Only With a Bargepole

The Story of a Most Unlikely Spy #4

by Joyce Porter

Porter, Joyce

208 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1971

About the author

Joyce 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.

Reviews

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best work. The last of the Eddie Brown spy spoofs, our less than ideal hero finds himself sent to Austria to deliver a package and goes to the wrong address (transposition!) . Of course he happens to find himself with the gang about to kidnap his boss's daughter, who just happens to be in Austria learning Russian. Fair enough start for this sort of thing, Eddie gets wrapped up too close with the daughter, then being seduced by an aging Italian beauty- a lead in to his capture by the devilish Russians before finally being rescued by the evil goon, Westhartpool Joe .... finally a few car crashes later, Eddie and the daughter - closer than ever!- are dumped back into cozy England where Eddie is cornered into wedding the darling daughter. As i said, not her best..... but funny and ribald.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comedy spy spoof greatness.