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
[Morse is] the most prickly, conceited and genuinely brilliant detective since Hercule Poirot
New York Times Book Review
The Secret of Annexe 3 is the seventh novel in the Oxford-set detective series from Colin Dexter. As portrayed by John Thaw in ITV's Inspector Morse.
Morse sought to hide his disappointment. So many people in the Haworth Hotel that fateful evening had been wearing some sort of disguise – a change of dress, a change of make-up, a change of partner, a change of attitude, a change of life almost; and the man who had died had been the most consummate artist of them all . . .
Chief Inspector Morse seldom allowed himself to be caught up in New Year celebrations. So the murder inquiry in the festive hotel had a certain appeal – it was a crime worthy of the season.
With the corpse still in fancy dress – albeit bloodsoaked – and hardly a single guest at the Hadworth hotel having checked in under their real name, Morse is faced with his toughest mystery yet.
The Secret of Annexe 3 is followed by the eighth Inspector Morse book, The Wench is Dead.
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.