Colin Dexter

Chief Inspector Morse, the irascible, brilliant detective of the Thames Valley Police, returns in six tales of detection, accompanied by five self-contained mysteries ranging in setting from a prison cell to a hotel lounge in the American Midwest.

The Riddle of the Third Mile is the sixth novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series. The thought suddenly occurred to Morse that this would be a marvellous time to murder a few of the doddery old bachelor dons. No wives to worry about their whereabouts; no landladies to whine about the unpaid rents. In fact nobody would miss most of them at all . . . By the 16th of July the Master of Lonsdale was concerned, but not yet worried. Dr Browne-Smith...

An Inspector Morse Mystery. The case seems so simple that Inspector Morse deems it beneath his notice. A wealthy, elderly American tourist has a heart attack in her room at Oxford's luxurious Randolph Hotel. Missing from the scene is the lady's handbag, which contained the Wolvercote Tongue, a priceless jewel that her late husband had bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum just across the street. Morse proceeds to spend a great deal of time thinking-and...