Customer Reviews

Secret of Annexe 3

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I came across this in a used book store and recognized it immediately for what it was: a Morse mystery that I had never read. As Inspector Morse stories go, this one is good but not exceptional. It is always good to be in the presence of the cranky Inspector, especially since he is so clearly personified by the late, great John Thaw, and this story has some very unique elements in the telling of a good story, but it relies a little too much on coincidence for its final resolution. It was a necessary device in this case, but if Morse hadn't been in that particular pub at that particular time... Oh, well. I think we read these as much for the enjoyment of Morse's cognitive processes and his relationship with Lewis, his long-suffering sergeant. And there are far worse ways to spend and evening! (I don't want this back.)

During the New Year's Eve break when Imspector Morse was supposed to be on leave, a body was discovered in the bedroom of a local hotel which had held a special holiday function in the form of a fancy dress dance and dinner. Morse and Sergeant Lewis were called in to investigate the murder of a guest at the dinner, whose head had been smashed in with a heavy object, but when the names and addresses of all the attending guests were checked out, it appeared that not only had this guest but several others given false names and addresses. As the guests had not been detained before the arrival of the police, a hunt began for the occupants of the rooms who had obviously been there with "significant others" who were not their legal spouses. The reader needs to concentrate closely to unwind the tangled web which follows but if this is possible, it's an intriguing read with Morse being his usual arrogant, boozy self and with poor Lewis being the fall guy for his sarcastic wit.

Although this book was not my favourite of the brilliant Inspector Morse series, it is still worth reading. Even Colin Dexter's less than best efforts are a cut above many who write in this genre. This is a puzzle that has Morse and Lewis going off in the wrong direction right up until the end of the book. They have the gist right, but no way of connecting the facts to make them make sense. Who was the person dressed as a Rastafarian at the New Year's Eve fancy dress ball? Who killed who? Was it the jealous husband or was it the lover? For a time Morse and Lewis did not know the exact identity of the corpse found on the bed in Annexe 3. Morse and Lewis are pitted against a very clever killer this time, but they do manage to sort it out. This is really a wonderful British procedural series. The character of Morse is developing into something quite special.

A good read, but this mystery is not up to the author's standards. The dialogue was not as humorous and imaginative, especially between Morse and Lewis, as it was in previous novels. For some reason the characters come off a little flat in this book. The plot suffers a little as well - just not the usual Dexter potboiler.

This book features a solid mystery and good characterization. This is not the best Morse book (although it is better than some of the early ones) but it isn't the worst either. Dexter has a feel for making crime compelling.

"The Secret of Annexe 3" (1986) has Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis like a vaudeville team trying to solve a diabolically clever murder case. The trouble in a Morse mystery is the murderer(s) are so clever in working out their homicidal schemes that they almost defy detection by mere mortals like Morse and Lewis. Playing Watson to Morse's Holmes, Lewis is faced with a Morse, while bright and intuitive, often comes up with the wrong murderer and the wrong solution. He seems to stumble his way to a solution. They make a good team which the reader often finds as comic as it is serious.
A group of couples book into some typically British and old-fashioned festivities for a few days--a New Year's Eve celebration at the Haworth Hotel. In Room 3 of the hotel's annexe one couple checks in, but one male partner stays behind against his will; he ends up a murder victim. A big looming building crane, a man in a Rastafarian costume, and all sorts of letters turn up as clues in this bizarre mystery. Before the celebratory events, a husband finds out that his wife, Margaret Bowman, has taken up with a lover, and he wants revenge.
In a Morse mystery the inspector either gets the hots for some woman or she with him. He has those "fierce blue-grey eyes" so attractive to certain women, but he always strikes out anyway.
Lewis is usually forced to do the "donkey work" and often gets frustrated and angered by his boss's abruptness and his attitude of certainty. Suspense often creeps into a Dexter narrative.
In this one Morse works up several murder scenarios that don't hold water, and as usual the murderer(s) is no slouch when it comes to sheer inventiveness.
The two stalwart sleuths will often interview the same witness, each time coming away with a nugget that sends the investigation down another cul de sac. Like many other mystery writers certain elements are formulaic in a Dexter mystery, but his fascination with small details and his fertile imagination carry the day.

At an airport, my head filled with work, I wanted, needed a distraction. I'd seen the Morse series before on TV and decided to check out a book.

I'd never read a detective novel before but I knew what to expect; a clever, contrived and ultimately satisfying journey from confusion and blood to clarity and purity.

Indeed the early part of the book where all of the characters seemed two-dimensional and the plot vague and weak only increased my anticipation of the ultimate journey to the light.

Sadly, what I found was so disappointing I ended up giving the book away to a hotel receptionist.

The characters presented here are two-dimensional beyond belief (Lewis eating egg and chips every night indeed! Is that what Dexter believes to be representative of the working class). His Morse is truly disagreeable and not at all clever....("Clever!" says Morse when a couple check into the hotel under a classically-referenced pseudonym). No Morse, "clever" is when criminals conceal their identity.

Dexter seems to think he's an intellectual with vague classical references; none of which actually mean anything. It's as if he is wedging his limited classical square pegs into the narrative's round holes (and believe me, there ARE holes!)....and HE wrote the narrative!

Each chapter is preceded by a quotation, usually inappropriate which firstly confused me (as it usually had little to do with the chapter) and secondly showed the marked difference in literary ability between the quotor and the quotee.

Finally, and fundamentally the story is flawed. I won't give away the final version of events as established (in case you intend to read the book); but even the most willing suspender of disbelief would not understand the rationale behind the murder plot; contrived but not clever and I would consider reckless and destined to immediate failure (Who wouldn't have guessed the postman's address ruse?). And not telling a rastafarian from a white guy....Come on!

The real mystery is why the publishers wasted ink and paper on this rubbish.

Eddie Vertente