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Inspector Dover #2
Dover Two
One February evening in northern England, a young woman is shot in the head and left in a coma. Eight months later she dies, thus becoming a welcome excuse to dispatch the odious Inspector Dover as far as possible from London. It soon appears that Isobel Slatcher could have been smothered in her hospital bed with a pillow. Now Dover may have two murderers to one who pulled the trigger, the other the last visitor she had in her short lifetime. If, that is, the town’s warring Catholics and Protestants will only stop distracting him.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1989
158 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Porter
67 books14 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 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 3, 2019
*3.5 stars rounded up.
This is book two in a British police procedural mystery series by Joyce Porter first published in 1965, being reissued now by Farrago Press.
In this outing, Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover and his assistant Detective Sergeant Charles Edgar MacGregor of New Scotland Yard head off to Curdley to investigate the sudden death of a young shooting victim who has been in a coma for the past eight months. Lipstick on her pillow indicates that someone suffocated the poor woman whom the press has dubbed the Sleeping Beauty.
The one thing Dover, "a black-browed, bad-tempered, fat chief inspector," resents the most is having to w-o-r-k. He wants to get this murder solved quickly so he can return home.
"When Sergeant MacGregor, in later years, looked back to the Curdley Sleeping Beauty murder case, his dominant memory was of the seemingly endless breakfasts of which he and Dover partook together in the Station Hotel. Rightly or wrongly he remembered them as gloomy, long-drawn-out affairs, during which pathetically ineffectual attempts were made to repair the havoc wreaked on Dover's theories of the night before."
And according to Dover's daily blustering, anything that has gone wrong, is poor MacGregor's fault; if it's proven correct, then of course it was Dover's brilliant idea all along. If this case gets solved, it will be a miracle.
The odd thing about Curdley is that it is divided by religion, between Catholics and Church of England parishioners: "All of the town's social life, from golf to bingo, was strictly segregated, except for the annual reception which the mayor traditionally gave at the end of his year of office. Here all parties gathered together and congratulated each other on the growing tolerance and cooperation which had been observed in the previous twelve months. Nobody believed, or was expected to believe, a word of all this twaddle and everybody went cheerfully home, mentally girding up their loins for the next round in the battle."
Dover is a completely unlikeable protagonist but his bumbling methods and tirades are what make these stories so hilarious. Oh, we'd hate to be in poor MacGregor's shoes, having to work with a boss like Dover. Will he ever get transferred??
Thank you to Farrago Press for bringing this series to my attention and offering me an ebook copy via NetGalley. These books are fun, quick reads with intriguing crimes that keep the reader guessing. I look forward to reading more in the series.
This is book two in a British police procedural mystery series by Joyce Porter first published in 1965, being reissued now by Farrago Press.
In this outing, Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover and his assistant Detective Sergeant Charles Edgar MacGregor of New Scotland Yard head off to Curdley to investigate the sudden death of a young shooting victim who has been in a coma for the past eight months. Lipstick on her pillow indicates that someone suffocated the poor woman whom the press has dubbed the Sleeping Beauty.
The one thing Dover, "a black-browed, bad-tempered, fat chief inspector," resents the most is having to w-o-r-k. He wants to get this murder solved quickly so he can return home.
"When Sergeant MacGregor, in later years, looked back to the Curdley Sleeping Beauty murder case, his dominant memory was of the seemingly endless breakfasts of which he and Dover partook together in the Station Hotel. Rightly or wrongly he remembered them as gloomy, long-drawn-out affairs, during which pathetically ineffectual attempts were made to repair the havoc wreaked on Dover's theories of the night before."
And according to Dover's daily blustering, anything that has gone wrong, is poor MacGregor's fault; if it's proven correct, then of course it was Dover's brilliant idea all along. If this case gets solved, it will be a miracle.
The odd thing about Curdley is that it is divided by religion, between Catholics and Church of England parishioners: "All of the town's social life, from golf to bingo, was strictly segregated, except for the annual reception which the mayor traditionally gave at the end of his year of office. Here all parties gathered together and congratulated each other on the growing tolerance and cooperation which had been observed in the previous twelve months. Nobody believed, or was expected to believe, a word of all this twaddle and everybody went cheerfully home, mentally girding up their loins for the next round in the battle."
