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trin's review against another edition
2.0
It was fun to read about a place I have briefly been (the Randolph Hotel in Oxford), but that's about all that was fun for me here. Dexter's prose is -- I guess the word one would use is muscular; it has a pacy verve, certainly -- but this book felt even more dated than its 1983 publication suggests. There's just so much baked-in sexism, plus an out-of-nowhere, awful moment of anti-Asian prejudice. And Morse is just kind of a dick! And not in a fun way!
I continue to crave a long mystery series to slowly devour; this shall not be it.
I continue to crave a long mystery series to slowly devour; this shall not be it.
kanejim57's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This time Morse and Lewis face the task of identifying a severely mutilated corpse. Their journey takes them into the lives of men and women with much to hide. The plot was interesting and entertaining, but I found the end uneven, convoluted even.
dasaiva's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jemma_parry's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed the plot in this book, with different threads in each section leading to the solution It was disappointing that Morse and Lewis sort of had to guess the events and how they occured, due to all the suspects being dead but other than that a good read
soph_reads_91's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
bkdrgn303's review against another edition
4.0
What can I say? It's Inspector Morse and the long suffering Lewis doing what they do best. Great stuff!
susannavs's review against another edition
3.0
This Morse mystery is definitely one of the weaker novels of the series; which probably explains why I hadn't heard of it before I saw it for sale at the market!
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. Morse is his usual grumpy self, vaguely flirting with unobtainable women, drinking too much, and griping about his health while not intending on doing anything about it.
The solution to the problem was incredibly complicated and involved threads of the story that I wouldn't have thought possible. Hats of to Colin Dexter (and all other mystery writers).
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it. Morse is his usual grumpy self, vaguely flirting with unobtainable women, drinking too much, and griping about his health while not intending on doing anything about it.
The solution to the problem was incredibly complicated and involved threads of the story that I wouldn't have thought possible. Hats of to Colin Dexter (and all other mystery writers).
crankyfacedknitter's review against another edition
3.0
It was good to see Lewis take some of this on himself, without being totally overshadowed by Morse. I'm getting a little tired of the "Morse is so awesome, all the chicks dig him, too bad he's too awkward and locked in his brilliant mind and weighed down by all the baggage of his paaaaaaaaaaaast but dames" schtick that seems to be well into what feels more like a running gag to me. I'm trying to remind myself that these books were written some time ago, as part of a rather specific genre, but the casual sexism is getting to me.
pino_sabatelli's review against another edition
4.0
Si tratta ovviamente di letteratura di genere, però intelligente, arguta, mai banale e, soprattutto, ben scritta, con la signorile eleganza molto british tipica di Dexter.
Se amate i gialli splatter, pieni di computer e di effetti speciali o se impazzite per i detective in grado di risalire alla colesterolemia dell’assassino analizzando un granello di polvere, lasciate perdere.
Qui le atmosfere e i ritmi sono sincopati, le indagini si fanno con pochi indizi e usando principalmente la logica, i supporti tecnologici sono pressoché nulli.
Però il tempo passato assieme all’ispettore capo Morse e al suo fido sergente Lewis è, a mio avviso, sempre tempo ben speso.
Se amate i gialli splatter, pieni di computer e di effetti speciali o se impazzite per i detective in grado di risalire alla colesterolemia dell’assassino analizzando un granello di polvere, lasciate perdere.
Qui le atmosfere e i ritmi sono sincopati, le indagini si fanno con pochi indizi e usando principalmente la logica, i supporti tecnologici sono pressoché nulli.
Però il tempo passato assieme all’ispettore capo Morse e al suo fido sergente Lewis è, a mio avviso, sempre tempo ben speso.
inquisitive_chap's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad but a bit overly intricate and implausible.
Gripping enough story but some of the key characters weren't explored enough in terms of motivations, morality etc and I didn't feel I really knew any of them well enough
Ok. Definitely worth a read as part of reading the series
Gripping enough story but some of the key characters weren't explored enough in terms of motivations, morality etc and I didn't feel I really knew any of them well enough
Ok. Definitely worth a read as part of reading the series