Service of All the Dead

Inspector Morse #4

by Colin Dexter

The sweet countenance of Reason greeted Morse serenely when he woke, and told him that it would be no bad idea to have a quiet look at the problem itself before galloping off to a solution.

Chief Inspector Morse was alone among the congregation in suspecting continued unrest in the quiet parish of St Frideswide's.

Most people could still remember the churchwarden's murder. A few could still recall the murderer's suicide. Now even the police had closed the case.

Until a chance meeting among the tombstones reveals startling new evidence of a conspiracy to deceive . . .

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

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

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

[Bionic Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have never read an "Inspector Morse" novel, then this one might be a good one to start with. Service of all the Dead is the fourth novel in the series, written in 1979. Colin Dexter now seems much more comfortable with his creations. The quality of writing is vastly improved too, and the plot is devious and nicely worked. There is not just one murder but 5 all told - and even then one of these corpses turns out not to be who it appears.

The novel consists of 4 books, all written in different styles, and each having Biblical type appellations such as "The Book of Revelation". This is a nice touch, since the novel itself centres around the church of St. Frideswide's - the death of its churchwarden and falling from the tower of its vicar. The first book sets up the plot, introducing all the characters involved, and relates their feelings towards each other, thereby hinting at possible motives for the murder. Morse himself is introduced in the second book. He should be on holiday, but is bored, and drifts into the case, correctly supposing that there is far more to it than anyone has so far suspected. Conveniently the inspector who should be in charge falls ill, so Morse is assigned the case. Most of the action takes place in this section, which typically has Morse theorising about many possible scenarios, all of which are proved to be wrong as more evidence comes to light.The final two "books" are written in a very different style. Book 3 is a verbatim statement from one of the key witnesses, whereas the last book details the court proceedings.

This novel is an interesting departure from the series so far. Apart from its stylised form, there is also a fair bit of wry humour in Dexter's descriptions. One example is when the worst excesses of High Church ceremonies and rituals are compared in a jocular fashion with moves in a football game. The vocabulary used is often very droll because of the context in which Dexter uses it. Humorous motifs are also introduced; for instance, this is the first time we learn of Morse's reluctance to pay for his round at the pub. This becomes a recurring theme throughout the series, as an irritating habit for Lewis to observe.

Morse, who is now 47 years old, is depicted more as the familiar character we know from TV dramatisations. He loves opera, beer and women. He smokes - or does he? "Morse either smoked addictively or not at all and had given up the habit on innumerable occasions." It is this subtlety of suggestion which brings a smile to the reader's face. We are beginning to know Morse, and to recognise his human weaknesses.

The character remembers himself as a youngster, travelling around his local area with a book about churches and noting all the interesting features. This hints at a lonely boyhood, and that he showed his cleverness at an early age. Other interesting facts about him are revealed as the story develops; his fear and impotence at a road traffic accident, where he runs away and feels thoroughly ashamed of himself, his vertigo on the church tower, his squeamishness and reluctance to look at a corpse when his job requires it. These are the obvious surprises in a character whom we already know to be flawed by his conceit and intolerant brusque manner with others. Dexter puts it thus, "It was a mark of Morse's genius that he could take hold of his weaknesses and almost miraculously transform them into his strengths." In other words, because Morse knew full well the doubts and fears many of us have, he could empathise enough to reconstruct probable behaviour, and work out what must have happened in the past.

His relationship with Sergeant Lewis is settling into a pattern. Lewis still finds Morse intolerable at times; his moodiness, coarseness and bad temper. On at least one occasion Lewis stalks off slamming the door behind him, going in search of a fellow officer to whom he can let off steam. But he has also begun to see that, "Morse had a brilliant facility for seeing his way through the dark labyrinths of human motive and human behaviour," being relieved that he himself could carry on with his, "usual pedestrian and perfunctory duties." This is a nicely portrayed growth in the relationship, which parallels our own perception of how the characters are developing in the series. It is a familiar pattern too that in a friendship one may be more dynamic and volatile, while the other plods along calmly. Both seem to need their counterpart, and that is what is happening here.

