The Wench is Dead
by Colin Dexter

The often irascible Inspector Morse of the Oxford Police (played on TV by John Thaw) never reveals his first name, sometimes scorns official procedure, and always solves the crime. This novel, whose title comes from a Christopher Marlowe play, is a favorite of Morse fans for its unusual structure. Hospitalized and impatient, Morse is given a book about a 19th-century Oxford murder. He quickly realizes the wrong men were hanged for it, and sets out to find the real killer. Publishers' Weekly gives The Wench Is Dead even higher marks than Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time: "A surprising and inspired solution concludes a jolly good read."