The Remorseful Day

Inspector Morse #13

by Colin Dexter

Book by Dexter, Colin

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Detective, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, Procedural

442 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

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

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the last novel in a series that you've really enjoyed is always something of a bittersweet experience, and such is the case with this, the thirteenth and last entry in Colin Dexter's series featuring Chief Inspector Morse. Through it all, Morse has remained his brilliant, cheap, curmudgeonly self, often irritating many of those around him, but nonetheless always producing a solution to a very complicated crime. And, standing by his side through it all, has been his faithful and often put-upon sergeant, Lewis, who loves working with Morse even if the man can often be a selfish pain in the butt.

Throughout the years, Morse has always consumed way too much alcohol and tobacco for his own good, while lying to his doctors and to everyone else about his bad habits. But inevitably, those bad habits are catching up with him and even though his health has taken a decided turn for the worse, he refuses to make any real concessions to his health problems.

As this book opens, Morse is on a temporary leave, resting up, when his boss, Superintendent Strange, asks him to take on a new case, or an old one, actually. A year earlier, a woman named Yvonnne Harrison was found murdered in her home, naked and handcuffed in her bed. Mrs. Harrison was reputed to be a woman of interesting sexual habits, but all of the obvious suspects, including Mr. Harrison, seemed to have iron-clad alibis, and the original investigation got nowhere.

But now, Strange tells Morse that he has received two anonymous phone calls with new leads in the case and he wants Morse, his most brilliant investigator, to take it over. Morse is almost always keen to take on a complicated case, but in this instance he refuses, claiming that his health is bad and that he's not interested in the case. Strange assigns Sergeant Lewis to run down some leads, but Lewis discovers that Morse, although claiming not to be interested, is already about two steps ahead of him.

As the situation unfolds, additional bodies will fall by the wayside; Morse will finally be drawn into the case, and, fitting for the climax of the series, it's one of the most complex of his career. As always, the plot is extremely convoluted and one wonders if even Chief Inspector Morse will be able to sort it all out.

This is a book that will appeal to those who like traditional British mysteries or who have enjoyed the television series featuring John Thaw as Morse. It's been great fun working my way through them all again.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to read an Inspector Morse novel, and have never read any before, then don't start with this one! It is the thirteenth and final novel in the series, and the title The Remorseful Day acts as a spoiler, leaving not much doubt in the reader's mind as to what will happen to our favourite detective, who is now 58 years old. Or in the words of his sidekick Sergeant Lewis, what will happen to that, "curmudgeonly, miserly, oddly vulnerable chief".

Colin Dexter explained in an interview that he chose his title as a double reference,

""The [gaudy], blabbing and remorseful day
Is crept into the bosom of the sea"

[is] from Shakespeare's Henry the Sixth, not the best known quotation from Shakespeare, but A.E. Housman knew it and I think he quoted it."

The Housman quotation is actually from his poem, "May", which starts,

"Yonder see the morning blink:
The sun is up, and up must I,"

The concluding lines are,

"Past touch and sight and sound
Not further to be found,
How hopeless under ground
Falls the remorseful day."

Colin Dexter went on,

"But I decided that I wouldn't quote it from Shakespeare but from Housman because he's always been my favourite poet, and with all the Oxford connections and classics connections and I quote the verse at the beginning and it got the nice playful element of Morse in the middle, "And ensanguining the skies, lies into the west away,"...[It's] the last line of the poem."

Certainly the shadow of Morse's demise looms large over the entire novel. Regular readers of the novels have become hooked on the snippets of information and insights about Morse's personal life, slowly revealed by the author, and acquired through reading them. The mystery of what has made Morse the person he is, has proved to be irresistible. In this novel, for instance, we learn that his father,

"sadly, almost tragically, had been a clandestine gambler."

The plot of this final novel is nicely complex, but for Morse aficionados - or perhaps addicts is a better word - it is hard to become more engrossed in the plot than in tidbits such as this, which feed our craving to understand the character of Morse, and worse, what we fear is destined to happen to him.

This is not perhaps why one usually reads a mystery novel, but we blindly follow the progress of Morse's illnesses, and watch this brilliant but vulnerable character with frustration and incomprehension as he,

"balanced his intake of alcohol with his intake of insulin," and "devised a carefully calibrated dosage that exactly counterbalanced his considerable intake of alcohol."

We know of old that for Morse, thinking and drinking are always inseparable,

"You don't think I drink just for the pleasure of it, do you?"

he asks Lewis, and in an even more massive but typical feat of self-deception, Morse decides,

"a permanent cure had been effected; and that a resumption of his erstwhile modus vivendi was thenceforth justified."