The plot is ingenious. It's clear very early on that there has been a murder, but this eventually emerges as a misconception. The man whom we thought was initially killed in the vestry was not Harry Josephs, the churchwarden but Philip Lawson, the brother of the vicar Lionel Lawson, who jumped from the church tower. (Or did he? There is a delicious detail very near the end of the book, which casts doubt on whether this was a suicide.) Lionel, Harry and the organist Paul Morris had all been in on the plot to kill Philip Lawson, who although Lionel's brother, was now a blackmailer and a tramp, and a generally nasty piece of work. The execution of the murder had been complicated and tricky. Subsequently the ex-commando Harry Josephs ended up by killing both Paul Morris and his son, probably also killing Lionel, plus Ruth Rawlinson, who hadn't really known what was going on, but whom he viewed as a security risk. There cannot be many novels where the initial corpse ends up being the murderer!

All in all, a devious enjoyable read which bodes well for the rest of the series.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunchtime Listen March 2025

Despite the house move actually showing signs of progressing this year (oh pretty please ) my actual reading of physical or e-books has gradually diminished as my stressed brain cannot focus long enough to take in what my eyes are seeing. Therefore increasingly over the last 3 months and almost certainly for the next few (or however long it takes) my reading will be of the listening kind as my head seems able to cope with people with fabulous voices ( Gareth Armstrong, Hugh Fraser, David Suchet and in this case Samuel West ) telling me a story.

Ok, this novel. I remember reading it ( and all the Dexter Morse novels ) back in the early 80s and thoroughly enjoying it. Little did I know at that time that I would become such a follower of all Oxfordian detectives ( Endeavour, Morse and Lewis ( ok two of them are the same but the tv series are so different, but equally wonderful ) ). Looking back , I suppose I should have taken up the chance I had to go to Oxford University back in 1978, how my life would have been different , or maybe not.

Anyway an excellent novel, showing the full gamut of Ch Insp Morse’s abilities and foibles, the things that Morse lovers like the most about the character. It also showcases the wonderful imagination of the late Colin Dexter to come up with such a brilliantly convoluted story.

It starts, with Morse doing absolutely no prep for his 2 weeks annual leave and being reduced to moping at home or taking himself off to the local museums and galleries. Until he discovers there had been in a murder in one of the local churches last year that was still unsolved. Being in the city it would not have to come to his attention as they were separate forces at the time, but he is none the less, with little else to do, interested.

And so it begins !

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Morse of the Oxford Homicide Division is supposed to be on vacation and he's thinking about a trip to the Greek Isles. But then he stumbles onto a pair of mysterious deaths at a church in another division nearby. The local officials have already written off the deaths as a murder followed by the suicide of the perpetrator. They've closed the books on both deaths, but something seems odd to Morse and so he begins digging into the situation, even though he's on vacation and even though the detectives who originally investigated the case are not at all happy with his interference.

Morse recruits his faithful sergeant, Lewis, and manages to take over the investigation. It's an intriguing one in that the murder victim was a guy with a gambling problem who was also responsible for counting the collection plate every Sunday. His alleged murderer was the pastor of the church. There are adulterers running loose in the parish, a missing boy, a church organist who's disappeared, and a very attractive woman who scrubs the floors in the church.

Although a confirmed bachelor, Morse is a man with an eye for the ladies. He loves his classical music, his beer and his mysteries, and by the time he gets through sorting through this complicated situation, it could turn out to be the best vacation he's ever had. Either that or the last.

This is a very good book in one of my favorite British mystery series. Morse is a great, if prickly, protagonist, and this book should appeal to those who like an intelligent, complex mystery novel.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Colin Dexter's artful writing very much and look forward to reading further volumes in this series.

Favorite passage:

"I made one bad blunder in this case, Lewis. Only one. I listened to rumour and rumour is a terrible thing. If I tell everybody that you're having an affair with that comma-less typist of yours, you'd suddenly find yourself trying like hell to prove you weren't—even though there was absolutely no truth in it. Like they say, you throw enough mud and some of it'll stick."

