Review: LAST BUS TO WOODSTOCK, Colin Dexter

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004ZI0OFO
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan, Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 1991
• Originally published 1975
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 269 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1743035771
• Book 1 of 13 ‏ : ‎ Inspector Morse 

Synopsis (Amazon)

'Do you think I'm wasting your time, Lewis?'

Lewis was nobody's fool and was a man of some honesty and integrity.

'Yes, sir.'

An engaging smile crept across Morse's mouth. He thought they could get on well together . . .'

The death of Sylvia Kaye figured dramatically in Thursday afternoon's edition of the Oxford Mail.

By Friday evening Inspector Morse had informed the nation that the police were looking for a dangerous man - facing charges of wilful murder, sexual assault and rape.

But as the obvious leads fade into twilight and darkness, Morse becomes more and more convinced that passion holds the key . . .

My Take

It is 50 years since this book was first published, and of course I have read it before. 
I am reading it this time with my U3A Crime Fiction reading group, introducing them to an author who is not only an award winner (see below), but someone who made a unique contribution to British crime fiction, and through that to our television screens with Morse and Endeavour.

This is the first in the series, the first time Morse and Lewis have worked together. So we learn a lot about each of them as people and as detectives, and the way they complement each other. We see Morse at his best and at his worst. As characters both are fleshed out, we learn important things about each.

The plot is an incredibly complex one, a murder mystery where the murderer and motive are not obvious until almost at  the end. Several times Lewis thinks Morse has lost his marbles; Morse also falls in love 

My rating: 4.5

I've already read

4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE - #7
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD -#8
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD - #4
4.4, LAST SEEN WEARING - #2
4.6, THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE - #6
4.6, THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS - #9
4.8. THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS - #10
4.7, THE DAUGHTERS OF CAIN - #11,
4.7, DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR - #12
5.0, THE REMORSEFUL DAY, Colin Dexter  - #13  

The Inspector Morse series (Fantastic Fiction)

   1. Last Bus to Woodstock (1975)
   2. Last Seen Wearing (1976)
   3. The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977)
   4. Service of All the Dead (1979)
   5. The Dead of Jericho (1981)
   6. The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983)
   7. The Secret of Annexe 3 (1986)
   8. The Wench Is Dead (1989)
   9. The Jewel That Was Ours (1991)
   10. The Way Through the Woods (1992)
   Morse's Greatest Mystery (1993)
   11. The Daughters of Cain (1994)
   12. Death Is Now My Neighbour (1996)
   13. The Remorseful Day (1999) 

Awards

2011 Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award 1997 CWA Diamond Dagger 1996 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Short Story : Evans Tries an O-Level 1992 CWA Gold Dagger : The Way Through the Woods 1989 CWA Gold Dagger : The Wench Is Dead

Award nominations

1981 CWA Gold Dagger (nominee) : The Dead of Jericho 1979 CWA Gold Dagger (nominee) : Service of All the Dead 1975 ILP John Creasey First Novel (shortlist) : Last Bus to Woodstock

Review: THE LONG NIGHT, Christian White

• 
  this edition read as an e-book on Libby through my local library
  
• Publisher: Affirm Press (October 28, 2025)
• Length: 304 pages
• ISBN13: 9781923046795  

Synopsis

Em has lived a quiet life with her complicated mother and is now looking for love and a potential escape from her small hometown. When a masked man kidnaps her in the dark of night, though, she is drawn into a terrifying world.

Jodie has been trying to forget a troubling time in her life, pouring her trauma into her work and out of her mind. Until one night her daughter is kidnapped and Jodie is dragged back into the violence.

As Em and Jodie race into the darkness, the agony of the past rushes up to meet them. It will take all their devotion and courage to escape this night alive.

Bold, vivid and heart-racingly intense, The Long Night is the darkest and most exhilarating novel yet from bestselling author Christian White.  

My Take

SPOILER ALERT 

I found this a difficult read and my low rating is based on the fact that I found it so hard to work out what had happened. There are two time frames, and Jodie is the connecting thread. I know the author was making me work hard to put it all together. I ended up feeling that there were some plot threads that had not been satisfactorily resolved.

