Dexter, Colin (1930– )

English author of best-selling detective fiction and creator of Inspector Morse, who first appeared in the book Last Bus to Woodstock (1975) and later became the central character in a popular television series 1987–2000, starring John Thaw.

Dexter's other novels include Last Seen Wearing (1976), The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn (1977), Service of All the Dead (1979), The Dead of Jericho (1981), The Riddle of the Third Mile (1983), The Wench is Dead (1989), The Way Through the Woods (1992), and Death is Now My Neighbour (1996). The 13th, and final, novel in the Inspector Morse series was The Remorseful Day (1999). He has won several Crime Writers' Association awards for his fiction, and in 2000 was awarded an OBE for his services to literature.