[Peter Castine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Redeeming factors: competently, at times even engagingly written; reasonably complex plot (although the main "surprise" is a common enough twist in whodunnits that I was considering it from fairly early on); and a nice touch in that Morse doesn't get everything right, not even at the end. That may be enough to get many readers through the book, perhaps even with considerable pleasure. (Dexter also gets an extra quarter star for using Oxford spelling and commas, and for having the protagonist insist on such fine points of letters.)

But Dexter is locked into in the prejudices and preconceptions of an era that, one would have thought, had already passed by the mid-1970s. Indeed, he seems to revel in the biases of a time that should have been bygone when he was writing. In Dexter's world, men with a sexual preference for other men are immediately presumed to be pederasts. There are no exceptions. And Dexter seems to find it perfectly acceptable to describe the color of an article of clothing through a term of race long since derided as derogatory (never mind that the "N" word covers such a wide variety of skin hues that I have no idea what the skirt in question actually looked like). Finally, as in Dexter's other novels, women are uniformly passive (and, seemingly, none able to say "no" to a sexual proposition, ever). I realize that there are many acquiescent and "easy" women, but by the time of writing the sexual revolution had long since arrived and feminism was making headway, even in conservative Oxford. Even a single female role displaying a bit of character or self-determination would have made a welcome change. (OAPs who egregiously dominate their daughters don't count. And recall that, although some streams of feminist thought encouraged sexual freedom, this was not identical to what Dexter's characters would consider "wanton" behavior. Never mind that those characters would probably have not been able to tell the difference...)

Authors will, of course, reflect the time in which they write. Great authors, while reflecting their time are also able to, at least in one way or another, transcend it. Dexter seems stuck in a world that had long since moved on. Shame that.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

rosado mp3

Read by................... Terrence Hardiman
Total Runtime.......... 8 hours 10 mins

Description: This time Inspector Morse brings the imposition on himself. He could have been vacationing in Greece instead of investigating a murder that the police have long since written off. But he finds the crime--the brutal killing of a suburban churchwarden--fascinating. In fact, he uncovers not one murder but two, for the fatal fall of St. Frideswides vicar from the church tower Morse reckons to be murder as well. And as he digs into the lives and unsanctified lusts of the late vicar's erring flock, the list of the dead grows longer. Not even the oddly appealing woman he finds scrubbing the church floor can compensate Morse for the trouble he's let himself in for. So he has another pint, follows his hunches, and sets out to untangle the deadly business of homicide. . . .

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)
3* The Wench Is Dead (Inspector Morse, #8)
3* Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories

[Gabril · Rating 4 out of 5]

“È ridicolo: com’era ben noto a Lewis, Morse era per carattere incline ai più incredibili voli pindarici; e invece di colpo era diventato completamente cieco davanti a fatti inconfutabili, chiari come la luce del sole.”

Ah! Saranno chiari a Morse, una mente incline a sciogliere i garbugli più contorti e assurdi…ma noi che leggiamo restiamo sospesi fino all’ultimo, sapendo che ogni soluzione incontrata non è soltanto parziale, ma spesso anche tutta da riformulare.

Un delitto dentro una chiesa, tanto per cominciare. Si tratta di una piccola comunità parrocchiale a nord di Oxford, ambiguamente guidata dal reverendo Lionel Lawson, il cui amministratore ha una moglie bella e indifferente che lo tradisce con l’organista, un professore di musica sensibile al fascino delle sue giovani allieve.

E da questo quadro iniziale l’abilissimo Colin Dexter parte a intrecciare una storia complessa, scandita da quattro capitoli con roboanti titoli biblici, dove le passioni vecchie come il mondo: gelosia, lussuria, avidità, tradimento si uniscono ad annodare nello stesso cappio di morte diversi destini.

