From Library Journal
Chief Inspector Morse is dispatched to Oxford to untangle a plot involving the death of the American who intended to donate a fabulous jewel to the Ashmolean Museum. Soon after, the professor who is hyping the receipt of the jewel is murdered, and the plot takes off on a giddy series of revelations tied to the professor's assorted drunken sprees and amorous liaisons among the Oxford elite. Unfortunately, the story seems overedited, and the reading by popular British actor Edward Woodward leaves much to be desired. Woodward plays a great Inspector Morse, and some of his other British voices are wittily done. However, every American voice sounds alike; read: Southern hick. Woodward's female voices are uniformly squeaky. Nonetheless, the story will keep listeners guessing, and Dexter is in top form. For large mystery collections.Mark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, N.C.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
For Dexter, a decidedly conventional outing, this one involving an American tour group and their Oxford guides and Inspector Morse's investigation into who among them pilfered the Wolvercote Jewel, a Saxon buckle that Mrs. Laura Stratton was planning on presenting to the Ashmolean Museum. Laura dies in her hotel tub; the philandering tour-lecturer, Dr. Thomas Kemp, is found murdered; and Morse and sidekick Lewis are kept busy checking alibis, train schedules, romantic entanglements, and past tragedies. Discarding several pet theories that prove to be incontrovertibly flawed, Morse eventually--in an old-fashioned gathering-of-the-suspects confrontation scene--nitpicks his way to a solution, then retires to the King's Arms for a pint of Flowers Bitter. Based partly on a storyline that Dexter wrote for the PBS series, this effort succeeds best in the small details--e.g., the use of a hearing aid as a clue--while being somewhat slapdash and sketchy in its character analysis and dialogue. Less impressive than the eight previous Morse stories, and far less adroit than Dexter's handling of The Wench is Dead. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
"Superbly clue-laden...A complex and satisfying puzzle."THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBEThe case seems so simple, Inspector Morse deemed it beneath his notice. A wealthy, elderly American tourist has a heart attack in her room at Oxford's luxurious Randolph Hotel. Missing from the scene is the lady's handbag, which contained the Wolvercote Tongue, a priceless jewel that her late husband had bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum just across the street. Morse proceeds to spend a great deal of time thinking--and drinking--in the hotel's bar, certain the solution is close at hand--until conflicting stories, suspicious doings, and a real murder convince him otherwise...."It is a delight to watch this brilliant, quirky man [Morse] deduce."MINNEAPOLIS STAR & TRIBUNE


From the Inside Flap
"Superbly clue-laden...A complex and satisfying puzzle."
THE BOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE
The case seems so simple, Inspector Morse deemed it beneath his notice. A wealthy, elderly American tourist has a heart attack in her room at Oxford's luxurious Randolph Hotel. Missing from the scene is the lady's handbag, which contained the Wolvercote Tongue, a priceless jewel that her late husband had bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum just across the street. Morse proceeds to spend a great deal of time thinking--and drinking--in the hotel's bar, certain the solution is close at hand--until conflicting stories, suspicious doings, and a real murder convince him otherwise....
"It is a delight to watch this brilliant, quirky man [Morse] deduce."
MINNEAPOLIS STAR & TRIBUNE

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The case seems so simple, Inspector Morse deemed it beneath his notice. A wealthy, elderly American tourist has a heart attack in her room at Oxford's luxurious Randolph Hotel. Missing from the scene is the lady's handbag, which contained the Wolvercote Tongue, a priceless jewel that her late husband had bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum just across the street. Morse proceeds to spend a great deal of time thinking—and drinking—in the hotel's bar, certain the solution is close at hand—until conflicting stories, suspicious doings, and a real murder convince him otherwise....

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Chief Inspector Morse is dispatched to Oxford to untangle a plot involving the death of the American who intended to donate a fabulous jewel to the Ashmolean Museum. Soon after, the professor who is hyping the receipt of the jewel is murdered, and the plot takes off on a giddy series of revelations tied to the professor's assorted drunken sprees and amorous liaisons among the Oxford elite. Unfortunately, the story seems overedited, and the reading by popular British actor Edward Woodward leaves much to be desired. Woodward plays a great Inspector Morse, and some of his other British voices are wittily done. However, every American voice sounds alike; read: Southern hick. Woodward's female voices are uniformly squeaky. Nonetheless, the story will keep listeners guessing, and Dexter is in top form. For large mystery collections.-Mark Pumphrey, Polk Cty. P.L., Columbus, N.C.

AudioFile - Elizabeth Futas