The Secret of Annexe 3

Last updated

The Secret of Annexe 3
Dexter - Secret of Annexe 3.jpg
Cover of the first edition
Author Colin Dexter
Cover artistMartin White
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Inspector Morse series, #7
Genre crime novel
Publisher Macmillan
Publication date
October 1986
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages224
ISBN 0-333-43139-1
OCLC 59097956
Preceded by The Riddle of the Third Mile  
Followed by The Wench Is Dead  

The Secret of Annexe 3 is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the seventh novel in Inspector Morse series.

Contents

Plot summary

As the novel begins, Margaret Bowman of Charlbury Drive Chipping Norton is off to a funeral. Her husband, left alone, finds an angry letter, apparently from a lover, in his wife's handbag.

The guests of Haworth Hotel rise late on New Year's Day, with one exception, the guest in Annexe 3 who missed New Year's Day completely. He lies dead in his room on the blood-soaked bed.

After the murder, Inspector Morse, with the help of the receptionist Miss Sarah Jonstone, examines the letters and phone messages booking the various rooms at the hotel. Discovering the non-existent address, he deduces that a postman must be involved.

Thomas Bowman, the postman, turns out to be the corpse, and his wife and her lover are the instigators of the murder. Winston Grant, a black musician, was hired to provide the alibi.

Adaptations

Although the narratives differ, this novel provided the inspiration for the Inspector Morse television episode The Secret of Bay 5B, the last episode of series 3, aired in 1989.

Publication history

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Dexter</span> English writer (1930–2017)

Norman Colin Dexter was an English crime writer known for his Inspector Morse series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV television series, Inspector Morse, from 1987 to 2000. His characters have spawned a sequel series, Lewis, from 2006 to 2015, and a prequel series, Endeavour, from 2012 to 2023.

Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series Inspector Morse (1987–2000), in which John Thaw played the character, as well as the (2012–2023) prequel series Endeavour, portrayed by Shaun Evans. The older Morse is a senior Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer with the Thames Valley Police in Oxford in England and, in the prequel, Morse is a young detective constable rising through the ranks with the Oxford City Police and, in later series, the Thames Valley Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Eagle and Child</span> Pub in Oxford, England

The Eagle and Child, nicknamed "the Bird and Baby", is a pub in St Giles', Oxford, England, owned by the Ellison Institute of Technology and previously operated by Mitchells & Butlers as a Nicholson's pub. The pub had been part of an endowment belonging to University College since the 17th century. It has associations with the Inklings writers' group which included J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. In 2005, 25 other pubs in the United Kingdom had the same name.

<i>Evil Under the Sun</i> 1941 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Evil Under the Sun is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1941 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October of the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inspector Lewis</span> Fictional character

Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector Robert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a detective sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately. Following the conclusion of the series, Whately reprised the role as the lead character in Lewis, in which the character has been promoted to the rank of inspector.

Beatrice Edney is an English television actress.

<i>Miss Marple</i> (TV series) BBC adaptation of the novels by Agatha Christie starring Joan Hickson

Miss Marple, titled Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the series, is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie, starring Joan Hickson in the title role. It aired from 26 December 1984 to 27 December 1992 on BBC1. All twelve original Miss Marple novels by Christie were dramatised.

Inspector Morse is a British detective drama television series based on a series of novels by Colin Dexter. It starred John Thaw as Detective Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. The series comprises 33 two-hour episodes produced between 6 January 1987 and 15 November 2000. Dexter made uncredited cameo appearances in all but three of the episodes.

<i>The Dead of Jericho</i> English novel

The Dead of Jericho, published in 1981, is a work of English detective fiction by Colin Dexter. It is the fifth novel in the Inspector Morse series. In 1987 it was adapted as the first episode of the highly successful television series inspired by the novels, also called Inspector Morse.

<i>Last Bus to Woodstock</i> 1975 crime novel by Colin Dexter, first in Inspector Morse series

Last Bus to Woodstock is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the first of 13 novels in his Inspector Morse series.

<i>The Remorseful Day</i> 1999 crime novel by Colin Dexter, last in Inspector Morse series

The Remorseful Day is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the last novel in the Inspector Morse series. The novel was adapted as the final episode in the Inspector Morse television series.

<i>The Wench Is Dead</i> Book by Colin Dexter

The Wench Is Dead is a historical crime novel by Colin Dexter, the eighth novel in the Inspector Morse series. The novel received the Gold Dagger Award in 1989.

<i>The Riddle of the Third Mile</i> 1983 novel by Colin Dexter

The Riddle of the Third Mile is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the sixth novel in Inspector Morse series.

<i>The Jewel That Was Ours</i> Book by Colin Dexter

The Jewel That Was Ours is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the ninth novel in Inspector Morse series. This novel was written by Dexter after he wrote a screenplay for an episode titled The Wolvercote Tongue in series 2 of the television programme Inspector Morse.

<i>Last Seen Wearing</i> (Dexter novel) 1976 novel by Colin Dexter

Last Seen Wearing is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the second novel in the Inspector Morse series.

<i>The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn</i> Book by Colin Dexter

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the third novel in Inspector Morse series.

<i>Service of All the Dead</i> 1979 novel by Colin Dexter

Service of All the Dead is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the fourth novel in his Inspector Morse series.

<i>Death Is Now My Neighbour</i> 1996 novel by Colin Dexter

Death Is Now My Neighbour is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the 12th novel in the Inspector Morse series.

<i>The Daughters of Cain</i> Book by Colin Dexter

The Daughters of Cain is a crime novel by Colin Dexter. It is the eleventh novel in the Inspector Morse series.

<i>The Way Through the Woods</i> 1992 novel by Colin Dexter

The Way Through the Woods is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the tenth novel in the Inspector Morse series. It received the Gold Dagger Award in 1992.

References

    Further reading