitytojui atskleidžiama viena svarbiausių dėlionės paslapčių. Žinoma, paskui paaiškėja, kad ta dėlionė visai ne tokia, kaip įsivaizdavai, kad neatskleistų paslapčių dar pakaks. Bet vis tiek – įdėmesnis skaitytojas iš esmės jau (kaip sako pats Morse‘as – devyniasdešimčia procentų) tikras dėl to, kas nutiko. Aišku, lieka labai daug niuansų – KAIP? Norėjosi, kad tą raktinį faktą autorius būtų pasitaupęs paskutiniam romano dešimtadaliui.
Bet kas aš toks, kad nurodinėčiau Dexteriui, kuris rašo puikiai? Beveik tobuli penki iš penkių.
May 2, 2021
"This book contains Colin Dexter’s autograph, “with every best wish, Colin Dexter”"
A very good puzzle for the readers and Chief Inspector Morse and his faithful sergeant Lewis have a big job ahead of them to solve it.
When the story starts of the missing Swedish female tourist Morse is on vacation, while he did wade in for a small moment in the beginning, the case was not his from the beginning. While on vacation he meets some really fascinating and annoying woman he somewhat fancies. He then looks into the effort of the Thames Valley police force to find some answers in the newspapers and finds himself drawn to the mystery of the missing girl.
Back from vacation his boss Strange puts him on the case and he quickly gets some success with the case only to find the case just offered a more difficult solution or story.
Anyhow the story of the missing Swedish tourist is the start of an interesting tale that proves to be right up Morse's alley.
For the readers like me Colin Dexter once again brings a story that proves to be complicated to solve but interesting to read. Certainly one of the better Morse tales and certainly a hoot and a half to read.
A very good puzzle for the readers and Chief Inspector Morse and his faithful sergeant Lewis have a big job ahead of them to solve it.
When the story starts of the missing Swedish female tourist Morse is on vacation, while he did wade in for a small moment in the beginning, the case was not his from the beginning. While on vacation he meets some really fascinating and annoying woman he somewhat fancies. He then looks into the effort of the Thames Valley police force to find some answers in the newspapers and finds himself drawn to the mystery of the missing girl.
Back from vacation his boss Strange puts him on the case and he quickly gets some success with the case only to find the case just offered a more difficult solution or story.
Anyhow the story of the missing Swedish tourist is the start of an interesting tale that proves to be right up Morse's alley.
For the readers like me Colin Dexter once again brings a story that proves to be complicated to solve but interesting to read. Certainly one of the better Morse tales and certainly a hoot and a half to read.
December 29, 2009
The Way Through the Woods is a classic Inspector Morse murder mystery. We have Morse’s drinking problems, his overt and inevitably doomed attempts at wooing the female characters, and his beetling down every wrong track he can find until he triumphantly identifies the killer.
Colin Dexter’s novel is held together by a mysterious poem that is sent anonymously to the Times, presumably by the killer of a backpacking Swedish student. Morse’s devious mind unravels the clues in the poem one by one – with the help of erudite and eccentric Times letter-writers.
The title comes from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The Way through the Woods.
I just wish there had been more books in the Inspector Morse series. They are as good as detective murder mysteries get.
Colin Dexter’s novel is held together by a mysterious poem that is sent anonymously to the Times, presumably by the killer of a backpacking Swedish student. Morse’s devious mind unravels the clues in the poem one by one – with the help of erudite and eccentric Times letter-writers.
The title comes from Rudyard Kipling’s poem, The Way through the Woods.
Weather and rain have undone it again,
And now you would never know
There was once a road through the woods
Before they planted the trees.
I just wish there had been more books in the Inspector Morse series. They are as good as detective murder mysteries get.
July 12, 2014
This is probably the best Morse I've read so far. It has nice twists and turns. Also Morse listens to Dinu Lipatti at the end. Surely this is the only novel ever published in which someone listens to Dinu Lipatti - one of the greatest pianists of all time, yet hardly a household name.
April 5, 2025
Inspecteur Morse leest tijdens zijn vakantie een intrigerend gedicht in The Times. Deze cryptische tekst lijkt de sleutel te bieden tot de oplossing van de raadselachtige verdwijning van een Zweedse toeriste. Als 14 dagen later een lichaam wordt opgegraven in de bossen van Wytham, lijkt de toeriste gevonden. Morse is daar echter niet van overtuigd.