Dover is a completely unlikeable protagonist but his bumbling methods and tirades are what make these stories so hilarious. Oh, we'd hate to be in poor MacGregor's shoes, having to work with a boss like Dover. Will he ever get transferred??
Thank you to Farrago Press for bringing this series to my attention and offering me an ebook copy via NetGalley. These books are fun, quick reads with intriguing crimes that keep the reader guessing. I look forward to reading more in the series.
September 10, 2015
When I first read Dover's little adventure in a mystery collection, there was something about the fat Chief Inspector that you have to like. he was a fat persistent bugger. Joyce Porter again used the charm of a quaint English country village as the setting of Wilfred Dover's new murder mystery and just as when you added two plus two together, she throws a toolbox fulls of twist that keeps the reader gripped in frustration.
August 20, 2021
Very much enjoyed it, even more than the first. The author was having fun, and in the good way where we get to have fun too. The characters were well established, the plot rolled along, the surprises came when we perhaps needed a surprise, there were twists, turns, and it wasn't too gruesome (I'm never going to read James Patterson. The "Women's Murder Club" sounded like it would be fun, and then the one I tried began with someone shooting a baby. A baby! Horrible).
Sometimes authors think their detective needs to have some distingushing characteristic (by slavishly copying Christie's fellow with the egg-shaped head and the little grey cells), but really, they just need to be recognizably human and an interesting character in their own right. We spend a lot of time with them, so a copy of Sherlock Holmes who has a horror of yellow and solves crimes by comparing them to movies he's seen will quickly read as false, whereas our detective here, the lazy (but determined) Dover is richly alive in all his Falstaffian glory.
Am so glad to have stumbled onto this series. More to come!
Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.
Sometimes authors think their detective needs to have some distingushing characteristic (by slavishly copying Christie's fellow with the egg-shaped head and the little grey cells), but really, they just need to be recognizably human and an interesting character in their own right. We spend a lot of time with them, so a copy of Sherlock Holmes who has a horror of yellow and solves crimes by comparing them to movies he's seen will quickly read as false, whereas our detective here, the lazy (but determined) Dover is richly alive in all his Falstaffian glory.
Am so glad to have stumbled onto this series. More to come!
Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful.
March 7, 2025
Pretty much a redux of the first in the series, DI Wilfred Dover the same boorish bungler who stumbles onto the solution to the murder, still dismissive of his far more able Sergeant MacGregor, but still amusing…
Here we find Dover and MacGregor dispatched to the hinterlands by Scotland Yard to investigate the death of a woman who’s been murdered - twice! “Whodun’em” - the same killer twice, or two different villains? Dover manages to stumble over himself repeatedly as well as the right answer(s)…while MacGregor looks on in horror. Not a classic, but the book has its moments, and I’ll move on to “Dover Three” next.
Here we find Dover and MacGregor dispatched to the hinterlands by Scotland Yard to investigate the death of a woman who’s been murdered - twice! “Whodun’em” - the same killer twice, or two different villains? Dover manages to stumble over himself repeatedly as well as the right answer(s)…while MacGregor looks on in horror. Not a classic, but the book has its moments, and I’ll move on to “Dover Three” next.
October 25, 2020
Loved this book, can't say I had much love or respect for inspector Dover, and his side kick needed to get tough, although he was surprisingly patient and tactful with his capricious boss. It was great fun and I couldn't help but liken these two to Laurel and Hardy for as a double act they were wonderful.
October 22, 2020
Greatly enjoyed. Easy, quick read.
Somehow a different sort of series. I’ve read two, liked both. Though the uncouth, obnoxious idiot of a Chief Inspector suddenly changed personalities and got smart had more mannerly at the end.
Somehow a different sort of series. I’ve read two, liked both. Though the uncouth, obnoxious idiot of a Chief Inspector suddenly changed personalities and got smart had more mannerly at the end.
November 18, 2020
I'm not sure how a character with so many flaws can be so much fun, but he is.
