English Mysteries Club discussion

Just wondered - with all our discussions of 'first in a series' with their pros and cons - if anyone fancied reading an entire series??
Maybe no one will, but I have all the Inspector Morse books to read and thought I could maybe read one a month and wondered if anyone would like to join and read with me.

I have never read any of the Inspector Morse books and think it would be fun, so yes, would love to join in.

Hello Penny! Sounds like fun, count me in.

It depends on the availability of the books, but if I can get a copy I would be interested in joining in.

Just for general reference, here is the series:

Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
Last Seen Wearing (1976)
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
Service of All the Dead (1979)
The Dead of Jericho (1981)
The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986)
The Wench is Dead (1989)
The Jewel That Was Ours (1989)
The Way Through the Woods (1992)
The Daughters of Cain (1994)
Death is Now My Neighbor (1996)
The Remorseful Day (1999)

Penny, are you planning to start with Last Bus to Woodstock in June? I just submitted my request for an inter-library loan :)

I'd like to join in whenever I can. At least with the first one. An we read them in order?

*can

this is great - I didnt know if anyone would want to join me!!
Yes Arpita we will be reading in the order of the series and the first book is


and so this will be our book for June!!
Good idea Leslie, to post up the list. As you can see some of them are quite old so you should be able to pick up one second-hand fairly easily.

Do count me in. havent read the series before, sounds interesting! also found it on amazon, though my local library didnt have the first book!

Do count me in. It sounds like fun. I have never read one so I'd like to start. Just tell us the first one to read and the month and I'll join in.

Penny wrote: "this is great - I didnt know if anyone would want to join me!!
Yes Arpita we will be reading in the order of the series and the first book is


and so this ..."
I should have read all the posts. I will start on the first one in June.

Everyone is very welcome - the more the merrier!!

Leslie's post - no. 6 - lists all the books in the right order so we will be following that order but fairly leisurely with one book a month - so that's around a year's reading but will not put too much pressure on!

Great, Penny. I am not sure why I never read the Morse books, but I have now started the first one and am enjoying it.

This is a great idea. I read the first one last year with the intent of continuing and lost steam. Will be interested to hear what folks think of Last Bus... and hope to join the reading in July.

Penny wrote: "Just wondered - with all our discussions of 'first in a series' with their pros and cons - if anyone fancied reading an entire series??
Maybe no one will, but I have all the Inspector Morse books t..."

I've read the first one so I'll join you in a month.

I have all the Morse books and would love to join in.
When do we start?

@Shera, the plan is to read the first one (Last Bus to Woodstock) in June, which is only a few days away!

Penny - do you want to set up separate threads for each book or just keep it all together?

I guess that means all 13 books in this thread - so it might get big!!

Shera - we start on 1st June with Last Bus to Woodstock.

Everyone - perhaps be clear in your posts if you have spoilers as we may all read at different speeds and we have a whole month to get done - so we dont want to spoil it - especially 'who dunnit'!! but bear in mind as the month goes on more and more of us will have read it so it might not be easy/desirable to keep essential parts of the plot out of discussion.
Shall we say, after the 15th, all discussion is OK?
Up til then a bit of caution!! ??

Sounds great, Penny.

Wonderful idea! I have never read the entire Inspector Morse series.

This one is not available for Kindle but will join later on when there are.

Hi, I'm Portia and fairly new to the group. I've just ordered the first Morse and am really looking forward to all of the discussions.

I have downloaded and read it. I hadn't read any before, or watched it on tv, and there are no spoilers - but it somehow wasn't what I was expecting. Anyway, look forward to the discussion.

Ann, I have given up with Amazon. It was on kindle in the uk and I just wish they would make everything available in every format and save us all a lot of problems!

Just found the first three all together for the kindle. Hopeful will be able to get it tomorrow.

thanks for link Anirban - I am yet to get connected with the Endeavor series - anyone else watched it?

I am about 5 chapters in - I am amazed at the dialogue and how closely the series must have kept to it - at least in the early series as I can 'hear' John Thaw's voice so clearly!! It's a sort of time-travel piece now too - full of phone boxes and cul-de-sacs!!

I am 75% done and enjoying Last Bus to Woodstock very much! One thing that surprised me is that Lewis is older than Morse - the TV show had firmly fixed in my mind Lewis as the younger man.

I'm only about 15% into the book but I love it again. I find myself rereading paragraphs of Dexter's precise prose.
I started reading this series before they aired the TV series here in Dallas, so the age change was a little odd at first. But I realized that John Thaw and the writers achieved the exact pace and vocabulary used in the books and I was just thrilled when I saw Oxford.