En inderdaad, het lichaam blijkt van een man te zijn, een sexfotograaf. Op de camera die een jaar eerder van de vermiste Zweedse gevonden is, stond een foto van deze man met Karin Eriksson. Ze kenden elkaar dus. De foto is genomen in een huis wat later blijkt een studio te zijn waar pornografische foto's en video's gemaakt werden. Wat is hier allemaal aan de hand? Hoe kwam de man aan zijn eind? Wie was er allemaal bij betrokken? En is de Zweedse Karin wel echt dood?
Inspecteur Morse en Lewis zetten alles op alles om de zaak op te lossen.
Tamelijk ingewikkeld verhaal, maar goed uitgedacht.
En inderdaad, het lichaam blijkt van een man te zijn, een sexfotograaf. Op de camera die een jaar eerder van de vermiste Zweedse gevonden is, stond een foto van deze man met Karin Eriksson. Ze kenden elkaar dus. De foto is genomen in een huis wat later blijkt een studio te zijn waar pornografische foto's en video's gemaakt werden. Wat is hier allemaal aan de hand? Hoe kwam de man aan zijn eind? Wie was er allemaal bij betrokken? En is de Zweedse Karin wel echt dood?
Inspecteur Morse en Lewis zetten alles op alles om de zaak op te lossen.
Tamelijk ingewikkeld verhaal, maar goed uitgedacht.
March 17, 2013
Maybe I'm not eligible to rate this book because this book went bouncer over my head. The last book I read of Colin Dexter, The Dead of Jericho, forced me to go back and search for specific words/hints the author had planted earlier in the story narration. So for this book, I tried to remember every word/instance that the author had written in the beginning. But this book is so long (around 500 pages) that after some time I became tired of trying to remember everything, because my efforts were not proving useful because all those things were not being referenced/used for solving the mystery.
Another thing I didnt like about this book was that most of the book has been told from Morse's perspective - we kinda travel with Morse. Still, there are a lot of things the author keeps from the readers in terms of 'clues that Morse comes across' or 'things that Morse thinks or shares with his colleagues'. I guess that's cheating with the readers because if you want to make the readers think about the mystery, they should be kept in loop of the developments. Things that Morse sees on the scene, or shares with his colleagues, aren't fully shared (at some places) with the readers. So, Morse solves the mystery (the readers can't). However, I felt good that before the author (i.e., Morse) reached the conclusion that the suspected victim was alive, I cracked that part by myself. Owing to the fact that things required for reaching this conclusion were shared with the readers. Also, when Morse thought that the boy was responsible for his father's murder, I'd differed in opinion because of the letter the boy had left for his father in their house. Later on, my hunch proved to be right.
But this brings me to my next disappointment: If you've already committed a murder in self-defense, why go for another murder for only a small amount of money? Especially when the 2nd victim as well as the 2nd murderer both are suspects in the 1st murder? Wouldn't they be afraid that probably the police would be keeping a watch on all of them? However, the police WASNT keeping a watch on them, was another puzzle for me - why leave the suspects scot-free? I understand that those people had themselves approached the police for a statement claiming that they didnt commit the first murder, but Morse did find certain lies in the statement, didnt he? So why not keep an eye on those involved?
Another thing: it is mentioned that the boy maintained a diary where he had written something like: 'Another girl screaming in a blood pool' or something. This has never been investigated or explained. This could have been a reference to the girl who meets with an accident, but then who was the FIRST girl? Even though the boy dies later on, this thing couldnt be kept as a loose end! It was serious enough to investigate.
Also, the readers are not made privy to how Morse reaches the conclusion that a specific lady is the one everyone is searching for. No clues for the readers there untill Morse pounces on her.
Last, but not the least, the author has jumped multiple times into time (present and past) which created extra confusion in my mind about the sequence of events.
Maybe I'm right in whatever I said here, or maybe I'm wrong and someone could help me understand these doubts/confusions so that I fully understand the story. :-)
Another thing I didnt like about this book was that most of the book has been told from Morse's perspective - we kinda travel with Morse. Still, there are a lot of things the author keeps from the readers in terms of 'clues that Morse comes across' or 'things that Morse thinks or shares with his colleagues'. I guess that's cheating with the readers because if you want to make the readers think about the mystery, they should be kept in loop of the developments. Things that Morse sees on the scene, or shares with his colleagues, aren't fully shared (at some places) with the readers. So, Morse solves the mystery (the readers can't). However, I felt good that before the author (i.e., Morse) reached the conclusion that the suspected victim was alive, I cracked that part by myself. Owing to the fact that things required for reaching this conclusion were shared with the readers. Also, when Morse thought that the boy was responsible for his father's murder, I'd differed in opinion because of the letter the boy had left for his father in their house. Later on, my hunch proved to be right.
