Missing ‘Endeavour’? Here are Five British Detective Mysteries to Fill the Void

Sadly, the fourth season of Endeavour, starring Shaun Evans as Oxford’s young sleuth has concluded. A prequel of the popular TV series Inspector Morse, starring John Thaw, Endeavour has been a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic and has already been renewed for a fifth season.

The Endeavour television series is based on the early career of Endeavour Morse, a character created by best-selling British author Colin Dexter in his thirteen-book detective series, Inspector Morse, published between 1975-1999. In addition to Endeavour, there have been two other TV series created from, or inspired by, the books: Inspector Morse and Inspector Lewis.

Valued for its Oxford setting, irascible detective and jigsaw plots, the television series and books do have their differences, specifically the main character of Morse. In Dexter’s mystery novels Morse is even gruffer, boozier and more abrasive than his romanticized television counterpart. His dialogues with his Sergeant, Robbie Lewis, as they hash out the details of the case and deduce the killer, border on abusive banter, fueled by Morse’s heavy drinking and volatile temper. The stories when they were written were contemporary to the times, reflecting the work-place attitudes of the day – a slice of the un-politically correct late twentieth century England. If you like mysteries that are true to the culture and ethics of their era, with twisty, cerebral plots, then the Inspector Morse series is for you.