March 29, 2025
2.5 stars
A reasonably good adaptation of another Dover mystery
A reasonably good adaptation of another Dover mystery
February 13, 2020
I had never heard of this writer or series before coming across this title. Debuting in 1964 with Dover One, Porter's hugely popular (at the time) series spanned something like fourteen novels and more than a few short stories - and having read the second in the series, I can understand why. Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover, of Scotland Yard, is a fat, slovenly, overbearing, lazy, narcissistic, foul-mouthed and bad-tempered boor of a man who is unhappy (though not nearly as unhappy as his young assistant, the capable Sergeant MacGregor) to find himself assigned to a murder case in the tiny village of Curdley, mostly the Yard's move to get the annoying detective out of London. In Curdley, a young woman was shot twice in the head outside the local vicarage eight months prior; she'd been lying in a coma since, until the local newspaper printed an article saying the girl seemed about to awaken, therefore possibly naming her killer ... prompting someone to enter the hospital and summarily smother the girl to death with a pillow. Dover's been assigned to the case and from his arrival hates Curdley, managing to irritate just about everyone there - though none remain more irritated than him - and as the detective fumbles his way through the investigation, taking credit for every break in the case and blaming MacGregor for every fumble, Dover finds a new suspect around every corner, determined to close this one (he hasn't closed all that many) as soon as possible so he can get out of Curdley, whether there is evidence to back up his case or not. You'd think Dover would be so annoying it would make this highly-entertaining, wonderfully-written novel hard to read, but Joyce Porter dollops in the humor and actually keeps the irascible Dover just shy of being too much to take. The mystery is well-written and well-solved, characters lively and fresh as the first day of spring, Dover himself just absolutely fascinating on the page, even when you want to strangle him. Original and terrific, Dover Two makes me sorry to have not started at book one (which I now have), anxious to dive into more cases featuring this eccentric, self-serving denizen of Scotland Yard. 5/5 stars
NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
December 11, 2024
"Onward Christian Soldiers, Marching as to War!"
The Army of the Lord might make greater progress against the Infidel if the troops didn't spend so much time bickering among themselves. In the dreary northern town of Curdley, Protestants and Roman Catholics are locked in a vicious, centuries-old conflict that makes Belfast look like an ecumenical love-in. And Inspector Dover (as tepid in religion as he is in anything that requires effort) is thrown right into the middle of this ecclesiastical dogfight.
Scotland Yard's Disgrace and his partner Sergeant MacGregor are brought to Curdley by the death of one of the Church of England's most fervent adherents - a librarian named Isobel Slatcher. Shot in the back of the head as she leaves church in February, she survives her horrific injuries and lingers in a coma until she's helped into the grave the following October. Although newspapers have romantically dubbed her "Sleeping Beauty" she wasn't sleeping and she certainly wasn't a beauty.
A spinster whose looks and personality were equally unattractive, her energies were divided between slandering the Idolators of Rome and trying to lure local (Protestant) bachelors into Holy Matrimony. When a prospective husband refused to put a ring on it, she went for the throat. Since the trail is now ten months old and there are so many who benefited from Ms. Slatcher's removal, it looks like it's going to be a tough case. It's further complicated by the hi-jinks of the Pie Gang - a crew of spotty teenage thugs who fiercely defend the One True Religion when they aren't otherwise engaged in petty theft and mindless vandalism.
But, as they say at Scotland Yard, "When the going gets tough, Dover goes to the lav!" Or he may be taking a nap or busy with his favorite pastime - scrounging free food, cigarettes, and liquor. Investigation (if any) is in The Great Man's signature style - short on both physical and mental activity and long on spirited attempts to bully a "free and voluntary" confession out of any handy suspect. To give the Devil his due, it sometimes works.
This is one of Porter's best and funniest and the confrontation between Inspector Dover and Pie Gang leader Freddie Gash is a classic. It's also a well-plotted mystery and kept me guessing until the last chapter. I'm happy that this unique series is now available in Kindle editions. Wilf Dover is a Man for All Seasons and for All Time. In a way, he was an "anti-hero" before it became the norm. I like to think of a new generation of fans enjoying his antics.
The Army of the Lord might make greater progress against the Infidel if the troops didn't spend so much time bickering among themselves. In the dreary northern town of Curdley, Protestants and Roman Catholics are locked in a vicious, centuries-old conflict that makes Belfast look like an ecumenical love-in. And Inspector Dover (as tepid in religion as he is in anything that requires effort) is thrown right into the middle of this ecclesiastical dogfight.