But this brings me to my next disappointment: If you've already committed a murder in self-defense, why go for another murder for only a small amount of money? Especially when the 2nd victim as well as the 2nd murderer both are suspects in the 1st murder? Wouldn't they be afraid that probably the police would be keeping a watch on all of them? However, the police WASNT keeping a watch on them, was another puzzle for me - why leave the suspects scot-free? I understand that those people had themselves approached the police for a statement claiming that they didnt commit the first murder, but Morse did find certain lies in the statement, didnt he? So why not keep an eye on those involved?
Another thing: it is mentioned that the boy maintained a diary where he had written something like: 'Another girl screaming in a blood pool' or something. This has never been investigated or explained. This could have been a reference to the girl who meets with an accident, but then who was the FIRST girl? Even though the boy dies later on, this thing couldnt be kept as a loose end! It was serious enough to investigate.
Also, the readers are not made privy to how Morse reaches the conclusion that a specific lady is the one everyone is searching for. No clues for the readers there untill Morse pounces on her.
Last, but not the least, the author has jumped multiple times into time (present and past) which created extra confusion in my mind about the sequence of events.
Maybe I'm right in whatever I said here, or maybe I'm wrong and someone could help me understand these doubts/confusions so that I fully understand the story. :-)
October 29, 2021
Well, I thought the television show was oddly entertaining, and I thought the casting of Thaw was sensational. I liked Lewis too. Following my usual, after I finished binging the series I went online to acquire the entire library of Morse books. I picked up a box set; all 13 of them. I read my way though, fairly quickly, but it wasn't long before I started feeling uneasy about the written Morse.
The guy seems to be porn obsessed and it's creepy. Also, it only took a book or two to start growing slightly nauseous at the fact that he perves on every female character and, what is worse, the author makes them all thrall by his eyes and his presence; a presence that is never, ever made palpable by anything he says or does in the books. Show it to me, don't tell it to me, pal.
The dude is in his late forties when the series starts but the author seems to believe that hot 20 year olds are lusting for weak, letchy alcoholics as much as the 30 and 40 year olds tarts do! It's a cheap, and creepy device.
So, by the time I got to "The Way Through The Woods" I just couldn't take it anymore. Dexter has about the same level of understanding of women as Dickens, apparently; women are all one-dimensional, blowsy puppets whose only purpose is to be a man's zombie plaything. And each and every one of them falls for the old drunk. Pathetic. And how weird is it that every single one of them, regardless of age or class, is conversant on the topics of classical music and literature? What world is this Dexter guy living in?
The whodunits are kind of fun, Lewis is generally a mild pleasure and some of the supporting characters like Strange and Max are great. I'll probably watch the series again in a year or two but these books are going back on ebay.
The guy seems to be porn obsessed and it's creepy. Also, it only took a book or two to start growing slightly nauseous at the fact that he perves on every female character and, what is worse, the author makes them all thrall by his eyes and his presence; a presence that is never, ever made palpable by anything he says or does in the books. Show it to me, don't tell it to me, pal.
The dude is in his late forties when the series starts but the author seems to believe that hot 20 year olds are lusting for weak, letchy alcoholics as much as the 30 and 40 year olds tarts do! It's a cheap, and creepy device.
So, by the time I got to "The Way Through The Woods" I just couldn't take it anymore. Dexter has about the same level of understanding of women as Dickens, apparently; women are all one-dimensional, blowsy puppets whose only purpose is to be a man's zombie plaything. And each and every one of them falls for the old drunk. Pathetic. And how weird is it that every single one of them, regardless of age or class, is conversant on the topics of classical music and literature? What world is this Dexter guy living in?
The whodunits are kind of fun, Lewis is generally a mild pleasure and some of the supporting characters like Strange and Max are great. I'll probably watch the series again in a year or two but these books are going back on ebay.