The reader wants to shake this character until his teeth rattle. Of course by rationalising this way, Morse continues to have his beloved booze, and the effects on his work and life, his fears for the future and so on, are described very effectively. He even writes a will, a very touching episode, where we are forced to understand how genuinely alone he is. We become aware how detached and remote his existence is, even from the generally accepted ways of life which he encounters daily; in the procedures of the institutions we all accept as necessary. Dexter has started each chapter with an apt quotation, as is his wont, and the chosen quotation for this chapter is from the will of Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge", arguably one of the saddest extracts in all English Victorian novels, and evidently a direct parallel to how Dexter views Morse.

Other minor characters are depicted to enable further aspects of the main character's personality to be revealed. A new recruit, PC Kershaw, young and brilliant, is given short shrift by Morse,

"his voice trailed off as he found Morse's blue eyes looking at him; uncomprehending, cold...
"Cocky young sod! University graduate, God help us!""

Sergeant Dixon, whom we have already met in previous novels, is also employed as a device to reveal Morse's nastier side,

"Morse had once cruelly described him as "the lowest watt bulb in the Thames Valley Force""

and also as an opponent - in Lewis's mind - for Morse's attentions. Lewis becomes intensely jealous when Dixon is given even the most menial police tasks, which makes the reader aware of just how devastating it is going to be for Lewis, when Morse finally takes his bow.

Colin Dexter also successfully firms up his portrayal of Superintendent Strange. Perhaps this seems an odd thing to do when reaching the conclusion of a long series, but there is good reason for us to get to know Strange a little better. Strange is revealed to be an essential component part in the plot; both the plot of the murder story, and the subplot of Morse's life. It is a subplot which has attained equal value in this novel.

So what of the mystery plot? Well, it is devious and intellectually challenging, a complex puzzle with numerous twists and turns - mostly because we are led, along with Morse, up several blind alleys before the final solution. Typically he will get it wrong several times before he gets it right, and this novel is no exception. Morse has a unique way of solving crimes, which drives his colleagues round the bend. Partly he guesses in random fashion, leaping ahead along the wrong racetrack (the racetrack analogy is often used by Dexter) but his instincts are often right. And this is why he is so grudgingly respected by his colleagues. In this case, there is no ambiguity at the end, but whether it is possible to guess who is the perpetrator, and what is coming, is extremely doubtful.

The plot starts in typically sordid fashion, with an introductory piece or "Prolegomenon" as the author entitles it, about a flirtation between a nurse and a patient. The reader is not privy to the knowledge of who the male involved is. It is clear that the female is his nurse. Then in the first chapter we learn that a nurse, Yvonne Harrison has been murdered and left naked, handcuffed and gagged. She has been found in this sexually compromising position by her husband Frank. Three more murders result from this initial one. At least, Morse is convinced that they are all connected, and there is, as always, mistaken identities, a plethora of suspects and a moral conundrum or two.

The characters in this book seem to be drawn exclusively from the "Town" side of Oxford, rather than the "Gown," although they cover a wide range of types and class. It is perhaps a little sad that there is none of the university flavour about the book. Clearly it has been sacrificed to give us a more rounded portrayal of how Morse's gradual withdrawal from the scene affects those few near to him.

Lewis begins to play a more active role in the case, or cases, because of Morse's failing health,

"It was as if he - Lewis - was taking charge of the case.
Well, he was, wasn't he?"

Indeed there seems to be a reluctance on Morse's part to be involved with this case at all. One intriguing aspect of the novel is the development of Lewis's approach. At times he seems to emulate Morse's method, even though he knows it is flawed. For,

"Morse was very often wrong - at the start.
So what?
Morse was almost always right - at the finish."

Lewis even at one point quite deliberately employs Morse's favourite technique, that of the Socratic dialectic, or eliciting the right answers just by asking the right questions. He is clearly beginning to follow in the master's footsteps.

It is probably Dexter's own fantasy, being able to solve a problem solely by the use of sheer intellect. He once said that he,

"was just as anxious for the detective to manage without the pathology lab as for the crossword puzzler to manage without a dictionary."

And of course, the crossword fanaticism is also built into the character of Morse, as he continually matches his latest achieved time against his earlier self.

We follow developments in the story by means of various characters; Paddy Flynn, a cab driver, Frank Harrison, a rich businessman who is the widower of the first victim, his son Simon and also his daughter, Sarah, who happens to be one of Morse's doctors. There is an ex-con Harry Repp, released early on parole and a local builder, with a string of affairs and assignations behind him, John Barron. There is the landlord of a local pub, Tom Biffen. There is a young lad, Roy Holmes, and another seedy youth. And all of these characters' actions provide a rich mixture with drugs involvement, blackmail, jealousy, anonymous letters to the police, similarities of appearance and and hidden relationships from the past. In fact there are most of the ingredients Dexter likes to include in his whodunnits, popping up in this book.

