I loved the book, but I thought the adaptation was better, again I could be biased as I do prefer John Thaw's interpretation of Morse. Speaking of Thaw, he was absolutely outstanding here, definitely one of his best performances of the character. Kevin Whately also shines in the episode, somehow loyal, yet yearning for a promotion. Malcolm Storry and James Grout are also excellent. Good supporting performances from Michelle Fairley, Chris Fairbank, Neil Dudgeon and Nicolas Le Prevost. But for me, Claire Holman was excellent as Dr Hobson, I loved her line, "I am looking for Chief Inspector... Looks like Mouse," it was very funny. The highlight of the episode has to be the scene in the woods with the murderer, one of Morse's best climaxes, honestly it was tense and so well-acted, I couldn't have asked for anything more. Beautiful music too, and the story line and characters hold up well despite a 2 year absence between this and the 7th series back in 1993. The episode isn't really faithful to the book, but it was so good in terms of plot and acting that I don't care to honest with you. 10/10 Bethany Cox.