Traditional crime writing at its best; the kind of book without which no armchair is complete
Sunday Times
No one constructs a whodunit with more fiendish skill than Colin Dexter
Guardian
Dexter has created a giant among fictional detectives
The Times
A character who will undoubtedly retain his place as one of the most popular and enduring of fictional detectives
- P. D. James, Sunday Telegraph
The writing is highly intelligent, the atmosphere melancholy, the effect haunting
Daily Telegraph
The triumph is the character of Morse
Times Literary Supplement
Colin Dexter’s superior crime-craft is enough to make lesser practitioners sick with envy
Oxford Times
[Morse is] the most prickly, conceited and genuinely brilliant detective since Hercule Poirot
New York Times Book Review
The Riddle of the Third Mile is the sixth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series. As portrayed by John Thaw in ITV's Inspector Morse.
The thought suddenly occurred to Morse that this would be a marvellous time to murder a few of the doddery old bachelor dons. No wives to worry about their whereabouts; no landladies to whine about the unpaid rents. In fact, nobody would miss most of them at all. . .
Dr Browne-Smith passed through the porter's lodge at approximately 8.15 a.m. on the morning of Friday, 11th July. And nobody has heard from him since. By the 16th of July the Master of Lonsdale is concerned, but not yet worried. Plenty of time to disappear, think Chief Inspector Morse. And plenty of time, too, for someone to commit murder . . .
As bodies begin to pile, Morse sets out on a journey through intricate and complicated history, from World War Two Egypt to present-day London, in search of answers.
The Riddle of the Third Mile is followed by the seventh Inspector Morse book, The Secret of Annexe 3.
Colin Dexter’s bestselling and award-winning Inspector Morse novels are loved across the world. Beginning with Last Bus to Woodstock, the series follows the nation’s most beloved fictional detective in his work as a senior Criminal Investigation Department officer within the Thames Valley Police in Oxford. Morse is known for his penchant for cryptic crosswords, English literature and cask ale, as well as his world-class deductive reasoning.
Written between 1975 and 1999, the thirteen novels proved ideal for television, being adapted by ITV with John Thaw playing Morse from 1987 to 2000. Spin-off shows have also been abundant, with Shaun Evans portraying the inspector in the prequel, Endeavour; as well as Lewis, a series based on Morse’s former Detective Sergeant.