Scotland Yard's Disgrace and his partner Sergeant MacGregor are brought to Curdley by the death of one of the Church of England's most fervent adherents - a librarian named Isobel Slatcher. Shot in the back of the head as she leaves church in February, she survives her horrific injuries and lingers in a coma until she's helped into the grave the following October. Although newspapers have romantically dubbed her "Sleeping Beauty" she wasn't sleeping and she certainly wasn't a beauty.
A spinster whose looks and personality were equally unattractive, her energies were divided between slandering the Idolators of Rome and trying to lure local (Protestant) bachelors into Holy Matrimony. When a prospective husband refused to put a ring on it, she went for the throat. Since the trail is now ten months old and there are so many who benefited from Ms. Slatcher's removal, it looks like it's going to be a tough case. It's further complicated by the hi-jinks of the Pie Gang - a crew of spotty teenage thugs who fiercely defend the One True Religion when they aren't otherwise engaged in petty theft and mindless vandalism.
But, as they say at Scotland Yard, "When the going gets tough, Dover goes to the lav!" Or he may be taking a nap or busy with his favorite pastime - scrounging free food, cigarettes, and liquor. Investigation (if any) is in The Great Man's signature style - short on both physical and mental activity and long on spirited attempts to bully a "free and voluntary" confession out of any handy suspect. To give the Devil his due, it sometimes works.
This is one of Porter's best and funniest and the confrontation between Inspector Dover and Pie Gang leader Freddie Gash is a classic. It's also a well-plotted mystery and kept me guessing until the last chapter. I'm happy that this unique series is now available in Kindle editions. Wilf Dover is a Man for All Seasons and for All Time. In a way, he was an "anti-hero" before it became the norm. I like to think of a new generation of fans enjoying his antics.
April 4, 2025
This mystery was better organized than the previous story.It is still a police procedural with everything that that entails, with in-depth interviews and a lot of leg-work. Dover is no less of a slob in this installment only maybe more so. His physical descriptions leave no room for misinterpretations but he does use his brain more than in the first book. He also very visibly grasps at the limelight by any means necessary. He also successfully wraps up the entire case. In this story, a woman in a coma has finally passed on. The town is torn between two different Christian groups and this has raised questions about the impartiality of the local police. The politics of the town provides a very vivid background for the unravelling of this odd case. Macgregor is still suffering but is also seeing different sides of his superior. He does all the leg work but the final pieces are forced together, a little mutinously, by Dover himself. The explanations are brief, physical descriptions of the suspects are fewer as in this case their faiths and their manners of behaviour are more under scrutiny. This confirmed my belief that the author seems to pour very graphic details into those factors that eventually lead to the result. This is not a spoiler as such because I could not have guessed the ending any sooner than the author wanted me to and I doubt many others can either, because of the skillful manipulation of revealing appropriate pieces of information.
Overall I am pleased to make an acquaintance of this author, and a whole new style of mystery narration. Although I do not think the content would be everyone's cup of tea, if one can get past the (graphic) negative caricatures of people and look at it only as part of the story itself, it is more palatable.I say this as someone who is usually very sensitive to the background portrayal of any story, and someone who actually (surprisingly) enjoyed both the stories I have read of this series so far.
I received an ARC of the reprint thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.
Overall I am pleased to make an acquaintance of this author, and a whole new style of mystery narration. Although I do not think the content would be everyone's cup of tea, if one can get past the (graphic) negative caricatures of people and look at it only as part of the story itself, it is more palatable.I say this as someone who is usually very sensitive to the background portrayal of any story, and someone who actually (surprisingly) enjoyed both the stories I have read of this series so far.
I received an ARC of the reprint thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.
October 4, 2019
Dover Two is even better than Dover One.
Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is back in Dover Two, as slovenly, crude, rude, lazy and unlikable as ever. His assistant Detective Sergeant Charles Edgar MacGregor is back, too. Ambitious, long-suffering, full of good detecting strategies that usually get ignored or stolen by Dover, definitely not happy to be stuck paired with his Chief. As we get to know Sergeant MacGregor a little better, though, we see that he is a bit of a prig and a prude and not always that likable either. This time the pair is investigating a death in the village of Curdley. The victim wasn’t particularly likable, and the villagers are the usual assembly of weird, sneaky characters with many secrets. It’s not even a nice village; Curdley takes the animosity between Protestant and Catholics to a new level.
