{"title":"Books by Colin Dexter","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781035005468","title":"The Wench is Dead","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the CWA Gold Dagger award\u003ci\u003e, The Wench is Dead\u003c\/i\u003e is the eighth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series. As portrayed by John Thaw in ITV's \u003ci\u003eInspector Morse\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThat night he dreamed in Technicolor. He saw the ochre-skinned, scantily clad siren in her black, arrowed stockings. And in Morse's muddled computer of a mind, that siren took the name of one Joanna Franks . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEarly in the morning of the 22nd of June, 1859, the body of Joanna Franks was found floating at Duke’s Cut along the Oxford Canal – an event which led to the trial and hanging of two suspected murderers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA hundred and thirty years later Chief Inspector Morse is bedbound and recovering from a perforated ulcer at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital when he is handed an old book to read, one that recounts the trial of a murder aboard the Barbara Bray canal boat: the murder of Joanna Franks. Investigating the account of the trial, Morse begins to question whether the two men hanged were truly guilty and sets out to prove his suspicions from the confines of his hospital bed . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wench is Dead\u003c\/i\u003e is followed by the ninth Inspector Morse book, \u003ci\u003eThe Jewel That Was Ours\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43605457666226,"sku":"9781035005468","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781035005468.jpg?v=1786017006"},{"product_id":"9781035005352","title":"The Dead of Jericho","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A giant among fictional detectives’ – \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Dead of Jericho\u003c\/i\u003e is the fifth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set Inspector Morse series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the CWA Silver Dagger Award.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMorse switched on the gramophone to 'play', and sought to switch his mind away from all the terrestrial troubles. 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As portrayed by John Thaw in ITV's \u003ci\u003eInspector Morse\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMorse sought to hide his disappointment. So many people in the Haworth Hotel that fateful evening had been wearing some sort of disguise \u003c\/i\u003e– \u003ci\u003ea change of dress, a change of make-up, a change of partner, a change of attitude, a change of life almost; and the man who had died had been the most consummate artist of them all . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChief Inspector Morse seldom allowed himself to be caught up in New Year celebrations. 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In this respect, at least, Lewis was correct in his thinking. What he could not have known was what unprecedented anguish the present case would cause to Morse's soul.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChief Superintendent Strange's opinion was that too little progress had been made since the discovery of a corpse in a North Oxford flat. The victim had been killed by a single stab wound to the stomach. Yet the police had no weapon, no suspect, no motive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWithin days of taking over the case, Chief Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis uncover startling new information about the life and death of Dr Felix McClure. When another body is discovered Morse suddenly finds himself with rather too many suspects.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor once, he can see no solution. 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Why Friday 12 September – two years, three months and two days after Valerie Taylor had left home to return to afternoon school?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHe frowned. ‘Something’s turned up, I suppose.’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrange nodded. ‘Yes.’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter leaving her home in Oxford to return to school in London, seventeen-year-old Valerie Taylor completely vanished. Despite the efforts of the police and Chief Inspector Ainley, the trail went cold and she was never found.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo years on, Ainley is dead, and Inspector Morse is handed the case. 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For Oxford, the arrival of twenty-seven American tourists is nothing out of the ordinary . . . until one of their number is found dead in Room 310 at the Randolph Hotel.   It looks like a sudden – and tragic – accident. Only Chief Inspector Morse appears not to overlook the simultaneous theft of a jewel-encrusted antique from the victim’s handbag . . .   Then, two days later, a naked and battered corpse is dragged from the River Cherwell. A coincidence? Maybe. But this time Morse is determined to prove the link . . .   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James, Sunday TelegraphThe 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.   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