Sometimes Dexter has liked to have Morse expound his theory at the end, in soliloquy fashion. In this novel, he has Morse write a long account, almost a letter, giving a detailed explanation for everything,

"just in case something happened; just in case no one would be aware of the sweetly logical solution that had formulated itself in his mind that day."

He had told Lewis,

"This will be - has been - my last case. I am now determined to retire and to take life a little more gently and sensibly,"

And with supreme dramatic irony, a little later Morse collapses and dies in hospital of a heart attack. His last words are "Thank Lewis for me". In an addendum, Strange, uncovering the truth further, tells Lewis the reason behind the issue which has bothered Lewis right from the start, because,

"Morse had known too little about it, and then again, far too much;"

And inevitably, the truth is not anything which the reader could have guessed. There has been, as always, much sleight of hand by Dexter in this novel. He has never been afraid to mislead the readers, indeed obfuscation has been part of his style throughout, by building this feature into his defined character portrayal of Morse,

"Are you making it all up?"

asks Lewis suspiciously at one point. And the reply?

"Yes! So allow me to continue making it all up."

But the final words are very affecting. We feel for Lewis in his desolation. It is closure, for readers and characters alike; flawed, vulnerable and essentially human as they have been. There is no ambiguity here.

Here is what Colin Dexter himself said about the ending of the series,

"I've written enough. I think, including the short stories, this is number 14. I feel I've said enough about him. I think, in a way, you know there are certain characteristics, as there are with your chief fellow and you play on them a bit, and you change them and you repeat them. And people get older. I feel, as I've said, there's been a lot of corpses, a lot of people have been killed, a lot of talk about poets and Wagner and beer and crosswords. And I just feel that there's been enough said and you can't go on, well you can go on but there comes a point when you say, "That's it. I think that's enough about this man." And say if you do get the luck of it being committed to television with a great group: producer; director; actors; executive producer like Ted Childs then you have to say, don't you, "The Gods have been kind.""

And "The Guardian"'s verdict?

"Let those who lament the decline of the English detective story reach for Colin Dexter."

Ah, but after Inspector Morse's demise, what do we readers do now?

NOTE:

All thirteen "Inspector Morse" novels have now been reviewed individually, and each review can be displayed by searching for the relevant title on my page.

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is no secret that this is the last in Colin Dexter's Oxford based DCI Morse and Sergeant Lewis series and an aura of sadness and melancholy hangs over the novel knowing the inevitable is coming, Morse has refused to change his damaging lifestyle and lies to his doctors, although they are not really deceived. He knows the end is not far off as he makes arrangements, like attending to his will. I listened to this on audio, narrated by the terrific Samuel West, it is just over 10 hours long. Morse's last investigation sees Lewis make a significantly greater contribution, it is a cold case that Morse initially refuses to take, happy to go against his soon to be retiring boss, Strange. It is the murder of Yvonne Harrison, a case that is to result in a number of present day murders, a complex inquiry in which, true to form, Morse takes a number of wrong turns, but will he be able to solve it before it is too late? There is a revealing meeting between Strange and Lewis at the end that highlights Morse's loyalty, we are left with a Lewis who is hit by a despairing grief. A terrific addition to the series, and I can recommend the audio.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hard cover book is signed by Colin Dexter. This is the last Morse book.

[Arwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't very often shed a tear when reading but this was one of the exceptions!
This last Morse story had a different feel to it right from the start. The crime plot seems to have almost secondary importance (maybe because one already knows what is going to happen at the end) and the three characters - Morse, Lewis and Strange - come to the fore.
Such a sad and moving ending. Poor Morse, heading straight down the road to self-destruction, unwilling or unable to prevent the inevitable. And poor Lewis who only realises that he has done his friend an injustice when it's too late.

I wish Colin Dexter had decided on a different way to close this series! I prefer to think of Morse in retirement, listening to Wagner with a glass of whisky in his hand.....

[Rebecca Hazell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Colin Dexter was a disappointment overall, though I read most of his books in an attempt to be fair. The TV series was much better. Dexter spent lots of time showing off his main character Morse's mastery of Latin, mutual attractions to beautiful women that led nowhere (maybe Morse quoted too much Latin to them or corrected their spelling too often), and then being sentimental in unconvincing ways. As I said, watch the series and don't bother with the books.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars - English Ebook

For a year, the murder of Mrs. Yvonne Harrison at her home in Oxfordshire had baffled the Thames Valley CID.

