Rating:  Summary: Goodbye to one of the great ones Review: It was difficult to read this last of the Inspector Morse series without peeking at the ending. I did not want to believe that this was as final as the subtitle stated. Once again, Colin Dexter realistically portrays Morse's unwillingness to cope correctly with his diabetes and its latent complications, to the point where it's affecting his work and relationships. In this story, it is more amplified. The irony of an otherwise intelligent person who cannot seem to cope with this disease is not lost on the reader, and overshadows the reopened murder case. The murder plot was made interesting only by the hint that Morse knew more than he was telling, and that it gave Lewis a long overdue opportunity to show how he has matured both professionally and in his relationship with Morse. But when the end came, it came swiftly, and with Lewis, I teared up a little and no longer cared about the case at hand. One of the great serial detectives would no longer solve the Times crossword, or listen to his beloved music, or berate his colleagues for improper grammar and spelling, or apply his unique brand of logic to solve well-plotted murders. Our loss! Enjoy your retirement, Mr. Dexter, and thank you for many wonderful years of mystery!
Rating:  Summary: Hard to Say good bye Review: It was very very difficult to say good bye to my favorite detective since H. Poriot. It was a very good (though not excellent) mystery but unlike the previous Inpspector Morse books I did guess whodunnit. Worth the money especially if you are a fan of Endevour Morse (d 1998)
Rating:  Summary: THE END! Review: It was with a sense of foreboding when i saw the sentence 'THE FINAL INSPECTOR MORSE NOVEL'on the cover.I can't quite believe Morse is gone.I cried reading the last few chapters,finished reading it on the 17/4/2000 at 12:48pm.Morse could be pedantic,overbearing,irritating but his frailty;his loneliness,his ability to fall in love at first sight but his inability to keep the women,made him a sad figure.He didn't care what others thought of him but he cared,deeply,what Lewis(his sidekick)thought of him.Lewis, who had looked up to Morse's integrity all this while, was beginning to doubt it.I felt that in the end when Lewis "in his desolation, he wept silently", it was because he felt guily for ever doubting Morse.I shall of course be rereading the previous Inspector Morse's books but this is the first and last time i will read "The Remorseful Day".
Rating:  Summary: Sad, but true Review: It was with great sorrow that I learned that The Remorseful Day would be the thirteenth and final Inspector Morse novel. So I determined to read this one slowly, savoring every sentence. How often does one read a crime novel with a dictionary close by, after all?The novel turns on a year-old unsolved crime, that of Yvonne Harrison, registered nurse and all-around "good time girl". Superintendent Strange re-activates the case and gives it to Morse, who refuses to take it on, even though it would seem to be just his sort of case. Loyal Sergeant Lewis investigates the murder, but in every instance, it seems that Morse has gotten there before him! Why has he refused to investigate officially, and just what does he know about the murder? This a fitting end to the Inspector Morse series, very sad and very satisfying. One hopes that John Thaw can be persuaded to do just one more episode, since one learns more about the inner Morse than ever before. I don't want to give it away, but the loyalty of Sergeant Lewis is finally rewarded, and not just financially.
Rating:  Summary: Missing some pieces, but excellent (spoiler) Review: It's hard to see the end of Morse after all these years. He seems eternal, but his habits catch up with him. The TV portrayals have been so brilliant that I can't get Thaw out of my mind, but Dexter obviously moved the character closer to Thaw, as well. There are some loose ends and inevitable at-loose-ends feelings in this book. I compare it to the deaths of other great detectives, like Poirot, who instead of leaving with a great bang, simply fade away, with notes discovered later that help explain quite what happened.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing finale Review: My expectations were that the last Morse novel would be a triumph of plotting, which is what can usually be expected from this author. However, in this final outing in the Morse series, the plotting is not as interesting nor as compelling as past efforts and quite clearly takes second place to the further, and final, development of the characters, in particular Lewis and Strange. This author has been setting the stage for the bowing out of Morse for some time so the precise manner in which Morse departs the genre is not unexpected, shocking or surprising. But Morse will be sadly missed and I join in the comments of an earlier reviewer that a prequel would be very much looked forward to!
Rating:  Summary: Re: Morse Review: Mystery fans will be both disappointed and pleased by novelist Colin Dexter's latest entry in the popular Inspector Morse detective series, "The Remorseful Day." Pleased, because Morse is at the top of his intellectual form, and disappointed, because this is the thirteenth and last in the series. And while I don't propose to reveal the manner in which Morse takes his final bow, I will say that he does so conclusively. This time out, Morse and his steadfast but less gifted parnter, Sergeant Lewis, must solve a murder that is already a year old, and one in which their superior at the Thames Valley Police, Chief Superintendent Strange, has taken a personal interest. Oddly, Morse too appears to have had ties to the victim, a middle-aged nurse who attended him during his last hospital stay. Could this explain his reluctance to join in the chase? Meanwhile, Lewis must tread lightly as discrepancies in the evidence seem to point to a cover-up that may well reach to the top of the police hierarchy. But the case soon takes an Oresteian turn when the most likely suspects turn out to be members of the deceased's own family, and Morse must sort through a mystifying web of alibis and motives to arrive at the shabby truth. As usual, the main interest in the novel is in watching the Great Man ply his trade. An avid crossword puzzler, Morse often seems to be purposely obscurantist, especially to Lewis, who, like the reader, is generally a quantum of steps behind him in the process of ratiocination. If there's a lapse here, it is in the author's failure to adequately flesh out the character of the victim, whose bloodlessness renders her an unlikely target of murder, let alone of Morse's amours. But this will be a minor quibble for Dexter's fans. When Lewis collapses in tears at novel's end, he expresses the inconsolable grief of all who have followed Morse's careeer from its inception to its remorseful end.
Rating:  Summary: Surprisingly wonderful book. Review: Not a fan of mystery novels, I was reluctant to read this book. I read it however, at the prompting of my brother, and am happy I did. Ironic that the first Morse book I read is the last one to be written. Despite a couple of glaring inconsistencies in the book, the writing was surprisingly competent, the characters likable and easy to identify with, and the setting perfect for my tastes. The ending was very satisfying and emotionally stirring. This may be the last Morse novel, but it won't be the last one I read.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent! Review: Probably the best Morse novel of them all. I'm just sad it's the last. The plot is well thought out, and not obvious all the way until the end, leaving questions hanging in the air you have to find the answers to. Every twist and turn shows another side of Morse, perhaps taking you back in the series (if you've read the others), or giving you a place to relate to when you decide, after reading this one, that you should immediately go out and discover the rest of Morse's world.
Rating:  Summary: Will you please write a "prequel," Mr. Dexter? Review: The beginning of the story is vaguely reminiscient of two other Morse novels: The Dead of Jericho, because Morse knows the victim, and The Wench is Dead, because Morse is "in hospital". The reader puzzles throughout the book how far Morse's involvement with the victim was. Morse is a reluctant detective, and, after 12 novels, we finally begin to see Lewis' reasoning skills becoming more Morse-like. In this final Inspector Morse novel, the reader has insight into the characters more than any other novel in the series. Strange becomes a very reachable character - we see outside interests in nature and music. Lewis reveals emotion that has not been exhibited in previous novels - anger at Morse, as well as forgiveness and depth of friendship for him. And Morse's flaws and strengths are displayed magnificently, through his continued problems with alcohol and his Lewis-like loyalties. Lewis, Morse, and Strange could all win oscars for their parts, if such a thing existed for characters in novels! This book is a joy to open each time, and a sorrow to finally close. Please, Mr. Dexter, is there a possibility of a prequel?
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