It was only the second time Inspector Morse had ever taken over a murder enquiry after the preliminary—invariably dramatic—discovery and sweep of the crime scene. Secretly pleased to have missed the blood and gore, Morse and the faithful Lewis go about finding the killer who stabbed Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College. In another part of Oxford, three women—a housecleaner, a schoolteacher, and a prostitute—are playing out a drama that has long been unfolding. It will take much brain work, many pints, and not a little anguish before Morse sees the startling connections between McClure's death and the daughters of Cain. . . . “Very cleverly constructed. . . Dexter writes with an urbanity and range of reference that is all his own.” You don’t really know Morse until you’ve read him. . . . Viewers who have enjoyed British actor John Thaw as Morse in the PBS anthology series should welcome the deeper character development in Dexter’s novels.” “A masterful crime writer whom few others match.”