I just got my copy from the library today. The librarian says, "This book is so old that this is the only copy in the system". I said it couldn't be that old as it was published the year I graduated from college.

Susan wrote: "I just got my copy from the library today. The librarian says, "This book is so old that this is the only copy in the system". I said it couldn't be that old as it was published the year I graduate..."

I graduated two years before you did, youngster!

I took the suggestion and bought the Kindle edition of the first three books. I thought that would be the easiest. Thanks for the tip.

Susan wrote: "I took the suggestion and bought the Kindle edition of the first three books. I thought that would be the easiest. Thanks for the tip."

I bought the three book Kindle set too. Some of my copies are hardbacks and I don't want to take them with me on the bus

I am having the wonderful reader's dilemma. I keep halting my forward movement to re-read sentences, paragraphs, etc. Dexter's description of the two roads leading out of Oxford is just beautiful. I can visualize The Black Prince and its hostess. But yet I already want to know who killed the girl. Poor Portia!

I'm waiting to see if I like the writing style from the library book I ordered and then commit to buying the 3 in one. But judging by comments so far I guess the writing is good?

Found this page - was recommended by Portia - guess it's not an actual group but that's no problem! I am a huge fan of the tv series but am definitely interested in checking out the books...

Karen wrote: "Found this page - was recommended by Portia - guess it's not an actual group but that's no problem! I am a huge fan of the tv series but am definitely interested in checking out the books..."

Hey, hi! I've only been on this page for a week, so I'm sure someone "official" will say hi. I think you and Susan messaged on the DCI Banks thread. I'm so glad you found it! Cheers, Portia

Thanks, Portia!

Do you think that since we've gotten such a wonderful response to this buddy read, we should set something up separately. I don't know what but it seems like we've got a pretty good group that's going to be hard to keep up with. I don't know. Just asking.

DCI Banks or Morse? Personally, I'd vote for Banks, as the author is INCREDIBLY prolific. I truly love the books - esp. the authenticity of the character - he changes, matures, has marriage and family problems, etc. - you really grow to care about him as if he was a real person. If so, I'd be happy to see if I can create group - never did it before! Maybe you could do the Morse one? :)

Okay - I created a group - called it: Peter Robinson - Inspector Banks series.

we'll see how it goes!

Arpita wrote: "I'm waiting to see if I like the writing style from the library book I ordered and then commit to buying the 3 in one. But judging by comments so far I guess the writing is good?"

I found the writing good, but after reaching Crispin and Innes, I missed that touch of irony... I do really like Morse's character & find it is more complicated in the book than in the TV series.

I am curious to hear what others think...

I too, am finding Lewis very interesting and so different from the TV one. I have to smile at Morse deciphering the Oxford dons' English - 'I should like', I should be inclined..' sounds like the long defunct English subjunctive!!
I have nearly finished. I am so loving the way Dexter pulls you into the character's lives so easily - Margaret and how hopeless she feels her life. Also the depiction of seventies life so many things that aren't around now with phones and typewriters and bulldog clips etc Also I have never seen young girls hitch hiking!

I picked up my copy today from the library. Excited to read about the original Morse. Will always think of John Thaw though.

I m still going to start this month just have to get thur the Winds of WAR.

Fairlee wrote: "I m still going to start this month just have to get thur the Winds of WAR."

Just finished. Looking forward to the 15th when we can chat w/o spoiling.

OK I am done!! I agree with someone earlier who said the romance side of it didnt quite work - but will discuss more after 15th when it wont matter what we reveal!!

Anirban wrote: "Handwritten manuscript from Colin Dexter, for Last Bus to Woodstock. A treasure indeed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/artic..."

Interesting article, thanks Anirban! Funny coincidence that it has come to auction just when we are reading the book.

I've read eight of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse books, but would love to read them again - and pick up the ones I haven't read. I'm into the challenge. So sad that John Thaw died so young.

Liz wrote: "I've read eight of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse books, but would love to read them again - and pick up the ones I haven't read. I'm into the challenge. So sad that John Thaw died so young."

This thread is so wonderful! My spouse has been a fan of Morse pre-TV and has been reading these posts over my shoulder. I remember waiting for the next installment back in the day and buying the hardcover for him so he didn't have to wait for the paperback to come out.

John Thaw was such a wonderful Morse - although I liked him as Kavannagh and some other characters as well. The TV shows are somewhat dated today, but the Oxford scenes are still grand, and I'll have Netflix send one once in awhile.