The manner of her death, her naked handcuffed body left lying in bed, matched her reputation as a women of adventuresome sexual tastes.

The case seemed perfect for Inspector Morse. So why has he refused to become involved. Even after anonymous hints of new evidence, even after a fresh murder?

Sgt. Lewis's loyalty to his infuriating boss slowly turns to deep distress as his own investigations suggest that Mrs. Harrison was no stranger to Morse. Far from it.

Never has Morse performed more brilliantly than in this final adventure, whose masterly twists and turns through the shadowy byways of passion grip us to the death.

An excellent writer ... Dexter's mysteries featuring Inspector Morse just keep getting better and better."
--Associated Press-

"A masterful crime writer whom few others match."
--Publishers Weekly-

"Dexter is a magician with character, story construction, and the English language. ... Colin Dexter and Morse are treasures of the genre."
--Mystery News-

"Morse is the most prickly, conceited, and genuinely brilliant detective since Hercule Poirot."
--New York Times-

"It is a delight to watch this brilliant, quirky man deduce."        
--Minneapolis Star Tribune-

What more can I say. One of the vest in the series for me.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best of all the Morse series as it really explores the relationship of Morse and Lewis and Strange. The main case deals with the death of a woman several years before that Strange orders Morse to investigate. Morse is at his best here. He does not go willy-nilly looking for a solution to the crime. He does not pick up women or drink excessively. Has he changed?

No. Morse is sick and it is no surprise that he dies during the book. It's how the ends ties up and Morse's genuine care for Lewis that make this book stand out. It was a fitting tribute and quite moving. It was a wonderful way to finish a series.

[Jill Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Colin Dexter mysteries featuring Chief Inspector Morse of the Thames Valley CID and leading up to this book have prepared the reader for the likely end of the great detective. He drinks far to much, easts poorly, can't resist the occasional cigarette, and (most recently) has been diagnosed with diabetes and a host of impending health disasters requiring a far more strict lifestyle. The murder in this mystery has baffled his fellow detectives for more than a year, and, when new evidence, surfaces and Morse is asked to head a new investigation, Morse refuses for reasons puzzling to his supervisor as well as the ever-faithful Sergeant Lewis. Further, despite refusing to tackle the case, Morse does seem to be investigating it privately. It soon becomes clear to Lewis that Morse knew the dead woman and may have been involved not only in her life but in her death. The case is coarse, raw, and crude--in short, as unlike Morse as even his closest few friends might guess. And, of course, his meddling in the investigation and manipulation of evidence (if it truly has occurred as Lewis suspects) is the kind of behaviour Morse has deplored in other policemen and agencies throughout his long life of service.

Lewis is desperate to solve the case and to prove to himself and to Morse that he is capable of brilliant detection like his long-time boss. Morse is in and out of hospital while ignoring the writing on the wall, to Lewis's disgust and frustration. His hospital stays and intermittent recuperations force Morse to face the "new" world from which he seems to have grown more and more distant. Oxford is still the beautiful city of spires, but, like all other large and diverse cities, its crimes have become even more distasteful with the passing years. The times, it seems, have finally passed Morse by.

Like all the Morse stories, the two principle characters are fascinating studies. Morse is just as arrogant as ever, despite facing what may be his last case and his own mortality. Lewis seems a man of simple tastes and ordinary abilites by contrast; but, in many respects, he is Morse's superior because of his human, caring approach and the lessons he has learned--almost in direct opposition--from the great man himself. The quotes that lead off each chapter are as tantalizing as the plot twists. And the red herrings abound. Trying to tell much of the story is tricky because spoilers are likely. The biggest spoiler--or not--appears on the book's cover with the notation "The Final Inspector Morse Novel". Given Morse's life style and medical history, we know the likely outcome, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept. Dexter doesn't dwell on Morse's departure, however; it is done with taste, gentleness, affection, and fact along with some final revelations that fans will cherish. Dexter wrote thirteen Morse mysteries, and their collective construction ending on that fateful number is as carefully and skillfully done as every other aspect of Dexter's books. It remains to be seen whether or not loyal readers can back away with the same dignity.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspector Morse mystery No. 12 is the best in the series (so far). Strange reopens a cold case that Morse refuses to get involve with initially. As the re-opened case set of more murders, Morse gets drawn in. A wonderful book, that really digs into the Strange - Morse - Lewis relationship and has a shocking ending. Great read. 8 out of 12!

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another series done and a sad ending but glad Lewis carried on RIP Morse

[Dorothy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got about halfway through this book before it struck me that if it hadn't been an Inspector Morse novel, I'd have given up on it several chapters before.

