And so as the year is drawing to a close, I'm still just about on task and the first of the ten categories is now complete. One of the first to be begun and one it is fair to say I have raced through and had broadened my horizons, the first to be ticked off the list is crime. And back on familiar turf (though could arguably be the familiar Turf), with my first encounter with Morse. And Lewis, of course. I've never read any, nor watched it, though I have seen part of an episode of Lewis being filmed outside the Bodleian at some point.
Anyway, figuring the best place to start may well be the beginning, my first taste of Colin Dexter's creation was his first tale, Last Bus to Woodstock. With most classic detective series, an interesting central character is often what drives the books and allows for the series to develop. Morse himself fits the bill and certainly has a bit of the Holmes in him – enigmatic, slightly detached and with some less than wholly exemplary personal habits. Throw in the straight man sidekick and you have a good dynamic and while so much is owed to Conan Doyle, any resemblance and debts paid are, as far as I'm concerned, no bad thing at all.
The crime itself kept me guessing throughout, didn't seem contrived and although the circumstances and the evidence are very much dated pushing thirty years hence, within the framework of the story it all seemed to fit. And this time, I enjoyed seeing the familiar setting of Oxford, so perhaps it's just the story and the writing of that other one about murder in the City of Dreaming Spires that I took issue with. Clearly now a British institution, it's easy to see why he's such a popular character. I suspect I shall pay him another visit or two in the future.
Book number: 85
Title: Last Bus to Woodstock
Author: Colin Dexter
Category: Crime
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