76. Last Bus to Woodstock

Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter
First Inspector Morse mystery

Pages: 309
Finished: Apr. 26, 2008
First Published: 1975
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.5/5

First Sentence:

"Let's wait just a bit longer, please," said the girl in dark-blue trousers and the light summer coat.

Reason for Reading: First in a Series Challenge. I was (still am) a big fan of the TV Show.

Comments: A young woman is found murdered in the parking lot of a small pub. Inspector Morse is partnered with Sergeant Lewis for the first time and they work the case. Lewis finds Morse's tactics often strange and somewhat difficult to work with at times. This is a brilliant and clever British police procedural. Being very familiar with the TV Show I found the characters to be a bit different than they are portrayed on the screen. Morse is younger and Lewis is several years older than Morse for a start! Once I realized, and accepted, that Morse was different than I was familiar with I was hooked. This is top-notch British detection and it doesn't get much better than this. I was riveted and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. Morse is a man who loves opera, a stiff drink and women and is a detective who sits down and thinks his way through a case while he sends his underlings out to pound the pavement. I also really enjoyed the seventies atmosphere with Morse drinking and smoking whenever he wants and the attitudes concerning the long haired men and Women's Lib. This compelling, page-turning mystery is recommended.