Colin Dexter. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1987)

     Colin Dexter. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1987) The murder of a guest at a New Year’s event arranged at a hotel leads Morse and Lewis on the hunt for wild goose and fishing for red herrings. Dexter has a taste for overly twisty plots, but his narrative trick of short scenes and serial-like final sentence for each chapter keeps the pages turning.
     When I read these books, I see John Thaw and Kevin Whately, which probably enhances the reading. The characterisation is cardboard, even for Morse and Lewis, who are a more of a collection of character tics than fully realised characters. Dexter’s omniscient narrator whispers the characters’ thoughts and feelings like secrets not to be repeated to the unauthorised. This creates an illusion of reality that keeps you going until you close the book, then the artificiality of the concoction strikes you. It’s interesting how such merely average books became one of the best mystery series on TV. This one is more average than usual; a pleasant enough way to spend a couple or three hours. **