Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse has become a favorite of mystery fans in both hemispheres. In each book, Dexter shows a new facet of the complex Morse. In this latest work, Morse must solve two related murders -- a problem complicated by a plethora of suspects and by his attraction to one of the possible killers.


From Publishers Weekly
The 11th Inspector Morse mystery finds the occasionally caustic detective investigating the murder of a retired academic. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The Times of London
A first-class, old-fashioned mystery...The final explanation is both satisfying and just.


From AudioFile
Inspector Morse is battling personal devils as he and his ever faithful Sergeant Lewis investigate a murder and the disappearance of their chief suspect. Those who enjoy John Thaw's TV Inspector Morse will delight in Terrence Hardiman's reading. His tone of voice, inflections, and pacing are very similar to Thaw's so one is easily drawn into the story. The other characters are equally well done, and we become intimately acquainted with them as the plot unfolds. Hardiman captures the listener's total attention while the investigation weaves its way to an unusual conclusion. D.M.W. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Dexter's Inspector Morse stories are fast becoming classics of the mystery genre. Not only is the writing intelligent and compelling, but Dexter injects an appealing blend of nostalgia, tenderness, and bittersweet humor into his stories. Morse is an intriguingly complex character, a mixture of gruffness, sentimentality, and intuitive brilliance, while his gentle, steadfast companion, Lewis, is a perfect foil for Morse's prickliness. In what is doubtless his most engrossing adventure to date, Morse directs his detecting talents toward solving two brutal murders. After Dr. Felix McClure, an Oxford don, is found stabbed to death, all clues point to a former employee of the college, Edward Brooks, as the murderer. But when Brooks also turns up murdered--with the same knife that killed McClure--the case challenges even Morse's considerable mental prowess. He discovers that Brooks was a drug dealer who peddled his wares to Oxford students, abused his wife and daughter, and kept a secret--and substantial--bank account. The motives for murder abound, but all the prime suspects seem to have ironclad alibis. Morse ponders, aided by his favorite vices, nicotine and alcohol, and finally offers up the solution to the convoluted case. Another top-notch read from an outstanding author. Emily Melton


Book Description
"AUDACIOUS AND AMUSING. . . MAY BE THE BEST BOOK YET IN THIS DESERVEDLY CELEBRATED SERIES."--The Wall Street JournalIt was only the second time Inspector Morse had ever taken over a murder enquiry after the preliminary--invariably dramatic--discovery and sweep of the crime scene. Secretly pleased to have missed the blood and gore, Morse and the faithful Lewis go about finding the killer who stabbed Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College. In another part of Oxford, three women--a housecleaner, a schoolteacher, and a prostitute--are playing out a drama that has long been unfolding. It will take much brain work, many pints, and not a little anguish before Morse sees the startling connections between McClure's death and the daughters of Cain. . . ."VERY CLEVERLY CONSTRUCTED. . . Dexter writes with an urbanity and range of reference that is all his own."--Los Angeles Times"YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW MORSE UNTIL YOU'VE READ HIM. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS'Mystery!' anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter's novels."--Chicago Sun-Times"A MASTERFUL CRIME WRITER WHOM FEW OTHERS MATCH."--Publishers Weekly


From the Inside Flap
"AUDACIOUS AND AMUSING. . . MAY BE THE BEST BOOK YET IN THIS DESERVEDLY CELEBRATED SERIES."
--The Wall Street Journal
It was only the second time Inspector Morse had ever taken over a murder enquiry after the preliminary--invariably dramatic--discovery and sweep of the crime scene. Secretly pleased to have missed the blood and gore, Morse and the faithful Lewis go about finding the killer who stabbed Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College. In another part of Oxford, three women--a housecleaner, a schoolteacher, and a prostitute--are playing out a drama that has long been unfolding. It will take much brain work, many pints, and not a little anguish before Morse sees the startling connections between McClure's death and the daughters of Cain. . . .
"VERY CLEVERLY CONSTRUCTED. . . Dexter writes with an urbanity and range of reference that is all his own."
--Los Angeles Times
"YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW MORSE UNTIL YOU'VE READ
HIM. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS'Mystery!' anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter's novels."
--Chicago Sun-Times
"A MASTERFUL CRIME WRITER WHOM FEW OTHERS MATCH."
--Publishers Weekly

ANNOTATION

Following the success of The Way Through the Woods, Dexter returns with a superb new mystery featuring the brilliant Inspector Morse. When too little progress is made on a baffling murder case, Chief Superintendent Strange calls on Morse. Within a day, Morse has too many suspects, including the victim's long-suffering wife and stepdaughter.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Here, two interlinked murders challenge Morse and Lewis. First Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College, Oxford, is found stabbed in his flat. The trail of clues leads to a college servant, one Edward Brooks. Then Brooks himself vanishes, and Morse suddenly finds himself with too many suspects, including Brooks's wife, a prostitute, and an enigmatic schoolmistress. The detective, of course, is used to such puzzles. But as he finds himself attracted - in fact, more than attracted - to one of the possible killers, Morse is at sea in a way he has never known before.

FROM THE CRITICS

Marilyn Stasio

...Colin Dexter, that puzzlemeister without peer, has devised another infernal brainteaser in The Daughters of Cain. His detective, the brilliant, abrasive Inspector Morse, does the tricky stuff in his head. Readers are advised to get out their pencils, timetables and aspirin....Mr. Dexter is a superb technician who torments the reader with logistical details that contradict every previously established point in his puzzle. -- New York Times

Publishers Weekly

The 11th Inspector Morse mystery finds the occasionally caustic detective investigating the murder of a retired academic. (Apr.)

AudioFile - Debra M. Whitney

Inspector Morse is battling personal devils as he and his ever faithful Sergeant Lewis investigate a murder and the disappearance of their chief suspect. Those who enjoy John Thaw￯﾿ﾽs TV Inspector Morse will delight in Terrence Hardiman￯﾿ﾽs reading. His tone of voice, inflections, and pacing are very similar to Thaw￯﾿ﾽs so one is easily drawn into the story. The other characters are equally well done, and we become intimately acquainted with them as the plot unfolds. Hardiman captures the listener￯﾿ﾽs total attention while the investigation weaves its way to an unusual conclusion. D.M.W. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Diana L. Granger