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Inspector Dover #7
Dover Strikes Again
Book by Porter, Joyce
- GenresMystery
Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
11 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Porter
67 books15 followersJoyce Porter was born in Marple, Cheshire, and educated at King's College, London. In 1949 she joined the Women's Royal Air Force, and, on the strength of an intensive course in Russian, qualified for confidential work in intelligence. When she left the service in 1963 she had completed three detective novels.
Porter is best known for her series of novels featuring Detective Inspector Wilfred Dover. Dover One appeared in 1964, followed by nine more in a highly successful series. Porter also created the reluctant spy Eddie Brown, and the "Hon-Con", the aristocratic gentlewoman-detective Constance Ethel Morrison Burke.
Porter is best known for her series of novels featuring Detective Inspector Wilfred Dover. Dover One appeared in 1964, followed by nine more in a highly successful series. Porter also created the reluctant spy Eddie Brown, and the "Hon-Con", the aristocratic gentlewoman-detective Constance Ethel Morrison Burke.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 20, 2025
When disaster strikes, Inspector Dover is there!
Of course, sometimes he's caused the disaster, but not even his worst enemy could blame him for the earthquake that sent half the picturesque village of Sully Martin sliding down the hillside on which it was perched. What with loss of life, serious injuries, and washed out roads, conditions are dire, but worse is to come.
The village's only pub was lost in the quake, and Inspector Dover and his not-too-loyal partner Sgt. MacGregor are billeted in a Guest House with a contingent of elderly residents and NO liquor license. As Dover's fans know, getting him to investigate a crime is difficult enough even when he has a boozy evening to look forward to.
This is Porter's sixth Inspector Dover book and both she and Scotland Yard's Least-Wanted-Man are in fine fettle. And Sully Martin is full of the unlikable cranks who are Porter's specialty.
It's a fine look at 1960's England, with the elderly happily stuck in the pre-WWII era and the young folks enthusiastically imitating the swinging Hippies of SoHo. But young or old, all had a grievance against the town's leading citizen and when he's strangled in the post-earthquake confusion, there's no end of suspects.
This is hilarious comedy, but it's also a fine mystery and I think most people will be as unprepared for the ending as I was. And the most amazing thing is that old Dover HIMSELF.... But I won't spoil the story for you. I'd love to see this unique series available in Kindle editions. My paperbacks are worn out. If you haven't discovered Dover, you're missing something.
PS GoodReads is showing a Kindle edition of this, but Amazon hotly denies any knowledge of it. The Mystery of the Missing E-Book! (Available only in paperback.)
Whatever the hold-up, the log-jam is broken. All the Inspector Porter books are now available in Kindle. YES!
Of course, sometimes he's caused the disaster, but not even his worst enemy could blame him for the earthquake that sent half the picturesque village of Sully Martin sliding down the hillside on which it was perched. What with loss of life, serious injuries, and washed out roads, conditions are dire, but worse is to come.
The village's only pub was lost in the quake, and Inspector Dover and his not-too-loyal partner Sgt. MacGregor are billeted in a Guest House with a contingent of elderly residents and NO liquor license. As Dover's fans know, getting him to investigate a crime is difficult enough even when he has a boozy evening to look forward to.
This is Porter's sixth Inspector Dover book and both she and Scotland Yard's Least-Wanted-Man are in fine fettle. And Sully Martin is full of the unlikable cranks who are Porter's specialty.
It's a fine look at 1960's England, with the elderly happily stuck in the pre-WWII era and the young folks enthusiastically imitating the swinging Hippies of SoHo. But young or old, all had a grievance against the town's leading citizen and when he's strangled in the post-earthquake confusion, there's no end of suspects.
This is hilarious comedy, but it's also a fine mystery and I think most people will be as unprepared for the ending as I was. And the most amazing thing is that old Dover HIMSELF.... But I won't spoil the story for you. I'd love to see this unique series available in Kindle editions. My paperbacks are worn out. If you haven't discovered Dover, you're missing something.
PS GoodReads is showing a Kindle edition of this, but Amazon hotly denies any knowledge of it. The Mystery of the Missing E-Book! (Available only in paperback.)
