Customer Reviews

Riddle of the Third Mile (Pan Crime)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When the trunk of a dismembered body is fished out of the canal, Inspector Morse is almost certain that it is Oxford don Browne-Smith, who has recently dropped out of sight. But then a letter, purportedly written by that don, indicates that perhaps the body is that of a different don. But then perhaps the letter is deliberately misleading, and the remains may be Browne-Smith after all. This is one of the most perplexing of the Morse mysteries. The apparent motive is supplied in a World War 2 flashback at the beginning of the novel, when Browne-Smith's cowardice prevents the saving of a soldier who could be the younger brother of a set of twins in the same tank unit, who are now seeking revenge after all these years. But as the novel progresses, the possible identity of the headless, handless, legless corpse keeps changing, and as soon as a new candidate appears, his readily identifiable body pops up elsewhere, until all the probabilities seem to be exhausted. Don't bother trying to guess the outcome of this novel. Just try to keep up with the sudden changes. Morse is at his best here, unraveling the bewildering texture of this complex mystery thread by thread. The characterizations are excellent, and although the overall plot is a bit incredible, it is handled in Dexter's usual smooth style. This is one of the best of the Morse series.

Was it that I wasn't paying attention? Or was it that this Colin Dexter novel just wasn't as well written as his others? An avid Inspector Morse fan (to the extent of visiting the sites of several of his books in Oxford) I struggled with this one. A very clever double identity premise is doubled again. Then redoubled? I'm not sure. I got lost in the middle and by the time I turned the last page I just shook my head. Despite my going down for the third time on this one, I continue to enjoy the irascible Morse and the ploddingly faithful Lewis. And of course I'll read the next Colin Dexter.

Twin brothers, a fifty year old grievance, and an anagram set the stage for another adventure with Chief Inspector Morse. A good start, but the rush to the conclusion in the last two chapters causes the otherwise intriguing story line to collaspe into a shambles. A poor performance by Colin Dexter ruins a potentially good book.

This book is classic Dexter. There are more blind alleys and corners throughout than you usually find in two or three books, let alone just one. This case causes Morse to use all his skills and abilities when he tries to unravel this mystery. It starts out with a headless torso turning up in a nearby river. Morse and his faithful Lewis have to identify this body as well as find the killer. More bodies keep turning up and it soon appears that they don't have any suspects, let alone an identity to the first murder victim. Once uncovered though, it's a grand tale of deception and plotting all bound up in the ivory tower of an established, highly-regarded school of learning. Good stuff.

The reader always hopes that the next page will reveal more intriguing information than the last, and it usualy do'es. Dexter has created a fascinating character in Inspector Morse. However have a dictionary handy when reading all or any of Dexters works, words such as Dolichocepholic, Sinistrality and what about Nigritude. I actualy think they add to the fascination of the storyline. A book well worth reading. but not in short bursts.

This is one of the better Inspector Morse books. There is a seemingly impossible murder case (involving a truncated body) to solve and the crime investigator solves it with his typical sharp analytical mind.

"The Riddle of the Third Mile" is one of the most confusing, convoluted, complicated, nonsensical and absurd of the Inspector Morse books I have read. We know that Colin Dexter is a crossword puzzle expert and a puzzle aficionado, but this one takes the reader for a ride that is just too fanciful and nutty to buy into. Mysteries should be mysterious, but they need not be ridiculously tangled.
A torso, headless and limbless, is discovered in a canal. Who is it, and why has he been chopped up? Inspector Morse and his minion Sergeant Lewis have a mixture of suspects and victims: two Oxford professors/dons who hate each other, and twin brothers out to get revenge for their brother's betrayal and death in the North African campaign during World War II.
Alexander Browne-Smith looks like the ideal candidate to be the murder victim. He has had a running feud with his fellow-don George Westerby, and Alfred and Albert Gilbert are the twins who are out to get him.
Obfuscation is the name of the game as we trudge through the swamp of a plot. One saving grace is the humorous by-play between Morse and Lewis and the author's sly and comic skills. Morse is a pompous know-it-all who needs someone like Lewis to keep him tethered to reality. Lewis in this book is a competent investigator on his own. Perhaps that's why he has his own TV series now that Morse is gone.
Read it if you must, but there are better Inspector Morse tales out there.

I started this book two years ago but finally got discouraged with the manner in which Dexter created too many diverse elements and never really got them drawn together into a plot with any direction. Before I got to the end I decided it wasn't worth the trouble. I started it again recently and finally reached the point at the end where Morse sits down and begins explaining the entire mess to Lewis; admitting all along that even he is guessing most of the time!! To me the truth came when I realized it takes Morse 28 pages to try and reconstruct the mess.

I was right two years ago; it's just not good enough to hold your interest.

I honestly don't know how to feel about this book. It was twisted and weird, unrealistic but compelling. I think I would have liked to get to know the characters a little better - maybe to get inside Morse's head a little more. The reader was definitely left on the outside as he made his brilliant connections and deductions, and we were left wondering. And the strangest thing - there was an abstract of each chapter before the beginning of it. I stopped reading those, as they were a bit confusing. I have to say I wouldn't mind reading more, if only to find out Morse's first name...

It's certainly a crime of the most perplexing sort--so perplexing (and convoluted) that it
would take an Inspector Morse to separate the "facts" from "fiction"! In Colin Dexter's
Morse novel, one of a long series, the erswhile policeman finds himself "drowning" in a sea of clues,
lies, innuendos, red herrings.

A dismembered body is fished out of the Oxford Canal--only the torso remains and
Morse and Sergeant Lewis are up to the challenge. As if often the case, Oxford

University is involved. A don has disappeared, leaving about a plethora of clues. It's the
long and winding road down the halls of academe for the Thames Valley police and the
trail bounces back and forth to London and some of its seedier spots.

The scenario seems set with an opening scene out of World War II, when the
Gilbert brothers (local boys from the Oxford area) face the horrors of the battle of El
Alamein, the youngest of the three dieing. The company commander, a Lt. Browne-Smith
just happens now to be a don in question at Oxford.

Dexter pulls on punches as he permits Morse and Lewis to take on this
bizarre--certainly macabre--case. With his usual erudite style, the author's clever, at times
witty and ascerbic, plot and character development takes the reader for a great ride (and
read). Written in 1983, long before, one presumes, Dexter had envisioned Morse's demise
("The Remorseful Day"), "The Riddle of the Third Mile" is carefully orchestrated, with
the climactic results rushing in with a top crescendo! (The reader must be a bit careful as
the facts and events come almost as an onslaught!) The tone of this episode, despite its
shocking crime scenario, is one of greater levity than some of his later books ("The Wench
Is Dead," for instance),but it was written some 15 years before "Remorseful Day," and the
tone and atmosphere are naturally different. This one gives additional insight into Morse's
earlier (younger) days, of his stepping down from Oxford and of the first love of his life
(Morse is ever the eternal optimist when it comes to beautiful women!). Dexter also fills
this one with his usual literary allusions, clever references, and an incredible vocabulary
(probably only equated by Dame P.D. James or William Buckley, themselves!).

I found this one probably to be the most delightful and intriguing of the Morse series,
perhaps because of the levity he chooses to exhibit. Regardless, readers of the Morse code
will find this episode in fine keeping with the others. A good read!