January 31, 2011
This book was chosen by my local library for the book club selection of the month. I didn't finish it before the meeting nor did I go, but I'm planning on attending more book club meetings in the future and I appreciate the opportunity to read new books that I might not have picked out on my own.
This story was a bit heavier on the sex, alcohol and violence than I typically like (I'm more of a "cozy mystery" fan), but it was a fascinating tale and I enjoyed the English setting. The story was fairly complicated with all of the characters, plot twists and hidden agendas.
interesting quote: "Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve, And Hope without an object cannot live."
new words: spondylosis, paronomasia, coprophilis, scoptolognia, kleptolagnia, tegument, corbels, ogees, insuperable, presbyopically, oche, charpoy, escritoire, pernickety, Boustrophedon, funambulist
This story was a bit heavier on the sex, alcohol and violence than I typically like (I'm more of a "cozy mystery" fan), but it was a fascinating tale and I enjoyed the English setting. The story was fairly complicated with all of the characters, plot twists and hidden agendas.
interesting quote: "Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve, And Hope without an object cannot live."
new words: spondylosis, paronomasia, coprophilis, scoptolognia, kleptolagnia, tegument, corbels, ogees, insuperable, presbyopically, oche, charpoy, escritoire, pernickety, Boustrophedon, funambulist
January 2, 2021
When an abandoned rucksack belonging to a female Swedish student named Karin Erickkson is found, the police soon reach the conclusion Ms Erickkson has been murdered, even though the case is classified as a Missing Persons. The complete truth isn’t sorted out until a year later when a cryptic poem appears in the newspaper, triggering many of Oxford’s brainy academics to offer possible solutions.
Morse is assigned the case whilst he is on a rare holiday in Lyme Regis where he meets a lovely and mysterious woman who is peripherally involved with the Erickkson woman’s disappearance.
Morse is assigned the case whilst he is on a rare holiday in Lyme Regis where he meets a lovely and mysterious woman who is peripherally involved with the Erickkson woman’s disappearance.
April 3, 2016
I like a crime book with a good twist. I always hate it when I find out by myself who did it, who is the murderer. And this book surprised me. I had no idea who the killer was. I read a few books written by Colin Dexter a few years ago, I decided to explore more of his books. He really is a good writer. Inspector Morse is such an intelligent and interesting character. And I liked all those quotes from other books/people/newspapers.. on top of every chapter.
January 5, 2020
I love British murder mysteries and I adore the Morse television series.... I assumed I’d love Colin Dexter’s books. I was fully absorbed in the well-crafted mystery, but women of 2020 beware: the author’s portrayal of women is at best dated and at worst deeply misogynistic. I’m usually able to set aside modern sensibilities and enjoy a novel in the context of its time (this is almost 30 years old now, after all), but oooof this one’s really kind of icky.
June 2, 2020
Morse begins on a rare “holiday” (US, vacation) in Dorset, which we have often visited, lived a month in Whitchurch Canonicorum and several times for a month in Weymouth. Morse stays a week not far from Whitchurch, in coastal Lyme Regis, where the Cromwellians awaited the Duke of Monmouth’s attack on the monarchy of James II in 1685. (Few joined Monmouth’s hundred troops, so he was captured after the Battle of Sedgemore, eventually condemned to death; his plea for a pardon from his uncle is covered by Macaulay.*)
On holiday in Lyme Regis, Morse unpacks, “Blast! He’d meant to bring his binoculars”(19**). On vacation, he tries pool, but goes back to his room, deciding to brush up on his cuemanship, as well as on architectural terms needed for various Lyme building effects. We learn Morse’s other shortcomings, even one that allows his sidekick Lewis an independent flight to and investigation in Sweden. Morse fears flying.
The central mystery in this novel: the disappearance and presumed death of a Swedish woman, Karin Ericsson one of three sisters from Uppsala, later Stockholm. An avid photographer, her camera and “rucksack” or backpack were found, along with a tasseled scarf, yellow and blue like the Swedish National flag; they search for a body, and find one which may not be hers. Additionally, several of the principal suspects, and possibly the Swedish woman are involved in a pornography ring—complete with film camera rails near a basement bed. The writer seems to be having a bit of fun with the touted respectability of Oxford.
