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Inspector Morse #1, 8, 9
The Third Inspector Morse Omnibus: Last Bus to Woodstock / Wench Is Dead / Jewel That Was Ours
Last Bus to Woodstock
The death of Sylvia Kaye featured dramatically in the "Oxford Mail". By Friday evening Inspector Morse had informed the nation that the police were looking for a dangerous man - facing charges of willful murder, sexual assault and rape.
The Wench Is Dead
While recovering in hospital, Inspector Morse comes across an account of the investigation into a murder from 1849, a crime for which two people were hanged. When he is discharged he can prove that they were convicted wrongly.
The Jewel That Was Ours
When an American tourist is found dead of a heart attack in the posh Randolph Hotel and an irreplaceable piece of ancient jewelry is missing, Inspector Morse begins an investigation.
The death of Sylvia Kaye featured dramatically in the "Oxford Mail". By Friday evening Inspector Morse had informed the nation that the police were looking for a dangerous man - facing charges of willful murder, sexual assault and rape.
The Wench Is Dead
While recovering in hospital, Inspector Morse comes across an account of the investigation into a murder from 1849, a crime for which two people were hanged. When he is discharged he can prove that they were convicted wrongly.
The Jewel That Was Ours
When an American tourist is found dead of a heart attack in the posh Randolph Hotel and an irreplaceable piece of ancient jewelry is missing, Inspector Morse begins an investigation.
530 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 1993
5 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Colin Dexter
180 books714 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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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 18, 2021
Ostatni autobus do Woodstock
Najarałam się na tę książkę. A to z racji tego, że kiedyś z ogromną przyjemnością obejrzałam serię o Inspektorze Morsie. No i też dlatego, że mieszkam w Oxfordzie, gdzie dzieje się akcja wszystkich odcinków, jak również książkowej serii autorstwa Dextera. I… nie dokończyłam nawet pierwszego tomu. Kryminał zdecydowanie nie jest moim ulubionym gatunkiem. Wolę proste historie. Po co chodzić przez dziesiątą wieś do sąsiada? 😉
Pewnego wieczoru Sylwia łapie w Oxfordzie tzw. „okazję”. Niedługo potem jej ciało zostaje znalezione z tyłu pubu na parkingu w Woodstock. Podejrzanych jest wielu, a inspektor Morse i jego dzielny asystent Lewis mają znaleźć sprawcę.
Książkę odkładałam i znów do niej wracałam, ale nie dobrnęłam dalej, niż do ok. 1/3. Do rozwiązania zagadki dotarłam, oglądając film.
Nie wiem, czy mogę polecić. Dla mnie to takie bla-bla-bla, ale na pewno miłośnicy klasycznego kryminału mogą mieć prawdziwą ucztę. Natomiast bardzo polecam filmowego Morse'a z pięknymi widokami Oxfordu.
Najarałam się na tę książkę. A to z racji tego, że kiedyś z ogromną przyjemnością obejrzałam serię o Inspektorze Morsie. No i też dlatego, że mieszkam w Oxfordzie, gdzie dzieje się akcja wszystkich odcinków, jak również książkowej serii autorstwa Dextera. I… nie dokończyłam nawet pierwszego tomu. Kryminał zdecydowanie nie jest moim ulubionym gatunkiem. Wolę proste historie. Po co chodzić przez dziesiątą wieś do sąsiada? 😉
Pewnego wieczoru Sylwia łapie w Oxfordzie tzw. „okazję”. Niedługo potem jej ciało zostaje znalezione z tyłu pubu na parkingu w Woodstock. Podejrzanych jest wielu, a inspektor Morse i jego dzielny asystent Lewis mają znaleźć sprawcę.
Książkę odkładałam i znów do niej wracałam, ale nie dobrnęłam dalej, niż do ok. 1/3. Do rozwiązania zagadki dotarłam, oglądając film.
Nie wiem, czy mogę polecić. Dla mnie to takie bla-bla-bla, ale na pewno miłośnicy klasycznego kryminału mogą mieć prawdziwą ucztę. Natomiast bardzo polecam filmowego Morse'a z pięknymi widokami Oxfordu.
May 13, 2019
If you’ve ever enjoyed watching Morse, Lewis or Endeavor on television, this collection of early Morse novels is highly recommended. The relationships between the characters aren’t quite solidified, and the stories aren’t necessarily sequential. But it’s fun to see that first meeting in Last Bus to Woodstock, followed by two later tales where Morse and Lewis work more naturally together. The mysteries are fascinating, logical, and quintessentially English, from English pub to bus-stop to hallowed halls of Oxford. There’s even a stay in hospital with a touch of history in The Wench is Dead!
Slow reading, complex mysteries, and thoughtful investigation; this omnibus is satisfying and thoroughly enjoyable. But now I really want to find the other books!
Disclosure: I found a second hand copy and I love it.
Slow reading, complex mysteries, and thoughtful investigation; this omnibus is satisfying and thoroughly enjoyable. But now I really want to find the other books!
Disclosure: I found a second hand copy and I love it.
May 1, 2018
I feel sometimes that Morse and I are kindred spirits, often not being able to tell us apart.
