The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)

L'inspecteur Morse est appelé à enquêter sur la mort d'un homme découvert empoisonné à son domicile. Malgré une vie en apparence normale, la surdité du défunt Nicholas Quinn faisait de lui un professeur différent des autres. Secondé par son fidèle Lewis, l'inspecteur Morse va une nouvelle fois se plonger dans le milieu enseignant. Collègues et voisins vont lui permettre d'esquisser un portrait de la victime, mais de nombreuses questions demeurent sans réponse. Un second cadavre vient confirmer les soupçons de Morse : comme le héros d'Hitchcock Nicholas Quinn en savait trop. Mais l'inspecteur devra cambrioler bien des vies privées et des secrets jalousement gardés pour découvrir enfin la vérité.

Probably my favorite Morse, although The Riddle of the Third Mile runs it close. The frantic, almost demented way in which Morse tries to solve the mystery as well as furthering his love life, two not necessarily congruous goals, is both amusing and touching. ( )

This third novel in the Morse series has the culturally acute detective enter the world of academic examinations boards, in which the author worked. A deaf exam setter is murdered and, after some hefty hints as to the morderer's identity, Morse tries to identify which of a limited set of suspects is guilty. When the board's female secretary is attacked, Morse's protective feelings are roused. THe solution of the mystery is entwined with Morse's romantic response to the secretary, and a parallel mystery about a breach of examination security. For all Morse's circumlocutions, and deductive errors, the pace is fast and the characters' conversations are rich in this satisfying mystery novel. ( )

The third episode of Inspector Morse is a weak entry into the series, although that didn't stop me from being gripped by the whodunit. Still, the plot is far to convoluted and there's too many twists and turns that are indicative of weak writing. One would hope for more from Colin Dexter. ( )

The more that I read Colin Dexter's Morse, the less satisfied I become with the TV adaptation. Morse is a well rounded character and Dexter has that ability to tell an unlikely story in such a way that logic is suspended.
With the glory of after thought, some of the plot twists are a little difficult to explain but, when one is enmeshed, it all seems to make perfect sense.
I would not place this in the top echelon of Dexter's canon, but a thoroughly good read! ( )