My rating: 3.5 

I've also read

4.4, THE NOWHERE CHILD

4.5, THE WIFE AND THE WIDOW 

4.6, WILD PLACE

4.9, THE WIFE AND THE WIDOW  

5.0, THE LEDGE

Review: MURDER ON NORTH TERRACE, Lainie Anderson

• 
  this edition published by Hachette Australia 2025
  
• ISBN 978-0-7336-5209-7
• 325 pages
• A Petticoat Police Mystery Book 2 

Synopsis (publisher)

The indomitable Miss Cocks and Ethel Bromley return for Book Two in the bestselling and charmingly cosy Petticoat Police Mystery Series, inspired by one of Australia's first policewomen.

Adelaide, September 1917. Six months after solving the Dora Black case, Kate Cocks and Ethel Bromley are back walking the beat. The city is unsettled. Winter won't leave. Soldiers are returning from the Front with broken bodies and troubled souls. And now a powerful board governor has been found dead in the Art Gallery - dumped beneath a scandalous nude painting that has attracted both pious outrage and record crowds.

When Ethel receives an anonymous tip, she's elated at being seconded to the Detective Branch. The murder goes to the heart of Adelaide's elite, where this society girl is in her element. Miss Cocks is left grappling with six o'clock swills, shadows in alleyways and a brutal assault on a schoolgirl. She needs Ethel to catch her killer, and quickly.

Alas, murder in Adelaide is never a simple affair . . .

Inspired by the true story of Australia's pioneering policewoman, Kate Cocks. 

My Take

Historical crime fiction set at home is always attractive, and this one was worth the read. 1917. The first flush of World War I is over. 300 hundred wounded soldiers have returned and a popular army captain is busy drumming up another 150 recruits for South Australia's 10th Battalion. Murders are rare in Adelaide and then the Curator of the Art Gallery is murdered, throat cut, beneath a painting that has attracted a lot of attention. Kate Cox loses her assistant to the Adelaide Detective force, but the investigation is very slow.

The historical elements and settings of the story are credible and the characters strike home. 

My rating: 4.5

I've also read 4.4, THE DEATH OF DORA BLACK  

Review: DRAGON'S BREATH, Rhys Dylan

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D8TRKCRQ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyrmwood Books, October 8, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915185341
• Book 14 of 19 ‏ : ‎ DCI Evan Warlow Crime Thriller  

Synopsis

In the mountains, some secrets are deadlier than the storms.

A man wanders lost on a filthy night in the Black mountains of Wales.

Despite the valiant efforts of the rescue services, he does not survive.

Is this an accident? Or malice aforethought?

DCI Warlow and team are drawn into a mystery that soon spirals into more deaths and a poisonous trade.

A devious killer is abroad. One that cares for nothing other than their own twisted greed. The dragon's breath taints everything it touches.

My Take

These stories are a combination of a serious police investigation and the development of personal relations between members of the team. by the time you get to the end of the investigation, and most matters are resolved, you are ready for the next. This one doesn't disappoint. 

If you are new to the series take the time to read them in order. You will be rewarded. 

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.6, THE ENGINE HOUSE - #1

4.5, CAUTION: DEATH AT WORK -#2

4.6, ICE COLD MALICE - #3

4.5, SUFFER THE DEAD - #4

4.6, GRAVELY CONCERNED - #5 

4.5, A MARK OF IMPERFECTION - #6

4.5, BURNT ECHO - #7 

4.6, A BODY OF WATER - #8

4.5, LINES OF INQUIRY - #9 

4.5, NO ONE NEAR - #10 

4.6, THE LIGHT REMAINS - #11

4.6, A MATTER OF EVIDENCE - #12

4.5, THE LAST THROW - #13 

4.6, THE BOWMAN - #15

Review: EXPECTANT, Vanda Symon

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon) 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BKPJRDV2
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orenda Books, Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 16, 2023
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1914585586
• Book 5 of 6 ‏ : ‎ Sam Shephard

Synopsis (Amazon) 

A killer targeting pregnant women.

A detective expecting her first baby…

The shocking murder of a heavily pregnant woman throws the New Zealand city of Dunedin into a tailspin, and the devastating crime feels uncomfortably close to home for Detective Sam Shephard as she counts down the days to her own maternity leave.