Many points of personal contact, like my house festooned with webs of Daddy Long-Legs which I try to save outside, but often the small ones escape, so I more often kill the younger. A pity, since at the very least, they make birdfood outside. They hasten out of the sun, into the shadows—and of course inside they thrive in the dark. Morse says, “It’s just that as I get older I really can’t think of killing things…these days— I don’t know why— I almost feel guilty about swatting a daddy-longlegs”(106). The suspect Michaels responds, “‘You wouldn’t find me killing a daddy-long-legs!’ Morse wondered what exactly Michaels would kill”(106).
Also personal, Morse’s would-be lover (until she’s revealed connected to the ring) Claire Osborne learns from Morse’s favorite music, listening to the “wonderful trombone passage in the Tuba Mirum Spargens Sonum” which I may have played while in the Smith Amherst Orchestra and the brass group Collegium Musicum.
British usage retains certain terms, like “pulled her Mini into the tarmacadamed area”(188). My Maine grandparents used to called tarred roads, “macadam roads,” which turned out to be after the name of the first man, a Scot, to crush equal-size stones together with a binder instead of English dirt roads.
Dexter can be very amusing, as when Morse shockingly speculates that Karin Ericsson may have been chopped up and put into black trash bags, “since in Morse’s experience the only thing they wouldn’t take were bags containing garden waste”(277).
**Pagination from the Ballantine Books edition, 1992.
* Macaulay, the History of England, Penguin 1968. At his execution in the Tower, Monmouth paid the executioner, Ketch (whose name has become synonymous with screw-ups) and promised more from his servant if he does not "hack me as you did my Lord Russell...three or four times." The first blow inflicted only a sight wound, the stroke was repeated again and again until "Ketch flung down the axe with a curse, 'I cannot do it, my heart fails me.' 'Take up the axe, man,' cried the sheriff. 'Fling him over the rails,' cried the mob. The crowd was wrought up to such an ecstasy of rage that the executioner was in danger of being torn to pieces, and was conveyed away under strong guard"(110).
On holiday in Lyme Regis, Morse unpacks, “Blast! He’d meant to bring his binoculars”(19**). On vacation, he tries pool, but goes back to his room, deciding to brush up on his cuemanship, as well as on architectural terms needed for various Lyme building effects. We learn Morse’s other shortcomings, even one that allows his sidekick Lewis an independent flight to and investigation in Sweden. Morse fears flying.
The central mystery in this novel: the disappearance and presumed death of a Swedish woman, Karin Ericsson one of three sisters from Uppsala, later Stockholm. An avid photographer, her camera and “rucksack” or backpack were found, along with a tasseled scarf, yellow and blue like the Swedish National flag; they search for a body, and find one which may not be hers. Additionally, several of the principal suspects, and possibly the Swedish woman are involved in a pornography ring—complete with film camera rails near a basement bed. The writer seems to be having a bit of fun with the touted respectability of Oxford.
Many points of personal contact, like my house festooned with webs of Daddy Long-Legs which I try to save outside, but often the small ones escape, so I more often kill the younger. A pity, since at the very least, they make birdfood outside. They hasten out of the sun, into the shadows—and of course inside they thrive in the dark. Morse says, “It’s just that as I get older I really can’t think of killing things…these days— I don’t know why— I almost feel guilty about swatting a daddy-longlegs”(106). The suspect Michaels responds, “‘You wouldn’t find me killing a daddy-long-legs!’ Morse wondered what exactly Michaels would kill”(106).
Also personal, Morse’s would-be lover (until she’s revealed connected to the ring) Claire Osborne learns from Morse’s favorite music, listening to the “wonderful trombone passage in the Tuba Mirum Spargens Sonum” which I may have played while in the Smith Amherst Orchestra and the brass group Collegium Musicum.
British usage retains certain terms, like “pulled her Mini into the tarmacadamed area”(188). My Maine grandparents used to called tarred roads, “macadam roads,” which turned out to be after the name of the first man, a Scot, to crush equal-size stones together with a binder instead of English dirt roads.
Dexter can be very amusing, as when Morse shockingly speculates that Karin Ericsson may have been chopped up and put into black trash bags, “since in Morse’s experience the only thing they wouldn’t take were bags containing garden waste”(277).