March 5, 2017
Oxfam Reading Challenge: 2017 - A book based on or turned into a TV show. (Morse, series 2 episode 4 (1988))
John Thaw is forever immortalised in my consciousness in the role of Morse. Having now read the first book in the series, although there are some subtle differences between his screen adaptation and the character originally penned by Colin Dexter, the essence of Morse has clearly been excellently represented. An austere, no-nonsense Detective Inspector of high-brow interests he appears to quickly deduce the essence of the crime and take a Holmes-style pleasure in methodically laying his theories before his stalwart sidekick, Lewis. It's Lewis who also picks up the bulk of the investigative legwork while Morse enjoys what will become customary, a subsidised Ale and the crossword.
John Thaw is forever immortalised in my consciousness in the role of Morse. Having now read the first book in the series, although there are some subtle differences between his screen adaptation and the character originally penned by Colin Dexter, the essence of Morse has clearly been excellently represented. An austere, no-nonsense Detective Inspector of high-brow interests he appears to quickly deduce the essence of the crime and take a Holmes-style pleasure in methodically laying his theories before his stalwart sidekick, Lewis. It's Lewis who also picks up the bulk of the investigative legwork while Morse enjoys what will become customary, a subsidised Ale and the crossword.
February 22, 2018
Last Bus to Woodstock: Kept my interest and didn’t guess the perpetrator until fairly near the end, but too much time dwelling on the idiosyncrasies of thought of Inspector Morse and rumination over-and-over-and-over on aspects of the crime. Also, chauvinistic beyond the timeframe for the book-setting.
February 18, 2018
It is unfortunate that the omnibus editions of the Morse novels were produced in response to the tv series and are organised in telemovie order. Thus the first novel of the third omnibus is actually the first Morse novel to be published.
Last Bus to Woodstock. ***. This novel introduces Inspector Morse, bachelor and sometimes too clever for his own good, and his new offsider Robert (Robbie) Lewis, intelligent, painstaking but not prone to flashes of brilliant insight like his boss. A teenage girl is found raped and molested in the carpark of the Black Prince hotel in Woodstock. A middle aged woman had seen her waiting at a bus stop with another girl whom she obviously knew. A truck driver saw them being picked up by a man driving a small red car. Neither the other girl nor the man come forward..
The Wench is Dead. ****. A much later novel when Dexter had really hit his straps and is confident enough to do something completely different. Morse's lifestyle catches up with him and he is hospitalised with a stomach ulcer. The day after his admission the aged military gentleman in the bed opposite dies and his widow gives each of the other patients a copy of the gentleman's privately published book on a historic Oxford-based murder case. For lack of anything else, Morse reluctantly starts reading the book and his modern detective's eye starts to see holes in the case not visible to one with a military background. Can he solve the mystery before he recovers and has to return to normal duties?
The Jewel that was Ours. ****. A storyline which shows Morse at his excruciating worst and at his best (plus guided tours of Oxford). An elderly American lady has come to Oxford with a tour group and plans to present a Saxon treasure to the Ashmolean Museum. The evening of her arrival she is found dead in her hotel room and the handbag containing the treasure is missing. The doctors declare it is a natural heart attack, but, as Morse points out, if it was triggered by the presence of a thief in her room it is potentially murder. And then the don to whom she was to present the treasure is found dead in the Cherwell and this time it is definitely murder.
I'm likely to read one or two of these again, so overall ****.
Last Bus to Woodstock. ***. This novel introduces Inspector Morse, bachelor and sometimes too clever for his own good, and his new offsider Robert (Robbie) Lewis, intelligent, painstaking but not prone to flashes of brilliant insight like his boss. A teenage girl is found raped and molested in the carpark of the Black Prince hotel in Woodstock. A middle aged woman had seen her waiting at a bus stop with another girl whom she obviously knew. A truck driver saw them being picked up by a man driving a small red car. Neither the other girl nor the man come forward..
The Wench is Dead. ****. A much later novel when Dexter had really hit his straps and is confident enough to do something completely different. Morse's lifestyle catches up with him and he is hospitalised with a stomach ulcer. The day after his admission the aged military gentleman in the bed opposite dies and his widow gives each of the other patients a copy of the gentleman's privately published book on a historic Oxford-based murder case. For lack of anything else, Morse reluctantly starts reading the book and his modern detective's eye starts to see holes in the case not visible to one with a military background. Can he solve the mystery before he recovers and has to return to normal duties?
The Jewel that was Ours. ****. A storyline which shows Morse at his excruciating worst and at his best (plus guided tours of Oxford). An elderly American lady has come to Oxford with a tour group and plans to present a Saxon treasure to the Ashmolean Museum. The evening of her arrival she is found dead in her hotel room and the handbag containing the treasure is missing. The doctors declare it is a natural heart attack, but, as Morse points out, if it was triggered by the presence of a thief in her room it is potentially murder. And then the don to whom she was to present the treasure is found dead in the Cherwell and this time it is definitely murder.
I'm likely to read one or two of these again, so overall ****.
July 2, 2023
Didn’t see that ending coming! My fist Colin Dexter book. I heard about the PBS series, haven’t watched it. This book was an easy day read. Lots of interesting characters and good plot. I’ll read his most recent now that I’ve read this early(1975) writing. I do like his writing style, wise legendary policing on observations and intuition, and the trainee not knowing how to work with this old style police methods. This one is worth a quick read to get to know the authors style.
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April 5, 2022A masterclass in criminal plotting and characterisation. My own budding detective series I am hoping to launch will inevitably pay homage to the great man (men) Dexter and Morse.
September 9, 2013
one of the few english language books at the Lutheran Guest House in Lae, Papua New Guinea. It has been a lot of fun.
March 9, 2015
Morse - always a good read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews