Inspector Morse and the funniest Wild West Romance



Author: Colin Dexter
BlurbBeautiful Sylvia Kaye and another young woman had been seen hitching a ride not long before Sylvia's bludgeoned body is found outside a pub in Woodstock, near Oxford. Morse is sure the other hitchhiker can tell him much of what he needs to know. But his confidence is shaken by the cool inscrutability of the girl he's certain was Sylvia's companion on that ill-fated September evening. Shrewd as Morse is, he's also distracted by the complex scenarios that the murder set in motion among Sylvia's girlfriends and their Oxford playmates. To grasp the painful truth, and act upon it, requires from Morse the last atom of his professional discipline.

Review: Apparently this was the first Inspector Morse novel and I was really excited to read it. While it doesn’t happen often, occasionally the movie or TV series is better than the written form, and I think this may be true for this book. I’ve not seen many of the Inspector Morse series, but the few I’ve seen I enjoyed and I was hoping to get the additional depth that the written word allows better than any screen rendition.

Methinks a bumbling inspector is better portrayed without depth. L

On the screen, Morse’s genius shines through his odd ways. In the book, he is almost a buffoon. Yes, he makes the brilliant deduction that solves the case, but I’d rather have read the Readers’ Digest Condensed version  so as not to suffer through the waffle that covers the middle third of the story.

There were a couple of very clever red herrings, and the storyline, of itself, was clever. Overall, though, I found it extremely difficult to work my way through the book. Most disappointing.

Author: Catherine Hart
BlurbLeaving behind the social scene in Boston to reunite with her saloon-owner father in Dodge City, high-spirited debutante Heather Blair-Burns meets undercover Wells Fargo agent Morgan Stone, who is disgusted by the spoiled Heather.

Review: What a romp of a story! I laughed, giggled and chortled my way through this Wild West romance that had a hunk of a hero and the spunkiest, funniest heroine this side of Deadwood!

The heroine is young and makes mistakes common in those afflicted with this temporary condition, the hero is older and therefore dashing and deliberate. The clash of youthful enthusiasm and old teasing, the sparks of passion, and the highjinks Heather gets up to made for a delightful read beside the pool.

I loved the book, and have an unruly urge to make myself a saloon slut outfit for Halloween this year, in honor of one particularly memorable scene. I gotta get me a corset, some crinolines, fishnet tights and lace up boots. Hi ho, cowboy!

Comments

Popular Posts