**Pagination from the Ballantine Books edition, 1992.
* Macaulay, the History of England, Penguin 1968. At his execution in the Tower, Monmouth paid the executioner, Ketch (whose name has become synonymous with screw-ups) and promised more from his servant if he does not "hack me as you did my Lord Russell...three or four times." The first blow inflicted only a sight wound, the stroke was repeated again and again until "Ketch flung down the axe with a curse, 'I cannot do it, my heart fails me.' 'Take up the axe, man,' cried the sheriff. 'Fling him over the rails,' cried the mob. The crowd was wrought up to such an ecstasy of rage that the executioner was in danger of being torn to pieces, and was conveyed away under strong guard"(110).
August 15, 2012
My first acquaintance with Inspector Morse, and I liked the guy. For much of the book, I wondered if this review would be three or four stars. What won me over after a slow start was Dexter’s fine writing and the development of both Morse and his partner and fellow police officer Lewis. The story surrounds the disappearance of a lovely Swedish young woman about a year before the story takes place. The general conclusion is that she has been murdered and it’s only when a mysterious poem alluding to that “Swedish Maiden” appears in the newspaper that effort is once again applied to the case. Morse meets a woman of interesting profession while on vacation, and eventually, men who know her and her agency and how the Maiden’s disappearance fits with that. Without more detail, diligence and patience on the part of Morse bring in a conclusion. Morse is a good, but flawed man. He enjoys his alcohol, but also fine classical music and apparently has substantial background in fine reading which he sometimes brings to his case and friends. He’s not well understood by those around him but has his peers’ respect, something making him easy to relate to. Until the end, I was doubtful whether I’d return to read more Morse, and still am not sure but am leaning towards it.
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June 27, 2014Oh Morse what am I to do with you? Again the crime-plot was awesome and so cleverly constructed (though to be fair while I found the previous books mostly clever this had a few instances where I felt it wasn't only clever but also jumping up and down yelling Look how clever I am) and there aren't many authors who use red herrings as masterfully as Dexter does. Morse also still makes a brilliantly flawed hero...
But this book also had him say a few of the most cringeworthy sexist and rape-apologetic things I ever saw and if I'd read them in a modern book that would immediately knock down the rating a lot. However that book was written in 92 and sadly those attitudes probably weren't that unusual back then so again I am really on the fence (just like with previous Morse-novels). I don't want to judge books too harshly for the time-period they were written but it's somewhat impossible to ignore.
But this book also had him say a few of the most cringeworthy sexist and rape-apologetic things I ever saw and if I'd read them in a modern book that would immediately knock down the rating a lot. However that book was written in 92 and sadly those attitudes probably weren't that unusual back then so again I am really on the fence (just like with previous Morse-novels). I don't want to judge books too harshly for the time-period they were written but it's somewhat impossible to ignore.
January 30, 2011
I live for British detective novels, and the Inspector Morse series, set in Oxfordshire, is just well-written and literate (if not actually literary) enough to alleviate some genre guilt. At the same time, this entry in the series revolves around a porn ring, so it's not all snooty Oxford shenanagins, either. Be forewarned: everyone in this series is always eating cheese sandwiches and drinking bitters, so if you're trying to eat healthily and would find this triggering, you must find a detective with a more balanced diet.
April 22, 2014
This is my favorite Morse book so far. It had an interesting mystery and for once, Morse wasn't on a lot of goose chases. He was enjoying himself on vacation and loathe to return to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the blond, gorgeous Swedish hitchhiker. Personally, I would have thought this was right up in his alley. This was a good read.
January 6, 2019
...una cosa mi chiedo: ma cosa ha Morse che affascina (ma ben di più!) in modo così sistematico donne giovani per le quali potrebbe essere un anziano padre sfatto? E non ditemi che è l'intelligenza...
Quanto al resto Dexter è, ormai, per me, al di sopra di qualsiasi, sia pur fondata, critica. Gli intrecci stanno diventando sempre più barocchi. Spero di essere in grado di riuscire a capirli fino all'ultimo della serie. In alternativa mi posso consolare pensando che il suo tenero sergente Lewis ne capisce poco più di me
Quanto al resto Dexter è, ormai, per me, al di sopra di qualsiasi, sia pur fondata, critica. Gli intrecci stanno diventando sempre più barocchi. Spero di essere in grado di riuscire a capirli fino all'ultimo della serie. In alternativa mi posso consolare pensando che il suo tenero sergente Lewis ne capisce poco più di me
November 29, 2022
Colin Dexter and the Inspector Morse mysteries never disappoint.
