Tag: Author: Colin Dexter

Morse losing his grip?

7:29 PM 3 APRIL 2017

In many ways, I suspect the stuttering advance of Morse towards the solution in this case is far closer to reality than the more common application of fictional detective brilliance. Yet, while the unusual failure of of our hero’s usually reliable brainpower is unsettling, in common with DS Lewis, I felt an irritating desire for Morse to ‘get a grip’!

Of course, for Morse, an investigation badged as a ‘missing person’ is intrinsically boring. Even more so, since the teenager (Valerie Taylor) had been missing for more than two years and the prospect of tedious routine police work was unappetizing. Throw in the temporary absence of Lewis to illness and we catch sight of an unflattering side of the Chief Inspector, repeatedly flailing around hypotheses that he can’t substantiate, without the grounding influence of his DS. Moreover the lewd thoughts of Morse, largely shorn of the civilizing effects of Wagner in this book, seemed a coarser, more shallow mortal. Perhaps this failure to behave as expected , to be ‘off his game’ and timorous in the face of potential defeat also contributed to an overall sense of disappointment.

Though the introduction of a murdered body did briefly suggest that Morse might shift through his mental gears in more familiar fashion, the early languid pace of the investigation was never really overcome. The tawdry nature of the circumstances were perhaps deliberately mundane, rather than sensational, which again contributed to the sense of ordinariness. I wouldn’t want to suggest the writing wasn’t exceptional, Dexter has a remarkable style, but for my part, I like Morse to be extraordinary, heroically so!

This is book two in the set of thirteen, but I am expecting greater things in the remaining novels.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Tribute to the late Colin Dexter

12:02 AM 26 MARCH 2017

I read this first Inspector Morse mystery in honour of the author who passed away this week. In fact, I have the set of thirteen Morse novels and I really must be getting on with them. I deliberately read this first one fairly intensively, if only to keep the complex storyline fixed in my head, but the central characters – Chief Inspector Morse and Detective Sergeant Lewis – popularized in the ITV adaption, come together for the first time here and offer the prospect of a burgeoning relationship. Of course, once exposed to the TV characters, as one reads it’s hard not to conjure up a mental picture of John Thaw and Kevin Whately, even if the Chief Inspector is driving a Lancia.

Like Morse, Colin Dexter’s writing style is complex and his plotlines intelligent and sophisticated. A former graduate of Cambridge, it is curious that the author should choose to set his series of novels in Oxford. Yet, the backdrop of dreaming spires and college cloisters surrenders a potential wealth of articulate, affluent characters linked to this seat of learning, alongside the harsher reality of city life in the Thames valley. Following the well-trodden footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, in Morse we are enthralled by the detective’s superior intellect, in spite of the character’s equally obvious flaws. And in DS Lewis, Morse has the perfect foil, whereby blunt common sense and diligent police work enables the more florid, ale-fuelled genius to flourish.

In a sense, the emotional vulnerability displayed by Morse in his pursuit of a ‘love’ interest is surprising, but his ineptitude in the relationship department is nonetheless endearing. In this opening story, Morse and Lewis are beginning to find the measure of each other and formulating a working relationship, which meshes their respective strengths, but the sparks between them also also keeps this partnership interesting, with more to come.

As well as the crime (in this instance murder), the key to the crime novel is often how the ‘solution’ is unpacked and here Dexter has Morse subtly explain his ‘working out’ to Lewis. The conclusion is slightly melodramatic for my taste, but a giant among literary detectives began his rise to popularity with this book.

Twelve books to go. How exciting! And what an exceptional body of work!

Rating: 4 out of 5.