Ah, dimenticavo. Il caso era affidato a un altro ispettore e Morse doveva andarsene in vacanza nelle isole greche per quindici giorni.
Ma lui, of course, si lascia stuzzicare dall’enigma e nel giro di due settimane lo risolve. Vacanze rimandate, insomma.
Buon per noi che, spaparanzati da qualche parte al riparo dall’implacabile sole di luglio, leggiamo questa storia e ci divertiamo assai.

[Cameron Trost · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little convoluted and not particularly convincing but Dexter entertains us with the Morse we know and love... well, don't we? By turns charming and abrasive. But I don't find the books anywhere near as engaging as the TV series. A few too many tropes thrown together here to make it a noteworthy mystery.

[lise.charmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi piacciono i romanzi dell'ispettore Morse, ma a volte credo che gli assassini potrebbero un po' semplificarsi la vita. E' pur vero che se lo facessero noi ci priveremmo di certe belle letture.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge British mystery fan, I can't help it, it's a joy I cant escape in any format book, TV, or movie. Inspector Morse is my all time favorite TV show, and for some reason I had not read through the novels before. This book is superb. I thought I knew what was happening from the first season episode of the same name from 1987, but Mr. Dexter weaves a much more complicated tale, and had me doubting whether the book and the episode would match up in the end.

If you like mysteries of any sort, READ THIS. It was great.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth Morse book.

I did not enjoy this as much as some of the others as I found the plot so convoluted that I had to keep stopping to remind myself who was doing what, where and why!!!!

Even when I finished I could not have repeated the actual plot to someone else!

However, Morse is his usual irascible self and much of the plot is interesting if fiendishly difficult to follow (maybe its just me!!)

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fourth Inspector Morse 'mystery' - the goings on in a rural Oxfordshire church result in a succession of deaths. The case is closed… until Morse takes a look at it. The weakest book in the series so far, a tad convoluted / confusing. 4 out of 12.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspector Morse is a unique character. He is very intelligent, but deeply flawed. He lives in his head and that can be a liability. He is acid tongued, intolerant of others, arrogant, and tends to let his imagination run wild. How his subordinate Sergeant Lewis stands to work with him is anybody's guess. But they have a Sherlock / Watson relationship that works so well in these clever books. In this book we begin by learning about the tawdry infidelities and other crimes among a group of parishioners and the vicar at St. Frideswides. The organist is having an affair with the church warden's wife. There are rumors the vicar likes choirboys a little too much. The warden has a gambling problem and is stealing money from the offering plate. The warden is murdered, the vicar jumps from the church's tower to his death. Enter Morse. He is not supposed to be investigating - in fact, he is on vacation, but his mind cannot be idle and when he discovers the case that is not even in his jurisdiction, he starts asking questions anyway. He enlists the help of Sergeant Lewis and together find another body on the roof of the church. Now it really is his case and he spins theory after theory about the relationships and motives for all the main characters. When another two bodies are revealed things really get complicated. He finally gets a detailed confession and Lewis is relieved until Morse declares it bunk and there is still more to be discovered. Complicated, this is an excellent book.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A particularly convoluted web is woven by Dexter, with a multiplicity of murders. Classic detective story structure, with unobtrusive clues sprinkled throughout; clues that only make sense in retrospect when the final surprise is revealed.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a complicated plot if entertaining. Surprisingly the tv adaptation follows the plot reasonably closely. A church warden is murdered at St Frideswide church and several more follow. Morse is on holiday and visits the church and hears about the murder and then suicide of the vicar who is assumed to be the murderer. The case is closed but Morse reopens it and does his thing with the faithful Lewis.

Further murders follow. Morse becomes infatuated with Ruth a member of the congregation. Is there a conspiracy? Morse uncovers that the vicars brother was blackmailing his brother and needed money. Harry the murdered church wardens wife was having an affair and he was also in debt. More bodies are discovered and it appears that a psychopath is eliminating people at the service Harry was murdered.

I liked how the red herrings have you guessing the murderer. Excellent twist at the end.

SPOILERS AHEAD

A good twist at the end with Harry the actual murderer. All the others are murdered by him to cover his tracks. In the end Harry falls to his death from the church tower after a fight with Morse and Lewis.

[Mariafrancesca di natura viperesca sta con gli ultimi della terra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo Sellerio è un apostrofo giallo sospeso tra le due sponde di un orrido privato.
Piacevole e per di più produzione “letteraria” extra-professionale di un uomo colto che, per invidia, nei miei remoti sedici anni avrei tacciato per erudito. Come in realtà feci scrivendo alla lavagna - nell’intervallo tra una lezione e l’altra, per il prof. di filosofia che sarebbe arrivato poco dopo - un motto di B. Shaw: “ La differenza tra un uomo colto e un erudito è la stessa che passa tra il libro e l’indice”.
Il prof. la lesse e con ostentato savoir-faire la cancellò senza darmi la soddisfazione manco di uno sguardo obliquo.
Probabilmente l’eminente commediografo doveva avere parecchie lacune culturali che gli bruciavano ma colsi solo la potenza dell’invettiva da lanciare all’effettivo coltissimo filosofo.

E non voglio dire che sia solo il tardivo mea culpa a farmi apprezzare il giallo. No.
Come mi è capitato con quelli della Vargas, c'è la piacevolezza dell’autoironia che il colto autore pratica sicuramente nella vita e fa praticare all’investigatore Morse nella finzione, tenuto lontano anni luce dai mostri sacri Holme e Poirot e naturalmente Dupin; c'è la piacevolezza della descrizione di Oxford ( da google maps ), dove non sei stata e non sarai mai come, del resto, in “quel ramo del lago di Como che volge a mezzogiorno” del lontano seicento.

Unico appunto: il solito fugace amorazzo più o meno condito di sesso che tutti, e dico tutti, gli scettici investigatori del giallo postmoderno (?) praticano.
Buh!

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better books in this series so far. The plot revolved around a congregation of a high Anglican church and perhaps was a bit extreme but it was enjoyable reading how Morse was able to solve the various crimes.

[Tittirossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complicatissima risoluzione di un plot costruito magistralmente come al solito da Dexter. Con lo svagato ispettore Morse che da un'epifania all'altro mette insieme le tessere di un puzzle più intricato del solito.
E' riposante leggere un giallo senza Dna, scena del crimine, guanti di plastica, autopsie e con la totale assenza di momenti terrorizzanti. Perfino il doppio finale è guidato con mano bonaria e sorniona.
Morse non patisce le depressioni di Wallander, o le crisi di superego di Poirot, non è così disincantato come Maigret, o disamorato come Carvalho. E, stranamente per un giallo inglese, nessuno - dico nessuno! - si beve una tazza di tè (ma solo tanta birra).

[Emil Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I read 'Service of All the Dead', and I have somehow managed to forget how wonderful and relaxing the Morse series is. Perfect for these corona-quarantine days. I am definitely going to read the series again (I also discovered that I remember very little of the plot, so I imagine it will be like discovering the series again).

[Deity World · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a complex book but enjoyed it remember the tv adaptation which scared me the book however was very dark

[Shabbeer Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent twisty tale of murders in a church, and the irascible, sharp-witted, blue-eyed, ale-loving Inspector Morse moves in to investigate along with DS Lewis. The writing, plot structure and characterisations are better written compared to the previous ones in the series. So, if you haven't read Inspector Morse mysteries before, this would be the perfect place to start off.

My Rating - 5/5

[Alison Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could hardly believe my eyes! I'd barely begun chapter 2 (paragraph 4) when Colin Dexter used an off the cuff racial slur to describe the colour of a woman's skirt! And not just any old slur, but the most offensive, grandaddy slur of all time! It stopped me in my tracks; I think I even shouted out loud when I came across it, I was just that taken aback! I quickly searched out the publication dates to learn that it was not in fact written in the 40's as one might expect, but rather published in 1979 and again in paperback in 1996, without once having this offensive descriptor edited off the page and out of existance! Did the author's racial bigotry colour my enjoyment of the novel? Perhaps. But I also found the setting, the characters, the dialogue and the manner in which they related to each other just as anachronistic as the racial slur itself. It's as if the author continued to live and write in an era (but not about that era) that no longer existed. The world had long since moved on by the time he wrote this, but he himself had not. As for the story-line, the plot was so convoluted and the narrative so wordy that it was difficult to follow. The temptation to skip over great swaths became harder to ignore the closer to the end I got, and in the end I hardly cared who dunnit or why; I was just glad that it was over. Decent enough English skills though, but I'd expect no less from a Cambridge grad.

