Rating: 
Summary: Swan Song
Review: The logophilic, curmudgeonly Chief Inspector makes his last bow in this absorbing mystery. As with all Morse novels, the entertainment comes not so much from the plot as from the character of Morse himself and the strange personalities he comes across during the course of his investigations. The lover of crossword puzzles, Wagner, beautiful women, Scotch and Faure's Requiem makes brilliant deductions (often brilliantly wrong), but the faithful cricketer Sergeant Lewis is always there to set him back on the right course. Colin Dexter succeeds in making grammar interesting and has elevated the selection of chapter epigraphs to an art form! The thirteen Morse novels are a unique and enduring addition to the crime canon, and it is a remorseful day indeed when it comes time to say goodbye.
Rating:
Summary: Dexter ends on the highest note of all
Review: This, the final Inspector Morse novel, is the best out of the entire lot. Its got a great plot...its not as complicated as some of the other Morse novels (For example, the Dead of Jericho) and is developed excellently. It also has a more distinctive focus on the characters in the novel than some of his others, which makes this fresh and incredibly interesting. This time, we not only see Morse intimately, but those around him as well. This is a brilliant, brilliant crime novel. Its realistic and incredibly moving. Morse is probably the best detective in all fiction, and when he finally meets his demise, i am not ashamed to admit that i cried. It is a very, very moving book. Unfortunately, this was not made into a very sucessful TV adaptation. (Many won't agree with me, but it was not.) In the book, Morse's death has much more impact...its drawn out for longer, beginning its occurence about a hundred pages from the end. its emotional and very sad, but in the TV adaptation, Morse's death is hardly even hinted at until five minutes before the end, when he suddenly drops down dead, as if killing him off was just an afterthought. Much of the emotional impact from the book was lost. Lewis is on great form was again, as is Superintendent Strange. There are some brilliant and unexpected twists in this novel, several of which force Lewis to reevaluate his opinions of his friend and boss, casting into doubt everything he thinks he knows about him. With a shatteringly effective plot, a great solution, and a brilliantly moving ending, this is certainly his best Morse novel. And the good Chief Inspector remains an enigma right until the end.
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