One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
The Wench is Dead is the 8th book in the Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter, and the 8th that I have listen to read by Kevin Whately.
Morse’s bad habits catch up with him and he lands himself in hospital. Between ogling the nurses, and pestering Lewis to bring him some scotch, he discovers a murder mystery to solve from his bed.
When I read the synopsis of this short novel, I was pretty convinced that I was going to be disappointed. But it turns out that The Wench is Dead has been my favorite Inspector Morse book so far. The grand inspector, taken down by illness of his own devising, gives him a more human side. But even with feet of clay, he cannot ignore a murder, long thought solved. The way the mystery unfolds, both in a book retelling the crime and in Morse’s musings on it, is really compelling and his curiosity becomes yours. This novel has Dexter’s healthy dose of womanizing, lamenting old age, intellectual bravado, and over indulgence, but it frames it in a more accessible way than many of the previous novels. As always, Kevin Whately’s reading really adds to my enjoyment of these books. He played Morse’s sidekick in the BBC series and seems to have a unique take on the characters. Although I would not suggest people read this book first, but I would highly recommend this novel for those who like boat books, historical mysteries, and detective novels with a twist.