The pace was glacial and I didn't like any of the characters, except perhaps for Sergeant Lewis (however, I think that's because I have a soft spot for the TV Lewis and that's how I was picturing him). Morse himself was a smug, curmudgeonly, middle-aged, alcoholic miser who still managed to be attractive to women (there are so many fictional detectives like that, one wonders if it's wish fulfilment on the part of middle-aged novel writers...).

I know the pedantic references to spelling and grammar were meant to be an amusing reflection on Morse's character, but they got to the point where they just annoyed me.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this entire series, one after the other to try and satisfy my craving for Morse.

The deaths of both Mr Dexter and Mr Thaw left a large hole. Now, I have read all of these more than once - and watched each episode a dozen times - except this last one. Once was enough for something so immensely powerful.

[icaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sodali dell'ispettore! Preparatevi. Stavolta è dura!

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

They say you shouldn't read the last book first, but hey, it was to hand. I've got to say I'm a little disappointed. The plot of The Remorseful Day frays around the edges as Dexter tries a little too hard to keep the reader off balance, while Morse's impending demise is over-signalled as he does things he surely wouldn't do, such as revealing the murderer in a private diary without telling Lewis.

And the inexorable progress towards that reveal via diversions and red herrings - essential in a crime novel - just isn't there. The investigation seems to run out of puff, such that two weeks after finishing the book I can't quite remember who the murderer was* and which of the naughty-but-not-guilty-of-murder characters got their just desserts. It seems Dexter was so preoccupied with Morse's impending demise that he literally lost the plot.

You can just tell that some of Morse's pedantry is Dexter's too, so after reading about him nit-picking over Oxford commas (occasionally useful but generally unnecessary), grumbling about split infinitives (a fake rule) and excoriating 'errors' that are little more than style preferences, I found some smug satisfaction at finding one or two genuine errors that must have stemmed from the author's own pen. (I'm a book editor so I can tell the difference between an editor's errors and an author's.)

*I've remembered who the murderer was now. I can't quite remember the motive though.

[Bekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the television series starring John Thaw, so I just had to read the books and learn more about Morse. I know it is a little stupid to start with the last book, but as I had watched all episodes aside from The Remorseful Day, I saw this as my chance to finally read before watching. The case was so complicated and left me chewing my lip very frequently. I was also left broken hearted. I know I would likely not have cried had I not been able to put a face, a voice, with the names of Morse and Lewis. I could see them, hear them, and it made those last chapters all the more painful. Colin Dexter is a clever man and a wonderful author. Despite reading the last book first, I cannot wait to go back and read the other cases of Inspector Endeavour Morse.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only wish there were ten stars! I feel as if I have taken another course in English literature. He quotes all the greats: Shakespeare, Keats, A.E. Housmen, his favorite, Byron, Wilde, Gray, Dickens, Tennyson, Yeats. The mystery was excellent and(spoiler alert)his death so tragic I cried. Why did his best have to be his last?

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last book in the Inspector Morse series. I was amazed at how moved I felt by his death at the end, even though that death was no surprise.

[flaminia · Rating 4 out of 5]

quattro stelle per la copertina, che trovo bellissima, e per celebrare l'ultimo episodio dell'ispettore morse.

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read by................... Terrence Hardiman
Runtime.......... 10 hours 54 mins

Description: The first Inspector Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, appeared a quarter-century ago. This finale to a grand series presents a moving elegy to one of mystery fiction's most celebrated and popular characters. The murder of nurse Yvonne Harrington two years earlier remains unsolved, but the Oxford police receive an anonymous tip that prompts them to revive their investigation. Morse's superior, Chief Superintendent Strange, wants him to take over the case, but Morse is stubbornly and curiously reluctant to do so. Morse's faithful dogsbody, the long-suffering Sergeant Lewis, is left wondering whether Morse himself is some how connected to the crime, since the inspector had encountered the murder victim during a stay in the hospital. It falls to Lewis to do most of the delving, with Morse prompting him along the way. The case seems impenetrable until the murder of burglar Harry Repp - though what could be the connection to the original murder? Lewis continues to probe while Morse remains his oracular self.

It is with the certain sadness that I reach the end of this entertaining series. *sniff* This is the one with the red running shoes, S&M sex, clarinets, birds, deafness and false teeth.



demirep (C18 from demi + rep(putation)): (rare) a woman of bad repute, esp. a prostitute

concatenation: Concatenation (from Latin concatenare, to link together) is taking two or more separately located things and placing them side-by-side next to each other so that they can now be treated as one thing.

