The Riddle of the Third Mile
Encyclopedia
The Riddle of the Third Mile is a crime
novel
by Colin Dexter
, the sixth novel in Inspector Morse
series.
Inspector Morse is not sure what to make of the truncated body found dumped in the Oxford Canal, but he suspects it may be all that's left of an elderly Oxford don last seen boarding the London train several days before. Whatever the truth, the inspector knows it will not be simple—it never is. As he retraces Professor Browne-Smith's route through a London netherworld of topless bars and fancy bordellos, his forebodings are fulfilled. The evidence mounts; so do the bodies. So Morse downs another pint, unleashes his pit bull instincts, and solves a mystery that defies all logic.
During the world war, there are three brothers Albert, Alfred and Johnny Gilbert serving as tank officers in the army. Albert and Alfred are said to be lookalike twins. The youngest brother is trapped in his tank during an offensive and is burnt to death. The two elder brothers are unable to help due to a direct order from the lieutenant Browne-Smith. They develop a hatred to Browne-Smith (mistakenly) believing that he was a coward not to try and save a fellow officer.
At the present time, Browne-Smith is a Professor at Oxford. He departs on a mysterious trip to London where he visit a topless bar and then proceeds to a brothel. There he is served drugged drinks and he collapses on the floor.
A few days later, the Master of Lonsdale college invites Morse and voices suspicion about the disappearance of Browne-Smith. He has left the college without any communication or forwarding address. Morse promises to keep an eye out for any information that comes his way. It is revealed that Morse was a student of Browne-Smith in his college days and the reason Morse picked up his obsession for grammar and spelling. We also see a short flashback into Morse's college days and his breakup with his college sweetheart.
Then, the police discover a dismembered corpse in the water at Trupp. The corpse is missing the head, arms and legs. This makes identification difficult but Morse believes that the corpse could be that of Browne-Smith. It is also found that Browne-Smith was suffering from brain tumour and had only a few more weeks left to live.
During a visit to Browne-Smith's room at the college, Morse meets one of the Gilbert twins who is running a packers and movers business engaged to shift the retired Westerby's effects. Thereby Morse, gains the address of Westerby's new flat in London. On travelling there, he finds another corpse, this time stabbed with a screw driver. In a moment of forgivable lapse brought about his fear of corpses, Morse does not recognize the murderer and allows him to walk free.
The second mile concludes with three more deaths - one being murder, one suicide and one general causes, thereby leaving none of the suspects alive.
Morse further guesses that the corpse found in Trupp was the Master. Westerby killed Alfred in his London flat and in turn, Albert killed Westerby and then committed suicide. Browne-smith died of his tumour.
He is one of the Gilbert twins. He is described as the quick witted and resourceful of the two. He kills Westerby and commits suicide on learning that his wife has left him.
He is the second twin and is killed by Westerby.
He is a professor of Lonsdale college and suffering from a life threatening brain tumour. He was a former Lieutenant and the Gilbert brothers served under him. Like Morse, he is obsessed with grammar and spelling.
Another professor at Lonsdale who dislikes Browne-Smith as he thinks that Smith voted against him in the election for the Master's seat. He used his car to dump the first corpse into the Trupp.
While never mentioned by name, he is finally revealed to be of a dubious character. He has voted against Smith and later Westerby thereby voting them out of the race for the Mastership. He is also said to be involved in inappropriate dealing about the results.
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Colin Dexter
Colin Dexter
Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, is an English crime writer, known for his Inspector Morse novels which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as a television series from 1987 to 2000.-Early life and career:...
, the sixth novel in Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation of the same name, in which the character was portrayed by John Thaw. Morse is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley...
series.
Inspector Morse is not sure what to make of the truncated body found dumped in the Oxford Canal, but he suspects it may be all that's left of an elderly Oxford don last seen boarding the London train several days before. Whatever the truth, the inspector knows it will not be simple—it never is. As he retraces Professor Browne-Smith's route through a London netherworld of topless bars and fancy bordellos, his forebodings are fulfilled. The evidence mounts; so do the bodies. So Morse downs another pint, unleashes his pit bull instincts, and solves a mystery that defies all logic.
