Traditional crime writing at its best; the kind of book without which no armchair is complete
The Sunday Times
No one constructs a whodunit with more fiendish skill than Colin Dexter
The Guardian
Dexter has created a giant among fictional detectives
The Times
A character who will undoubtedly retain his place as one of the most popular and enduring of fictional detectives
- P. D. James, <i>The Sunday Telegraph</i>,
The writing is highly intelligent, the atmosphere melancholy, the effect haunting
The Daily Telegraph
The triumph is the character of Morse
Times Literary Supplement
Colin Dexter’s superior crime-craft is enough to make lesser practitioners sick with envy
The Oxford Times
[Morse is] the most prickly, conceited and genuinely brilliant detective since Hercule Poirot
The New York Times Book Review
‘A giant among fictional detectives’ – The Times
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.
Colin Dexter’s bestselling and award-winning Inspector Morse novels are loved across the world. Beginning with Last Bus to Woodstock, the series follows the nation’s most beloved fictional detective in his work as a senior Criminal Investigation Department officer within the Thames Valley Police in Oxford. Morse is known for his penchant for cryptic crosswords, English literature and cask ale, as well as his world-class deductive reasoning.
Written between 1975 and 1999, the thirteen novels proved ideal for television, being adapted by ITV with John Thaw playing Morse from 1987 to 2000. Spin-off shows have also been abundant, with Shaun Evans portraying the inspector in the prequel, Endeavour; as well as Lewis, a series based on Morse’s former Detective Sergeant.