It's time to catch up. Dexter's Morse is actually pricklier and far boozier than Thaw's version, and his mysteries tend to unfold like complex crossword puzzles (not surprising since Dexter is a long-time crossword puzzle champ). I loved this particular book for about two thirds. An Oxford Don goes missing and a few days later a headless, limbless corpse shows up in the river wearing the same man's suit. As Morse (and Lewis) begin to pick away at the narrative it gets increasingly convoluted (and corpse-ridden) so that by the end I had lost a little interest. I just didn't quite buy the number of coincidences and some of the character's motivations. Still, Dexter is a witty writer and Morse is a good protagonist. I just felt this one took it a little far.
I think this is the best Morse. The clue is the meaning of go a second mile for someone, Which Browne Smith didn't do at El Alamein. The original meaning of 'go with him twain' in Matthew is all about not practising an eye for an eye. The beauty of this book is all those who fall into the problem of not going the second mile end up dead, killed by each other! It is a morality tale as well as a detective story. It is a tale within a tale. Yes you have to re-read to work it out and re-read - you have to go the third mile with Dexter himself to get this from it. I think it is a profound book and not just a detective tale of the TV Morse.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Davdevalle! I knew there was a depth to this book that I was missing and you have revealed it. I kept thinking that it read like a Greek tragedy and Dexter writes, "the long and tragic sequenc of events has almost run its Aeschylean course. Now I want read it again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Davdevalle! I knew there was a depth to this book that I was missing and you have revealed it. I kept thinking that it read like a Greek tragedy and Dexter writes, "the long and tragic sequenc of events has almost run its Aeschylean course. Now I want read it again.
ReplyDelete