[Alan Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

This deserves a 4 star rating but the book hasn't aged well. Frankly some of the writing is laced with sexual references that are 50 years old and barely acceptable. To the modern reader Morse comes across as a bit of a lecherous and sleezy old perv!!

Apart from that the story is brilliantly complex and convoluted.Dexter is a master of smoke and mirrors but more than that he is a good writer who captures the mood of Morse on holiday break in Oxford.

[Anna Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un labirinto di parole e situazioni, ad ogni angolo svoltato si crede di aver in pugno la soluzione per vederla invece sfumare in un'ulteriore ipotesi o traccia.
Intricato fino alla fine, come solo un complesso labirinto sa essere, non delude e il percorso da compiere per arrivare alla risoluzione finale è leggero e piacevole.

[Paul Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the plot was pretty twisted and the murderer quite well hidden, I felt like the book plodded a lot and totally dropped off at the end. The "Inspector Morse" Masterpiece Theater mysteries are much better.

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si conferma il mio debole per Morse e l’ambientazione inglese ( interesse nato dopo la visione de Il giovane ispettore Morse, serie creata solo per la tv - se non sbaglio- )
Finale un po’ ingarbugliato, tutte le spiegazioni in una facciata…ma non mi ha tolto il piacere della lettura.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th Inspector Morse book, and without question, the best one to date. Morse’s personality has gelled and the more egregious sexism from the earlier books is much mellowed. Sergeant Lewis has become comfortable with Morse’s volatile character and his, er, devotion to beer.

This plot is complex and convoluted in a good way. There are several deaths, all related to the others but not all murders.

[Padmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indicazioni editoriali
Vagabondando per le strade di Oxford nel suo primo giorno di ferie l’ispettore Morse capita in una chiesa antica in cui aleggia il ricordo di un mistero irrisolto. Il sagrestano di St Frideswide è stato assassinato alcuni mesi prima con una coltellata durante una funzione religiosa e il vicario della chiesa si è ucciso dopo qualche tempo buttandosi dalla torre del campanile. Morse rinuncia alle vacanze e si butta a capofitto in un caso difficile.

[flaminia · Rating 3 out of 5]

incredibile dictu! a 'sto giro morse non si cimenta manco di striscio con il cruciverba del times (in compenso lo fa un dottore, che ne approfitta per batte' i pezzi a una).

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing to mention here is that this book is one of the Inspector Morse books, and indeed we get to hear a lot from the great detective here. Lewis, his faithful accomplice, doesn’t get as much of a look in until halfway through, but when he does come in, his part is triumphant and he’s the perfect sidekick.

What’s interesting to note is that the story line follows the church, and whilst I’ll admit that I’m a life-long atheist, I still found it interesting to take a look behind the scenes at the clergy, and it’s clear that Dexter did his research.

It’s a decent enough mystery, but it doesn’t stand above the other Morse books for me. In parts, it was a little complicated, with some characters posing as other characters and murky motives that I didn’t fully understand at the end of it. I wasn’t sure if it was actually enough to explain why someone would become a multiple murderer.

But I read through it quickly enough – I got from start to finish in a couple of days. It’s a gripping story that keeps you powering through and there are plenty of characters to choose from, and it’s interesting to see Morse get up to his usual tricks. There are also a couple of references to his lack of a first name – throughout the series, it’s never revealed, which is an interesting little quirk.

And the good thing about Colin Dexter’s books is the way that you can read them out of order without losing anything. Honestly, I have no idea which order you’re actually supposed to read them in, but that’s one of its unique benefits. That also means you can skip this one and read one of the better books, then come back to it later on.