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.
I was worried that I'd get bored of reading this books virtually back to back. But I really enjoyed this book, what seemed so simple to begin with became very complicated - very quickly. By the end of the book we have 6 bodies.While on his holidays Morse ventures into a local church and becomes interested in the tale of the murder of the churchwarden and the suicide of the vicar (while becoming smitten with the cleaner). The murder is unsolved. What is strange is that the murder took place during a church service, that only a handful of people attended. The dead mans wife was having an affair - he was also having one. There are multiple motives to want the man dead. Did the vicar really kill himself? Or is someone removing the witnesses to his earlier crime.As I said before this story becomes rather complicated fast, as the vicars brother was also in Oxford at the time of the original murder. But vicar didn't seem to hold his brother in very high regard.It takes Morse a bit of time, but he finally figures it all out (apart from the suicide), right down to who was blackmailing who. The number of deaths was rather high (was it really necessary to do away with a 12 year old boy?), some red herrings were thrown in.Ultimately was a good read - and Morse finally got lucky (even if he did have to wait for the object of his affection to get out of prison).
What do You think about Service Of All The Dead (1996)?
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. (view spoiler)[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. (hide spoiler)]
—Jean
First of all: This book is pretty confusing. Even though I had already watched the TV-adaption and listened to the audiobook I had to consult the cast-list a couple of times to check who was who (not that it always helped considering that there was much uncertainty about the exact identity of three of the (larger number of) bodies in this book). However the whole mystery was brilliantly constructed and you were kept guessing till the last page. For the plot to work in the first place you had to accept that chance brought together quite some people who all had small and not-so-small skelletons in the closet and that admittedly might not be that realistic but if you decided to believe that every piece fitted and no reaction seemed over-the-top or unlikely concerning all the circumstances.So...this could actually have been my favourite Morse-novel so far. Could have been.I already talked about some 70s sexism, especially in the first two novels. I did clenched my teeth and tried to ignore it as far as possible. It helped that the worst things were usually said by side-characters that weren't meant to be the most likeable in the first place. However some of the things Morse himself says in this books, especially concerning homosexuality, are simply cringeworthy and bring the rating down.(view spoiler)[I almost want to rate it only two stars because of this, and I probably would if that whole plotline had been more than a red herring (hide spoiler)]
—Aoife
t was one of the better whodunits I’ve read for a while. The style is quite different from the queens of mystery. It’s much more adult, in the sense it’s used in movies. Adultery and sexual attraction play a role in the plot. But besides this, it’s a fine mystery in the format of the queens and before. There’s a murder (actually quite a few), there’s a sleuth (Morse), there’s an assistant (Lewis), and there’s initial confusion and clarification in the end. But it’s crafted quite masterfully, and the plot is quite solid. (Of course, one could poke holes in any story of this format - but this is not an explanation of the universe). There’s also the crossword elements which make it enjoyable to me. The first Dexter that I read also impressed me at that time. I have gotten two more -- and these have won the Golden Dagger!
—Aperna Deb