A corking finalé this, and I look back over Lewis's career and how he has grown from green shoot, to worthy acolyte, and then confident sleuth in his own right, albeit exhibiting distinct Morse-ian traits.



In the interview below, it suggests we are supposed to know who Morse is based on and I admit to being in the dark on this bit of trivia. The series let-down was 'The Jewel That was Ours', and the highlights you can spot through those ratings.

What a chuckly face he has!

Colin Dexter walks into the lobby of the Salisbury rooms in the Carlton Hyatt Hotel on Cadogan square; he is elegant and diffident, a genuine old school gentleman. We are here for a press screening of the latest Morse offering, "Death Is Now My Neighbour". But Mr Dexter won't be staying for the screening, he's shooting off to Wales to address a meeting of diabetics. As a diabetic himself it is something he tries to do as often as he can. He mingles with friends and colleagues outside the screening, and when I approach he is amiable but would obviously rather just keep on chatting. He takes his leave, promising he will speak to them soon, and we disappear into a reception room and sit down on one of its sofa's. Mr Dexter insists on sitting on the left, because, as he explains, he is quite deaf and that side is best for his hearing. The feeling remains that he has been parted him from his friends, but he is too much of a gentleman and professional to dwell on this. Mr Dexter insists that he can only talk for a few minutes because he has to catch a train, so we dive straight into the questions.

** It is well known where the character of Morse is drawn from, but what about the character of Lewis? **

Well, nowhere in particular. When I first wrote him he was the same age as me, but we've conveniently forgotten that now because T.V has made him so much younger. Lewis is an amalgamation of people, but certainly in the first book I thought he was a grandfather. But having forgotten what I wrote in the first book it doesn't really bother me.

** Do you think that your writing has changed as a consequence of being represented on television? **

Well not with Morse at all, I think he's as miserable and mean-spirited and mean-pocketed as ever he was, isn't he? He's a bit melancholy and sad and pessimistic about the universe and I think that John does him very well. But certainly from the Lewis point of view it makes it difficult sometimes yes. But I solve the problem easily by ignoring it. Instead of putting "The burly, middle-aged grandfather walked into the room", I put "Lewis walked into the room". No problem then.

** You've been quoted as saying that not buying a round is a worse crime than adultery. Is there a worse crime than not buying a round? **

There's not much is there? I don't know if you ever go to a pub, and somebody hangs back, and just when all the glasses are going he gets up, or she gets up, and says "I'm awfully sorry but I've got to go". And I feel really that these people are disastrous in a social sense. At least there's something to be said for adultery, but there's nothing at all to be said for just being so miserably mean-pocketed that you never buy a round, and Morse is like that. Poor old Lewis is on half the salary and has to buy nine tenths of the beer.

** Do you have a favourite beer? **

I like any beer. I'm not really a fan of any particular beers or pubs. What I am a fan of is the landlord, if the landlord can keep the beer well he's a friend of mine. But so many landlords haven't got a clue, they don't know anything about storage or temperatures. So if I find a good pub with a good landlord then that's my favourite.

** In the past you've talked about Morse's pessimism and you've said that you share some of that pessimism. **

I'm profoundly pessimistic about the future of the human race. It's not just a question of Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein, wherever you look there's immense cruelty and signs of man's inhumanity to man. We learn more about it than we used to. I do feel more and more pessimistic about the ability of the human race to survive with itself

** Is that in an environmental or military sense? **

Environmental, certainly. But military above all I think. We are lacking any compassionate interest in our fellow human beings, you see it all the time and you see more of it now. I don't give us much chance; two or three decades.

** You have been quoted as saying that in your view there are three main accolades for a crime writer: to be mentioned in Private Eye; to be awarded a dagger by the Crime Writers Association; and to be included in the summer selection that the Royal Family takes to Balmoral every year. Now, you've achieved all of those, but which gave you the most satisfaction? **

I've won a diamond dagger from the Crime Writer's Association. I think that because it's not given for an individual book, it's given for services to crime fiction. I won that last year and only twelve people have won it.

** In the early series of Morse, Anthony Minghella was a writer and Danny Boyle was a writer and director. Did you work with them much? **

Yes, I worked with them a lot. Anthony did the first one we ever did, The Dead Of Jericho, and that was excellent. I got to know him quite well, and we did try to get him to do one or two of the later screen plays , but he was engaged in rather more important things. I do have contact with the directors but above all I have contact with the screenplay. Usually I go through these with the producer rather than the director, and very often with the actual screenwriter.

** Is there any significance to Morse's car registration -248 RPA? **

No, I don't think there is. We tried to get a Lancia but instead we got this clapped out pre-electrics non-M.O.T. Jaguar.

