COLIN DEXTER – The Dead of Jericho. St. Martin’s, US, hardcover, 1981. UK edition: Macmillan, hc, 1981. Reprinted many times, including Ivy, pb, December 1996 (shown).

   Inspector Morse is attending a party where he meets Anne Scott and they begin a mild flirtation. Just when they are on the verge of leaving together, Morse is called away on police business. Anne gives him her address in Jericho, a section of Oxford (the town, not the university).

   It isn’t until six months later that Morse finds himself back in her neighborhood to attend a lecture. Calling on her, he finds her front door open but no one answers his calls. He leaves, though he suspects someone is in the house.

   After the lecture he discovers a commotion in her neighborhood and learns she has been found hanging in her kitchen. Though the official verdict is suicide, he decides to poke around on his own. A few days later, the local handyman who recently repaired a garden wall for her is found with his head bashed in.

   Morse is placed in charge and realizes that the two deaths are probably connected since the handyman recently deposited money in his account — money gained by blackmail.

   I suspect that this is one of Dexter’s lesser efforts in the series. Though the writing is serviceable, the plotting is weak, including the fact that [WARNING:] there are twins involved, a fact I realized long before Morse did.

   Also, there must be four or five times that Dexter uses the dreaded “had he but known” or words equivalent to that phrase. That’s something to be avoided.