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The first book in the series that brought us the great television series starring John Thaw as the irascible yet brilliant Inspector Morse, a spin-off with Inspector Lewis and a prequel series, Endeavour, leaves me, well, underwhelmed. As a police procedural it is okay but not something that will remain long in my memory. To its credit, the plot was sufficiently complex to keep me guessing, incorrectly, until the very end.

I expected Morse to be quirky yet brilliant. I guess he was that but there were times when I was tempted to replace the word quirky with something more along the lines of unhinged.

What struck me, and other readers that I talked to, most about the book is that Dexter's treatment of gender issues is far from enlightened. Granted, it was written in the 1970s but I came of age back then and I don't remember the people I encountered being quite so -neanderthal - as the characters in this book are. Their thoughts about rape are frightening and the old idea that women who act or dress in a certain manner deserve what they get is, if not said outright, at least inferred more than once. One can make certain allowances for when a book was written but there are limits.

And if all that isn't enough, Morse doesn't even drive his signature burgundy Jaguar! He drives a beat-up old Lancia, whatever the heck that is.

I'm not sure at this point if I will read more Morse books. If I do, I will probably skip forward to a point where Collins writing, and Morse's character, are better developed.

My thanks to M.L. and the The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group at for creating the opportunity to read and discuss this book with other Goodreads members.