** You don't like it? **

Yes, but it's a bugger to drive according to everybody who drives it.

** You're quoted as saying that once you start to write, ideas happen in an almost physical way. Can you elaborate on that? **

Well I think that you've got to be prepared to write a load of nonsense to start with and then you can tart it up. The business of getting going, getting started, is enormously important , and this can be physical. Solvitur Ambulando as the Romans used to say, which means the solution comes through walking.

** Morse's lustfulness and alcohol dependency have been watered down for television. Does that worry you? Does it make him a different character? **

No, I think that T.V. and radio and novels are totally different mediums. When you've got an hour and 5 minutes to squash 360 pages, things have got to go; literary clues have got to go, an awful lot of thinking has got to go. You can't think on the T.V. and you can't drink that much on the T.V. Morse is not giving up booze, it's the only thing that he's not giving up.

** You say that you began writing Morse on a wet family holiday in Wales in 1972. And, from what I can make out, it was, initially at least, a product of boredom. Is that accurate? **

My children used to ask why I didn't take them to places where the sun was always shining like everybody else's father did. Everybody gets fed up with children on holiday, especially when it's raining. Anyway, there where two detective stories there and I read them and thought that they were pretty ordinary, and I thought that I could do just as well. I didn't write very much when I started, I think I only wrote two paragraphs or one page at the outside. But that was the time I thought I'd try to write.

With that, Colin Dexter takes his leave. He shakes hands and says that he is awfully sorry but he has forgotten my name. Then he walks slowly to the door, upbraiding himself like the gentleman he is, saying that he really will try and remember it next time.

Colin Dexter says he currently has no plans to write a new Morse book, but pre-production is already underway for next year's Morse film based on an earlier novel 'The Wench is Dead'. © Carlton Television MCMXCV11.(1997)

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)
3* The Way Through The Woods (Inspector Morse, #10)
4* The Daughters of Cain (Inspector Morse, #11)
3* Death Is Now My Neighbor (Inspector Morse, #12)
5* The Remorseful Day (Inspector Morse, #13)
3* Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories

[Ruthiella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final Morse novel. It was bittersweet. Like Sargent Lewis, I will miss the old pervy bastard. The mystery, an unsolved murder of a sexy nurse is put back on the front burner when new facts come to light and Morse takes the case. I think it is great that Dexter was able to bow out of this series on a high note.

[Jo Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was read with bittersweet pleasure. We all know it’s the last one and we all know that Morse will die in the book. This lends the story a touch of sadness throughout. The storyline is Dexter classic, intriguing and interesting. Morse initially refuses to look into the murder of Yvonne Harrison, a cold case a year old but Lewis soon discovers that Morse is doing this in the sly, until Morse’s hand is forced. This story sees Lewis take a bigger lead than usual and the scene where he role plays in his head a conversation with Morse which enables Lewis to advance the case is wonderful. The scenes leading up to and after Morse’s death are heartbreaking and I shed more than a tear or two whilst reading them. Goodbye Morse it has been an absolute pleasure.

[Charlotte (Buried in Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Dexter - you are a very clever man. Such sadness, such emptiness. A fitting ending for a truly fascinating character - one that showed a very different side to the man.

Strange re-opens the case of a woman murdered just over a year earlier. Morse is extremely reluctant to get involved - so the case is run by Lewis. But Morse always seems one step ahead of Lewis. Then the bodies start showing up and it's clear they are linked to the earlier unsolved murder. What is Morse hiding? Did he know the murdered woman? Does Lewis really know Morse at all.

Morse has a terrible sense that something awful is going to happen, that his death is near. He prepares for it - writing his will and wanting to leave his body to science. I got the feeling that he was pushing Lewis to handle the investigation on his own - to ready him for the time when Morse would no longer be there.

It was difficult to see Lewis struggle with Morse lying to him - to question everything he knew about Morse - I'm glad that Strange set him straight at the end. There were very few people that Morse cared about - Lewis was one; and Strange knew that - so the explanation that Morse had protected Strange, kept his affair with the murdered woman a secret was sweet. It did no harm - Morse as ever made a determination on what was best - regardless of how that made him look to others - even Lewis. But he still correctly identified the murderer - even if he had to leave this thoughts in writing, rather than talk things through with Lewis.

The end, when it came, was quick and quiet and very touching. Lewis was devastated and I echo his words "Goodbye, sir".

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Honor to Review, September 26, 2012
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Remorseful Day (Mass Market Paperback)
This was my first Inspector Morse mystery and how strange that it turned out to be the last in this excellent series.
I decided to start reading Inspector Morse after watching the Inspector Lewis series on PBS. Never miss it.