Whatever the hold-up, the log-jam is broken. All the Inspector Porter books are now available in Kindle. YES!
August 27, 2017
Tällä kertaa murhamysteerin miljöö on hieman tavallisesta poikkeava. Maanjäristys on tuhonnut puolet englantilaisesta pikkukaupungista, ja toinen puolikaskin on jäänyt mullistuksen vuoksi eristyksiin. Tilaisuus tekee varkaan, tai tässä tapauksessa murhaajan. Jo Scotland Yardin etsivien paikalle pääseminen vie kirjan ensimmäisen luvun, ja perillä selviää, että katkenneiden liikenneyhteyksien vuoksi jo muutenkin heikkotasoisen hotellin ruoka on luokatonta eikä alkoholia ole saatavilla. Kylän ainoa pubikin on tuhoutunut, joten komisario Dover on alusta lähtien harvinaisen huonolla tuulella - mikä toki on lukijan näkökulmasta eduksi. Tutkimusten kuluessa päästään tutustumaan sekä hotellin eläkeikäisiin vakioasukkaisiin että paikalliseen taiteilijakommuuniin, ja hahmot ovat tuttuun tapaan värikkäitä, vaikka joidenkin rooli jää odottamattoman pieneksi. Letkeästä yleissävystä huolimatta meno yltyy yllättävän tylyksi, Doverin ja konstaapeli MacGregorin välit kiristyvät aiempaa pahemmin ja mysteeri ja sen ratkaisu ajautuvat lopulta varsin synkkiin vesiin.
September 8, 2024
This entry in the Dover series was a hoot. It has everything you want in a Dover book. It was a pretty good mystery that was rife with dark humor and insights into Dover's charming ways. No complaints. It's a fun read.
November 22, 2017
Most shocking solution to a Dover mystery. I can't forget this one.
November 4, 2020
something like a sordid parody of Nero Wolfe. There's something nasty in the woodshed...
August 12, 2024
Comedy on every page.
February 25, 2022
Once of my favourites in the series, and oh, ultimately so dark. Thankfully (despite some bad apples, as I'm sure there are in any industry) real life Dovers are few-and-far-between.
It starts unexpectedly—a natural disaster has occurred, and our main characters have arrived very shortly afterward, as a body's been discovered whose death could not be attributed to the disaster. Dover does his usual trying-to-solve-things-by-sleeping method, and MacGregor gets out and looks about. Ultimately Dover does come to a solution, but things go painfully awry.
As usual it kept me engaged, all the characters were vividly drawn, and the solution was both surprising but consistent. This is not a cosy read (I like cosy, but not twee ... I enjoy Christie and Sayers, but not mysteries solved by cats who live in bake shops), ultimately, but not so far from it that I couldn't enjoy it—I enjoyed it very much. It's like how Desperate Housewives was just a little bit darker than the typical soap, while still being a soap.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
1 like
It starts unexpectedly—a natural disaster has occurred, and our main characters have arrived very shortly afterward, as a body's been discovered whose death could not be attributed to the disaster. Dover does his usual trying-to-solve-things-by-sleeping method, and MacGregor gets out and looks about. Ultimately Dover does come to a solution, but things go painfully awry.
As usual it kept me engaged, all the characters were vividly drawn, and the solution was both surprising but consistent. This is not a cosy read (I like cosy, but not twee ... I enjoy Christie and Sayers, but not mysteries solved by cats who live in bake shops), ultimately, but not so far from it that I couldn't enjoy it—I enjoyed it very much. It's like how Desperate Housewives was just a little bit darker than the typical soap, while still being a soap.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
1 like
January 28, 2020
Solved in record time
This must have been the quickest outcome so far, but Dover is still an idiot, and a disgrace to the Force. The derogative nickname of “pig” for a policeman could be attributed to Dover for his general behaviour and treatment of others. However, an enjoyable read.
This must have been the quickest outcome so far, but Dover is still an idiot, and a disgrace to the Force. The derogative nickname of “pig” for a policeman could be attributed to Dover for his general behaviour and treatment of others. However, an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews