I’ve just received through the post  a new edition of The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter. The gorgeous new hardback has been reissued to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the book, the first in the series featuring Inspector Morse. It has a comprehensive introduction by Barry Forshaw which gives a useful overview of one of my favourite series.

I also enjoyed the TV adaptation, even when the episodes veered from the books, and the sequel Lewis and prequel Endeavour. In Morse, Dexter created an erudite detective who continues to fascinate.

I’ve now got hold of four more of the books in the Macmillan library. Three of them are Sherlock Holmes short story collections with afterwords by David Stuart Davies and the other is a selection of classic locked-room mysteries. I have to admit, this isn’t my favourite type of crime novel but then short story does give you the opportunity to dip in and out of the genre.

The books are beautifully presented with lovely endpapers. The print is slightly small but no more than other books I buy. Either that or my eyesight is going! They’re a really beautiful addition to my bookshelves. Do any other readers buy books for their covers?