September 3, 2023
Loved this one very humorous with all the Sherlock holmes references
April 27, 2024
Good plot here, potentially very good plot replete with options for misdirection and the raising of red herrings … potentially …for a writer with the skills and confidence to use human psychology and build characters and environments in which their behaviours made sense.
But Dexter’s Morse solves puzzles, he doesn’t deal with psychology. The plot, here, is reduced to an exercise in puzzle solving, made doubly annoying by the ridiculous burlesque of involving the letters pages of ‘The Times’ in the storytelling. Effectively, Dexter reduces the disappearance and murder of a young Swedish woman to a contest in solving crossword puzzles and riddles … and a foray into porn and sex.
Seriously, crime fiction could do so much better. Make it sexy, make it erotic by all means, but don’t make it cheap, don’t make exploration of the human psyche a puzzle-solving game.
Dexter can’t introduce a female character without commenting on her looks or sexual availability / desirability. Ten books into his oeuvre and it is getting boring.
Another plot which leads Morse into a world of call girls, escorts, pornography. It’s too coyly done to be a marketing ploy – the books aren’t selling because of sex. It’s the writer’s self-indulgence. We’re supposed to believe that virtually every woman Morse meets instantly falls for him? Meanwhile, the story lines seem to be featuring more and more of Morse’s sexual fantasies. Colin Dexter really didn’t get out much.
In places unreadable, a book which actually left me angry.
But Dexter’s Morse solves puzzles, he doesn’t deal with psychology. The plot, here, is reduced to an exercise in puzzle solving, made doubly annoying by the ridiculous burlesque of involving the letters pages of ‘The Times’ in the storytelling. Effectively, Dexter reduces the disappearance and murder of a young Swedish woman to a contest in solving crossword puzzles and riddles … and a foray into porn and sex.
Seriously, crime fiction could do so much better. Make it sexy, make it erotic by all means, but don’t make it cheap, don’t make exploration of the human psyche a puzzle-solving game.
Dexter can’t introduce a female character without commenting on her looks or sexual availability / desirability. Ten books into his oeuvre and it is getting boring.
Another plot which leads Morse into a world of call girls, escorts, pornography. It’s too coyly done to be a marketing ploy – the books aren’t selling because of sex. It’s the writer’s self-indulgence. We’re supposed to believe that virtually every woman Morse meets instantly falls for him? Meanwhile, the story lines seem to be featuring more and more of Morse’s sexual fantasies. Colin Dexter really didn’t get out much.
In places unreadable, a book which actually left me angry.
March 27, 2017
This was a suitably complex mystery about a young Swedish tourist who went missing in 1991 from Oxford. A year later, the case has stalled out; the clues have led nowhere and no corpse has been found. While Morse is on vacation, however, a cryptic letter pertaining to the missing woman is sent to the police and subsequently published in the Times which sparks the public’s assistance in solving the disappearance (and presumable murder) of whom the press dubs “The Swedish Maiden”.
I liked it as I have liked all Inspector Morse books. They are maddeningly convoluted but interesting to read and so very British, but in a completely different way from other mystery writers such as Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers. My only real issue is why is Morse such a perv?
I liked it as I have liked all Inspector Morse books. They are maddeningly convoluted but interesting to read and so very British, but in a completely different way from other mystery writers such as Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers. My only real issue is why is Morse such a perv?
November 5, 2020
Reading this Inspector Morse mystery was like enjoying a fine wine or having a bowl of ice cream. The brief chapters with newspaper clippings had Colin Dexter's trademark quotes from multiple sources which always alluded to something in the chapter.
I enjoyed the mystery so much, that as soon as I finished reading it, I have started reading it a second time just to enjoy how the clues were planted, now that I know "who dunnit."
Although Morse enjoys a beautiful woman, this book is much more sexual than most of the books I enjoy. I suspect that the book may become out of date because of the changing attitudes about men and women.
I recommend Bionic Jean's review on this book - it's thoughtful, thorough and expertly themed (See what I did there?)
I enjoyed the mystery so much, that as soon as I finished reading it, I have started reading it a second time just to enjoy how the clues were planted, now that I know "who dunnit."
Although Morse enjoys a beautiful woman, this book is much more sexual than most of the books I enjoy. I suspect that the book may become out of date because of the changing attitudes about men and women.
I recommend Bionic Jean's review on this book - it's thoughtful, thorough and expertly themed (See what I did there?)
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