Customer Reviews

Service of All the Dead

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just when you think you know how your mind works, Colin Dexter, through Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis, unravels a tale that puts you back to square one. In the Service for All Dead Morse walks the dark pathways of the mind. He almost backs into the lives of seven people entwined with St. Frideswide's parish in Oxford. With a keen understanding of human nature, much akin to that of Reinhold Niebuhr, he begins to untangle a series of crimes that began two years before. With a chain of deductions and intuition Morse takes you to a breathless and satisfying conclusion to five and perhaps six murders. Definitely one of Dexter's finest tales of murder and detection

The woman who scrubs the floors at St Fridesworth provides the central character in a plot which requires Cheif Inspector Morse to examine relationships within relationships to effect a solution.

An excellent read... Among Colin Dexter's best !

Came across the audio version at the library and listened in the car. It was fun hearing Kevin Whately, the narrator, competently do his own Sgt. Lewis and Inspector Morse. Service/Dead is a complicated mystery, one that highlights the likelihood that some crimes require more than basic investigative skills. Morse's intuition is what makes him an intriguing detective, though sometimes his irascibility is hard to take. If only he'd show some appreciation to Lewis, a dedicated cop if ever there was one, though one lacking Morse's innate talents. This is one of Dexter's more complicated cases, but step by step the solution becomes clear He is certainly a skilled writer, more literate than most in the genre. Always satisfying.

This was my first trip into the world of Inspector Morse, and I am happy to say that it was well worth it. I can see how Morse has become one of the most beloved crime solvers in the genre.

There are plenty of plot twists and several suspects in this case, and you need to pay attention. But Dexter is a fine writer and although you may sometimes feel puzzled, you are never confused. The story moves along at a perfect pace and is brought skillfully to a satisfying conclusion.

It was a wonderful mystery novel and I am looking forward to reading about the further exploits of Inspector Morse.

Two murders connected to a church lead Morse and Lewis into a complex series of clues and characters -- especially as more deaths occur...Morse keeps us mystified until the very end...Colin Dexter is a true genius.

This is when Dexter is at the top of his game, bringing to life a great mystery with interesting psychological dimensions. Morse also is at his best in solving a tough crime with his predictable genius.

Well written , very readable Book Quality very good time between ordering and arrival a few days packing excellent Address very clear.

In Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mystery "Service of All the Dead" with five murder victims on the scoreboard, there's a real danger of running out of suspects. When Morse winds up the case at the end, his solution, as is often the case with him, is quirky, complicated, difficult to follow and basically nonsensical. But we do have fun along the way following the erratic, quixotic, and exasperating Morse. He keeps Sergeant Lewis guessing, and it wasn't until Lewis got his own TV series that he came into his own. Morse keeps going down the wrong path.
This is a church mystery, and all the action revolves around the weird doings at St. Frideswide. Secrets and love affairs are keeping the parish humming. When a body turns up, we're not quite sure of the corpse's identity, and even at the end we wonder if Morse and we, as readers, really have it all sorted out.
As usual Morse develops a crush on some mature woman in the story, and that provides a lot of the story's juice. Often during the story Morse has to get a few pints in a pub in order to get his brain cells into gear. A lot of his misjudgments seem to arise from these pub pit stops as Lewis could attest. "Morse, as Lewis knew only too well, was a man prepared to take the most prodigious leaps into the dark."
This is essentially a good Inspector Morse entry, and Morse even gets to score. His fear of heights and the dark almost do him in. Lewis is hurt by his boss's "mindless ingratitude." Statements like this don't make Lewis's life any easier: "`I'm scared of bloody heights, you stupid sod!' snarled Morse."

Colin Dexter was born in 1930 and, over the course of his writing career, has won CWA Gold Dagger and Silver Dagger awards. "Service of All the Dead" was first published in 1979 and is the fourth book to feature the famous Inspector Morse.

Morse's investigation centres on St Frideswide's Church, a historic church that proves popular with the tourists. It's a while before Morse makes his first appearance, with the early part of the book setting the scene and introducing the key players. The Reverend Lionel Lawson has been the church's vicar for around ten years, and is well educated - and pretty well-off - individual. There has been some speculation about the Vicar's personal life - some believe that one of Oxford's down-and-outs in his brother, while others gossip about his alleged sexual preferences. However, he does have a very healthy bank balance...although he has suspected for a while that someone has been helping themselves to the collection plate. When the book opens, he knows his suspicions are correct - and that the pilferer is Harry Josephs, the church's Warden.

Harry is an ex-soldier who joined the Civil Service after he left the forces. He'd been made redundant two years previously, and has since only briefly worked in a pharmacy. (His redundancy is something he's still a little bitter about). Harry's wife, Brenda, works as a nurse and he suspects - correctly - that she's having an affair with Paul Morris, the church's organist and a music teacher. Morris is a widower, and his son, Peter, sings in the church choir. He and Brenda have only been "together" for around three months, but he'd be very keen for Harry to conveniently disappear. (In fairness, Harry isn't exactly the innocent and wounded husband - he's been playing away from home with the church's cleaner, Ruth Rawlinson).

The book's opening section concludes in August, with the Rev. Lawson calling on Paul Morris; it then picks up again with Morse, the following April. In between times there have been two deaths at the church : Harry is dead, stabbed in the vestry and the Vicar subsequently threw himself to his death from the church's tower. Paul and Peter Morris have both left Oxford - very abruptly - and, oddly enough, so has Brenda Josephs. Despite being officially on holiday - never mind the fact that it was never his case to begin with - Morse starts poking about...

For me, this instalment is definitely better than the three previous books in the series : it has an interesting storylone and Dexter's writing has improved dramatically from "Last Bus to Woodstock". Morse's main hobbies remain drinking beer, listening to classical music and leering over the ladies - however, despite his occasional grumpiness, there's still something quite likeable about him. A quick and easy read overall.

This is probably one of the best books that I've read anywhere that touches on the subject of a conspiracy murder. The plot is complex and convoluted, and absolutely brilliantly written. In this book Morse decides to pursue an unsolved mystery that is really out of his jurisdiction simply because he happened to stumble across it while on holiday. It fascinates him from the very beginning, and soon there is not just one body that turns up, but a number of bodies, all killed at various times. Morse knows they're connected, and he has to use his extreme intelligence to connect the crimes and determine who the murderer is. He does get there in the end, but in true Morse fashion, with quite a few missteps along the way. Wonderful book!