This story begins with the Inspector in a hospital being cared for by a more than charming nurse...Yvonne Harrison. Morse goes on with his life, although he does ask the nurse to contact him sometime in the future, and the nurse goes on with her death-or should I say murder.

Then another murder presents itself and then another. Are these murders connected? Is there a serial murderer afoot? Inspector Lewis must cancel his vacation time to plunge headlong into this mystery with Lewis as his right hand man.

I found the ending both astounding and sad...very sad. Fortunately for me I have the rest of the Inspector Morse series to read, so that this last book is actually just the beginning of my reading Morse.

DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS MUST READ. A remarkable mystery to the end.
Ellen

[Sarah T · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple of times a year, we go to the seaside town of Whitby for a brief couple of days of R&R and I always make sure to pick up a paperback in the secondhand book shop while we're there. "The Remorseful Day" was by choice this time and it's good holiday reading - a well written, decently plotted police procedural with a couple of red herrings and, of course, the legend that is Inspector Morse.

The trouble is that I never find the Morse novels as satisfying as I do the superlative TV series. Dexter's grammatical pedantry grates after a while, as does his insistence on writing in dialect (characters regularly say things like "cup o' tea"). And in this one, so many characters are bumped off fairly early on that the list of possible suspects is too short for the final revelation to be much of a surprise.

Still, it fulfilled its purpose of providing me with some seaside entertainment so it's a solid three starrer.

[Catsalive · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good reading. Morse is a great character & I could picture John Thaw throughout. This is the only Morse I've read but I'd love to go back to the beginning & read the lot.

The final Inspector Morse novel.

back cover:
The murder of Yvonne Harrison had left Thames Valley CID baffled. A year after the dreadful crime they are still no nearer to making an arrest. But one man has yet to tackle the case - and it is just the sort of puzzle at which Chief Inspector Morse excels. So why is he adamant that he will not lead the re-investigation, despite the entreaties of Chief Superintendent Strange and dark hints of some new evidence? And why, if he refuses to take on the case officially, does he seem to be carrying out his own private enquiries? For Sergeant Lewis this is yet another example of the unsettling behaviour his chief has been displaying of late ...

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last in the series for Morse. I have to say the reason I read and watched this series is because of Lewis but Morse himself always annoyed me constantly guessing who had done it and being so sure then changing his mind and Lewis always seemed to be the voice of caution not quite so ready to rush in which is probably why I enjoy the TV series Lewis so much more. I think we could all see the writing on the wall with Morse and that it was going to end this way to me it seemed he committed suicide deliberately taking no action to rectify his health problems he was a bright guy he knew what the inevitable would be which I found very sad and depressing. The investigation is the pretty standard convoluted confusing list of characters who all interconnect leading to the bad decisions they make resulting in disaster for everyone concerned! Not my favourite detective.

[Mary Wilt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always uncertain why people describe Dexter as a "wonderful" writer. I find his prose irritating, rambling, superficial, and abrupt--and it's not because that is Morse's character, either!

Nonetheless, it is hard to put a Morse mystery down. What more do you want from a detective novel, after all?

There is no mystery to the fact that this is Morse's final appearance, it says so right on the flap. But Dexter's knack for substituting a dialogue between characters for any inner dialogue works to an advantage here, as there is no false sentimental "last moments" to worry about, and an intriguing mystery to solve, in which it is apparent that both Morse and his Chief Superintendent have more personal connection than they will let on. I guessed wrong for the majority of the book. I like that in a mystery novel.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis are my favorite crime solving partners and for me John Thaw and Kevin Whately brought both of these characters to life perfectly in the TV series. Remorseful Day is the final installment in the book series by Dexter. Now that Inspector Lewis has come to an end and we are now starting the prequel Endeavour, I decided to go back and re-read the 13 full length novels in reverse order. They are so well written, so literary (I always learn from the quotes that start each chapter and now know what an Oxford comma is) and the characters so well delineated with all their human flaws and foibles. And of course there is the City of Oxford, a character in itself. Perfect summer reading.

[Anirban · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last Inspector Morse book. This book is not a fast paced book, but the reader wont lose interest. The book starts off rather slowly, and never reaches breath taking speed, but always manages to maintain a steady run.
This is an emotional book. By three fourth of the book it ceases to be a mere crime fiction but rather becomes a study of Morse's last days. But having said this the plot is masterfully done, all the elements of a Morse mystery are present.
But, for me the last 50 pages of the book were the best, where Morse realizes that its time to "CROSS THE RIVER", and realizes the true nature of the crime and identifies the killer.