Publication history
- 1983, London: Macmillan ISBN 0333358120, Pub date 27 October 1983, Hardback
- 1984, New York: St. Martin's Press ISBN 031268228X , Pub date February 1984, Hardback
Plot summary
The novel is divided into three books - the first mile, the second mile and the third mile. The title is a reference to the biblical sentence "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain" as in St Matthew, Chapter Five, Verse Forty-One. The third mile could also indirectly refer to a particularly elaborate scheme used in the book to lure three of the college staff to London.The First mile
There are three main narratives in this book.During the world war, there are three brothers Albert, Alfred and Johnny Gilbert serving as tank officers in the army. Albert and Alfred are said to be lookalike twins. The youngest brother is trapped in his tank during an offensive and is burnt to death. The two elder brothers are unable to help due to a direct order from the lieutenant Browne-Smith. They develop a hatred to Browne-Smith (mistakenly) believing that he was a coward not to try and save a fellow officer.
At the present time, Browne-Smith is a Professor at Oxford. He departs on a mysterious trip to London where he visit a topless bar and then proceeds to a brothel. There he is served drugged drinks and he collapses on the floor.
A few days later, the Master of Lonsdale college invites Morse and voices suspicion about the disappearance of Browne-Smith. He has left the college without any communication or forwarding address. Morse promises to keep an eye out for any information that comes his way. It is revealed that Morse was a student of Browne-Smith in his college days and the reason Morse picked up his obsession for grammar and spelling. We also see a short flashback into Morse's college days and his breakup with his college sweetheart.
Then, the police discover a dismembered corpse in the water at Trupp. The corpse is missing the head, arms and legs. This makes identification difficult but Morse believes that the corpse could be that of Browne-Smith. It is also found that Browne-Smith was suffering from brain tumour and had only a few more weeks left to live.
The Second Mile
As more evidence accumulates, suspicion seems to fall on Prof.Westerby who was antagonistic towards Browne-Smith at college and is supposedly on a vacation to Greece after his recent retirement. But Morse speculates that the body is not that of Browne-Smith but probably Westerby thereby the need to dismember the corpse to confuse the police.During a visit to Browne-Smith's room at the college, Morse meets one of the Gilbert twins who is running a packers and movers business engaged to shift the retired Westerby's effects. Thereby Morse, gains the address of Westerby's new flat in London. On travelling there, he finds another corpse, this time stabbed with a screw driver. In a moment of forgivable lapse brought about his fear of corpses, Morse does not recognize the murderer and allows him to walk free.
The second mile concludes with three more deaths - one being murder, one suicide and one general causes, thereby leaving none of the suspects alive.
The Third Mile
Morse largely guesses how things happened. His theory goes as follows: The Gilbert twins wanted to kill Browne-Smith for avenging Johnny Gilbert and setup an eloborate scheme to lure him to London. They realize that Johnny actually committed suicide so let Browne-Smith go. Browne-Smith in turn uses the same scheme to lure Westerby and confronts him. Browne-Smith in turn, realises that he was mistaken in his antagonism. He has always assumed (wrongly) that Westerby had voted against him in the election for Master of the college. Westerby and Browne-Smith both realize that the current Master had voted against both of them in their previous elections. So they use the same scheme for the third time to lure the Master to London and kill him. Browne-Smith was, however, guilt-ridden and tried to steer Morse to the culprits. It is suggested that he was mentally not in control due to side-effects of the tumour.Morse further guesses that the corpse found in Trupp was the Master. Westerby killed Alfred in his London flat and in turn, Albert killed Westerby and then committed suicide. Browne-smith died of his tumour.
Characters
- Albert Gilbert
He is one of the Gilbert twins. He is described as the quick witted and resourceful of the two. He kills Westerby and commits suicide on learning that his wife has left him.
- Alfred Gilbert
He is the second twin and is killed by Westerby.
- Professor Browne-Smith
He is a professor of Lonsdale college and suffering from a life threatening brain tumour. He was a former Lieutenant and the Gilbert brothers served under him. Like Morse, he is obsessed with grammar and spelling.
- Professor Westerby
Another professor at Lonsdale who dislikes Browne-Smith as he thinks that Smith voted against him in the election for the Master's seat. He used his car to dump the first corpse into the Trupp.
- Master of Lonsdale
While never mentioned by name, he is finally revealed to be of a dubious character. He has voted against Smith and later Westerby thereby voting them out of the race for the Mastership. He is also said to be involved in inappropriate dealing about the results.
Sources, references, external links
- Bishop, David, The Complete Inspector Morse: From the Original Novels to the TV Series London: Reynolds & Hearn (2006) ISBN 1905287135
- Bird, Christopher, The World of Inspector Morse: A Complete A-Z Reference for the Morse Enthusiast Foreword by Colin Dexter, London: Boxtree (1998) ISBN 0752221175