The Daughters of Cain
2 journalers for this copy...
I bought this book at Goodwill intending to read and then release.
I always found Inspector Morse somewhat offputting in the TV series but in this book, where the reader is privy to his inner thoughts, he is much more likeable.
Morse and Lewis are called in to take over a murder investigation when the previous investigator has to take time off to be with his ill wife. Dr. Felix McClure, a retired Oxford don, was stabbed and died of the single wound. However, the murder weapon was not on the premises and was not found in a sweep of surrounding residences. Morse, although ill, fairly quickly decides the likely murderer is one Edward Brooks who used to be a cleaner in the same college McClure was a don. However, by the time he has enough evidence to question him, Edward has disappeared. Is Edward dead? If so, who killed him? And where is that murder weapon? Morse has one of his flashes of brilliance and manages to tie up the case. But alas he loses the fair maid in the bargain.
I thought this was a pretty decent murder mystery and I loved the epigrams at the start of each chapter. One especially seemed apt since I read this book on a day I was home from work due to being sick with some kind of virus: I enjoy convalescence; it is the part that makes the illness worth while. (George Bernard Shaw) p. 209
Morse and Lewis are called in to take over a murder investigation when the previous investigator has to take time off to be with his ill wife. Dr. Felix McClure, a retired Oxford don, was stabbed and died of the single wound. However, the murder weapon was not on the premises and was not found in a sweep of surrounding residences. Morse, although ill, fairly quickly decides the likely murderer is one Edward Brooks who used to be a cleaner in the same college McClure was a don. However, by the time he has enough evidence to question him, Edward has disappeared. Is Edward dead? If so, who killed him? And where is that murder weapon? Morse has one of his flashes of brilliance and manages to tie up the case. But alas he loses the fair maid in the bargain.
I thought this was a pretty decent murder mystery and I loved the epigrams at the start of each chapter. One especially seemed apt since I read this book on a day I was home from work due to being sick with some kind of virus: I enjoy convalescence; it is the part that makes the illness worth while. (George Bernard Shaw) p. 209
I am going to give this book to BellBelle. This will be a controlled release for Week 51 of the Never Judge a Book by its Cover challenge.
Altough I've seen a number of Inspector Morse episodes on TV, this is the first one that I've read. I found the ending somewhat unsatisfactory - just seemed to come to a crashing halt without explaining a lot of the details - but it was a reasonable read. Had to read it with a dictionary in the other hand - Dexter writes as though his mission is to use at least 5 or 6 uncommon words per chapter (and the chapters are really short). I increased my vocabulary immensely with this read. Now it's going to travel across the street to a neighbour of mine who is a huge Morse fan (though whether she'll log it is another matter as she's not a really big computer fan).
