The Daughters of Cain

By: Colin Dexter

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Little progress had been made by the Thames Valley Police since the discovery of a corpse in a North Oxford flat. The victim had been killed by a single stab wound to the stomach. The police had no weapon, no suspect, no motive, but within days of taking over the investigation, Chief Inspector Morse and Detective Sergeant Lewis uncover startling new information about the life and death of the victim, Dr. Felix McClure, late of Wolsey College, Oxford.

The trail leads directly to a staircase in Wolsey College and in particular to a former "scout" there, one Edward Brooks, who disappears following the theft of a knife from the Pitt Rivers Museum. Then another body is discovered, and suddenly Morse finds himself with too many suspects and yet no solution. Then he receives a letter, a letter containing a declaration of love.

©1994 Colin Dexter (P)1995 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse has become a favorite of mystery fans in both hemispheres. In each book, Dexter shows a new facet of the complex Morse. In this latest work, Morse must solve two related murders, a problem complicated by a plethora of suspects and by his attraction to one of the possible killers." (Amazon.com)

a narrator with odd pauses

I loved the story just not the narrator. The narrator pauses in odd spots as if the sentence should continue on but it doesn't. which made me the listener confused often. So any chance of a smooth flow is not possible. it felt jarred, like the narrator was having difficulty reading or comprehending what he was reading.

one of my favorite dexters

i was a little put off by the narrator when listening to the sample. i was irritated by his rather highbrow accent and was afraid it would spoil a book i already know so well. but i love these books and really wanted some audio inspector morse, so i gave this and the other unabridged book, the way through the woods, a try. i am glad i did. i will listen again and again to these through the years.

More unabridged stories

So nice to hear a full story with all the characters developed! We need more!!

The reader made it impossible to listen

The reader made it impossible to listen. The book may be good but the readers voice is just awful!

The narration is exquisite

The narrator seems to hit every subtle utterance of each character exactly right. Some English narrators confuse me as to whether the sentence is important to the plot. Not so with Davidson. He reads the background material like background and the significant material slaps like a clever insult. Absolutely lovely!

So Sad

The story is okay ruined by an overly complex ending. And then there is the beginning of the end for Morse. I am not a fan of the voice of Morse. He can’t do women’s voices. And he is too gruff for Morse. But overall he does a creditable job.

A most entertaining Inspector Morse mystery

Colin Dexter can rival most British crime authors but the best reason to listen to thus audiobook is to enjoy the incomparable narration by the man who styled himself Frederick Davidson. This one had more plot twists than I wanted but Dexter's writing is as usual first-rate. Davidson evokes John Thaw, the TV Morse, perfectly.

Great story, great narrator

I think this narrator takes some getting used to. Fortunately I listened to 61 hours of him reading War and Peace (which I also recommend) so I think I’ve figured out his style. He’s admittedly a bit dull with the background narration, but does great with voices. Give him a chance, I think you’ll like him.

The story is classic Morse which I always like. Highly recommend.

MORSE AT HIS BEST!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you like the old time "who done it" you'll love this one!! Lots of mix ups!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Simple ploting along!

The Worst Narrator Ever

I say this as someone who has listened to hundreds of books. Others have complained eloquently—I’ll just say that aside from his parody of upper class Oxbridge speedch, there was his swallowing, wrong breathing, lip smacking. Thank the gods I got this free in the new system—didn’t even have to get refunded. You are warned, dear ear-reader, you are warned.
(Stars for story, overall are random—I got 30 mins in and have no clue—but a big Morse TV fan)