Service of All the Dead
Cover of the first edition
|
|
| Author | Colin Dexter |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Inspector Morse series, #4 |
| Genre | crime novel |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
|
Publication date
|
18 October 1979 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 256p. |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 6435109 |
| Preceded by | The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn |
| Followed by | The Dead of Jericho |
Service of All the Dead is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the fourth novel in Inspector Morse series.
The novel describes a series of murders in and around St. Frideswide's Cornmarket, which corresponds to St Mary Magdalen Church, Magdalen Street rather than the tiny St Michael's Cornmarket. The real St. Frideswide's is on Botley Road, Oxford.
The novel is divided into four books. Each book takes its name from a book of the Old Testament and follows a different style of writing. Notably, the third is in the form of a statement taken from a witness and the fourth (mostly) takes the form of court proceedings.
The first book details the lives of the characters Lionel Lawson, Harry Josephs, Barbara Josephs, Paul Morris, Ruth Rawlinson and Peter Morris. It doesn't directly mention Philip Lawson but there are several indirect references to him as the tramp. This book sets up the various motives for the plot. It also highlights the jealousy and hatred some of the characters feel towards each other for various reasons.
Morse is on furlough and by chance happens to visit St. Frideswide. There he comes to know about the murder of Harry Josephs and the subsequent suicide of Lionel Lawson. He finds out that Harry Josephs was first poisoned with morphine before being stabbed in the back. This curious fact sparks his attention and he begins to take an active interest in the case. When Inspector Bell, who was previously in charge of the case goes down with the flu, Morse & Lewis take official charge of the investigation. True to his usual self, Morse comes up with several theories, each of which is shown to be wrong with gathering evidence. Subsequently Morse locates the dead bodies of Paul Morris and Peter Morris by instincts.
When Barbara Josephs is also murdered, Morse finally sees the light in the case. He figures out that Ruth would be the next victim and the church (again) would be the scene of the crime. He then places Lewis in an opposite building to watch the church, and he hides in the church. Morse confronts the murderer, revealed to be Harry Josephs, atop the church tower. The two men struggle, and Harry falls from the tower to his death.
This book is about the statement given by Ruth to Lewis. She explains how she was hard up for money and agreed to help Lionel Lawson in a plot to murder Harry Josephs. She tries to put it across that she was never directly involved except as a witness to identify the dead man. On reading the statement, Morse rejects it as complete perjury and tears it up.
This book mostly takes the form of court proceedings as Morse reveals how the murderer Harry Josephs committed the crimes. He guesses that the first victim was Philip Lawson and Ruth's role was mainly to misidentify the body as that of Harry Josephs. He subsequently explains how Harry murdered the Morris father and son and then his wife Barbara. As for the question of Lionel Lawson, Morse suggests it was suicide. Ruth is sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment for perjury.
...
Wikipedia