The Way Through the Woods

by Colin Dexter

Overview

The Way Through the Woods is the tenth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series.

Quietly, rather movingly, Strange was making his plea: 'Christ knows why, Lewis, but Morse will always put himself out for you.' As he put the phone down, Lewis knew that Strange had been right . . . in the case of the Swedish Maiden, the pair of them were in business again . . .

They called her the Swedish Maiden – the beautiful young tourist who disappeared on a hot summer's day somewhere in North Oxford. Twelve months later the case remained unsolved – pending further developments.

On holiday in Lyme Regis, Chief Inspector Morse is startled to read a tantalizing article in The Times about the missing woman. An article which lures him back to Wytham Woods near Oxford . . . and straight into the most extraordinary murder investigation of his career.

The Way Through the Woods is followed by the eleventh Inspector Morse book, The Daughters of Cain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780330468879
Publisher:	Pan Macmillan
Publication date:	09/04/2008
Series:	Inspector Morse Mysteries , #10
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	720,875
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Colin Dexter graduated from Cambridge University in 1953 and moved to Oxford in 1966, where he lived until his death in 2017. His first novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, was published in 1975. There are now thirteen novels in the series, of which The Remorseful Day is, sadly, the last. He won many awards for his novels, including the CWA Silver Dagger twice, and the CWA Gold Dagger for The Wench is Dead and The Way Through the Woods. In 1997 he was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger for outstanding services to crime literature, and in 2000 was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The Inspector Morse novels have been adapted for the small screen with huge success by Carlton/Central Television, starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately. Spin-offs from Dexter’s much-loved novels also include the popular series, Lewis, featuring Morse’s former sergeant, Robbie Lewis, and Endeavour, a prequel starring the young Endeavour Morse.
Colin Dexter won many awards for his novels including the CWA Gold Dagger and Silver Dagger awards. In 1997 he was presented with the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for outstanding services to crime literature. Colin's thirteenth and final Inspector Morse novel, The Remorseful Day, was published in 1999. He lived in Oxford until his death in 2017.

Editorial Reviews

One of Britain's most inventive and honored crime writers, Dexter ( The Jewel That Was Ours ) offers another tale in a justly acclaimed series. Again it's a story packed with nuance, wayward angles and bewildering layers of coincidence, all explicated in masterful style. When Oxford-based Inspector Morse sets out to find Karin Eriksson, a young Swedish woman who disappeared while vacationing in England, he opens a Pandora's box of clues and culpability. The missing woman's need for money, four men's need for pornography, and photographs, blackmail and multiple disappearances all play their part in this deliberately baffling mystery, in which virtually every chapter ends on an enigmatic note. Dexter even manages to cunningly subvert the narrative's basic framework toward the end, when Karin Eriksson's identity comes into question. The erudite, irascible Morse remains a delightful character, with his shambling existence, his love for music, his obvious appeal to lonely women despite his slovenly appearance. His pedestrian, loyal subordinate, Sgt. Lewis, buys most of the beers Morse consumes en route to the ultimate solution. Publication of this stunning work will coincide with the broadcast of another Morse adventure on the PBS Mystery! series. ( Apr. )

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Vacationing Chief Inspector Morse's eye is caught by a Times story about an anonymous poem evidently referring to the year-old disappearance of Swedish student Karin Eriksson. A lively, densely allusive correspondence analyzing hints in the poem eventually takes Morse (The Jewel That Was Ours, 1992, etc.) to the Oxford town of Wytham, where a body is indeed discovered. But then the real surprises in this captivating tale begin, as the evidence of the corpse, a telltale roll of film found nearby, and the ring of amateur pornographers implicated in the murder obstinately refuse to confirm Morse's most elementary assumptions. Honest detection, illicit sex, puns and anagrams galore, Morse's trademark drinking and dour byplay with colleagues and suspects, plus a plot as agile as Dexter's best—in short, everything you could possibly want in an English detective story. Bolt the door and enjoy.

Kirkus Reviews