Confined to a desk job in the department, Sam must find the missing link between this brutal crime and a string of cases involving mothers and children in the past. As the pieces start to come together and the realisation dawns that the killer's actions are escalating, drastic measures must be taken to prevent more tragedy.

For Sam, the case becomes personal, when it becomes increasingly clear that no one is safe, and the clock is ticking…

My Take:

Highly recommended.  I love the feistiness of Sam Shephard and the intution that she brings to solving cases. 

I realised when I recently read Vanda Symon's latest,  PREY, that I had missed a story in the series. EXPECTANT feels a very personal book, and the Author's Note at the end goes a long way to explaining why that emotion comes through. I think in many ways this is a "woman's" book.

I thought too that I hadn't noticed before how "Kiwi" some of Symon's language is, particularly dialogue.

Most enjoyable. 

My rating: 4.7 

I've also read

• OVERKILL - #1
• THE RINGMASTER -#2
• CONTAINMENT - #3
• 4.8, BOUND - #4
• 4.5, PREY -#6

Review: THE LAST DEATH OF THE YEAR, Sophie Hannah

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DMYM1492
•  Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins, Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 23, 2025
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 318 pages
•  ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008710026
•  Book 6 of 6 ‏ : ‎ New Hercule Poirot Mysteries  

 Synopsis (Amazon)

The new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah, follow-up to the bestselling Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night.

New Year's Eve, 1932.

Hercule Poirot and his good friend Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the Greek island of Lamperos for a little holiday…or is it?

Catchpool suspects Poirot has a different reason for being there — one he won't reveal. As the clock ticks towards the New Year and a festive guessing game takes a sinister turn, can Poirot stop a murderer who is determined to strike before midnight?

My Take

There were a number of times when I almost abandoned this book, and I will seriously think about reading another. I found the plot convoluted and pretentious and could not imagine Agatha Christie putting her name to it.

Poirot has not told his friend Catchpool the truth about why they are spending the New Year on the Greek island of Lamperos, at the "The House of Perpetual Welcome", that he is there to investigate an attempted murder, and to prevent a murder occurring in the future. 

My appreciation of the book was limited by the fact that I did not like any of the characters, and struggled to understand the philosophy behind "The House of Perpetual Welcome".  

My rating: 4.1

I have also read

• 4.4, THE CARRIER
• 4.3, THE MONOGRAM MURDERS - #1
• 4.2, CLOSED CASKET - #2
• 4.4, CLOSED CASKET - audio
• 4.4, THE MYSTERY OF THREE QUARTERS - audio book #3
• 4.4, THE KILLINGS AT KINGFISHER HILL - audio book #4  
• 4.4, HERCULE POIROT'S SILENT NIGHT - #5
• 4.4, THE MYSTERY OF THREE QUARTERS 

Review: THE HITWOMAN'S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT, Mark Mupotsa-Russell

• 
  This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle 
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9GKWJ87
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Affirm Press, Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2024
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 313 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1923046962 

Synopsis (Amazon)

"I met my husband on the same day I committed my very last murder. There's a joke in there somewhere, about ending two men's lives.'
Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things - back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate - but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hippie, hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges.

When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it's the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt. So she creates situations where these bad men get themselves killed through their anger, ego and greed - all while trying to mislead the cops long enough to finish what she started.

My Take

Olivia Hodges is a retired assassin living a life of seeming innocence with her family in the Dandenong Ranges, when she learns what it is like to be a victim. Her elder daughter is a accidentally killed, collateral in a robbery that goes wrong. Olivia decides to take revenge, using her skills to track down the driver and passengers in the car that caused her daughter's death. The police become suspicious that she is not telling them all that she knows, and then the tables turn and she becomes the hunted. 

Hard to say that I enjoyed this book. 

My rating: 4.5

About the author

Mark Mupotsa-Russell is a writer living on Wurundjeri Country in the Yarra Ranges. His debut noir thriller, The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household debt, won the 2023 Affirm Press Mentorship Award and is out now! Before writing novels, he was a screenwriter, film reviewer, cocktail columnist, PR consultant and communications adviser in the suicide prevention sector.

Mark was previously shortlisted for the Text Prize, won a screen development grant from Screen Australia and had screenplays optioned. He lives among the trees with his Therapist-superstar wife, hilarious son and a moodle majestically-named ‘Mufasa’. When not writing he obsesses about movies and martial arts.