So with all this unlikable-ness how could I possibly like this book? Well, read it and I think you’ll agree with me. It is a strong British police procedural, with compelling, complicated characters and a well-developed plot full of clues and red herrings and surprises. I had no idea who the murderer was until just before it was revealed and the ending was totally satisfying. Although it appears that Dover is just bumbling along, fighting or taking credit for MacGregor’s ideas every step of the way, there is a lot of solid detective work hidden in there. It is a pleasure to watch things unfold and try to stay a step ahead of author Joyce Porter.
As always, Farrago Press has a knack for finding these old series from the 1950’s and 1960’s that are full of the most delicious use of words and the mental pictures they bring to mind. How can you resist something like, “There was a clock right opposite him on the dining room wall but Dover didn’t believe in keeping a dog and barking himself.”
Once again, many thanks to the folks at Farrago Books for finding another great series and allowing me the opportunity to read, review, and thoroughly enjoy it. I can’t wait to get started on Dover Three.
Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is back in Dover Two, as slovenly, crude, rude, lazy and unlikable as ever. His assistant Detective Sergeant Charles Edgar MacGregor is back, too. Ambitious, long-suffering, full of good detecting strategies that usually get ignored or stolen by Dover, definitely not happy to be stuck paired with his Chief. As we get to know Sergeant MacGregor a little better, though, we see that he is a bit of a prig and a prude and not always that likable either. This time the pair is investigating a death in the village of Curdley. The victim wasn’t particularly likable, and the villagers are the usual assembly of weird, sneaky characters with many secrets. It’s not even a nice village; Curdley takes the animosity between Protestant and Catholics to a new level.
So with all this unlikable-ness how could I possibly like this book? Well, read it and I think you’ll agree with me. It is a strong British police procedural, with compelling, complicated characters and a well-developed plot full of clues and red herrings and surprises. I had no idea who the murderer was until just before it was revealed and the ending was totally satisfying. Although it appears that Dover is just bumbling along, fighting or taking credit for MacGregor’s ideas every step of the way, there is a lot of solid detective work hidden in there. It is a pleasure to watch things unfold and try to stay a step ahead of author Joyce Porter.
As always, Farrago Press has a knack for finding these old series from the 1950’s and 1960’s that are full of the most delicious use of words and the mental pictures they bring to mind. How can you resist something like, “There was a clock right opposite him on the dining room wall but Dover didn’t believe in keeping a dog and barking himself.”
Once again, many thanks to the folks at Farrago Books for finding another great series and allowing me the opportunity to read, review, and thoroughly enjoy it. I can’t wait to get started on Dover Three.
December 31, 2019
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author and Farrago and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Dover returns, and for anyone who has read Dover One, he is just as bloody-minded and bloody amusing as before!
If you haven’t read the previous book, there is nothing to worry about as each plot stands completely alone, and there cannot be much character development when your main character is already as perfect(ly awful) as DCI Dover. Dover is a textbook reluctant hero who steadfastly refuses to even contemplate ‘coming good’, but somehow seems to muddle through his cases anyway.
The cases follow traditional mystery patterns, with a small pool of suspects and plenty of obscure clues and twists to the reader expectations. This particular case has the fascinating hook of the victim possibly being murdered twice, which really puts Porter’s odd investigative pair through their paces. Keen young MacGregor with his fancy ‘actual police knowledge’ and ‘logical thought processes’ is the perfect foil for his lazy, grumpy, greedy, arrogant, and sadly rather stupid superior.
I am thoroughly enjoying this murder mystery series and look forward to continuing in Dover’s morose foot-reprints for as far as he can be bothered to plod!
Chief Inspector Dover wasn’t very optimistic about his chances of solving the case after all this time. Most of his cases he never solved anyhow, but he belligerently attributed this to the fact that the sticky ones were always, unfairly, shoved onto him. There may have been a faint whiff of truth in this because the Assistant Commissioner (Crime) couldn’t stand the sight of him (this feeling was mutual) and ruthlessly pushed him out on cases which were located in the remote provinces, whenever he got the chance.
– Joyce Porter, Dover Two
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Dover returns, and for anyone who has read Dover One, he is just as bloody-minded and bloody amusing as before!
If you haven’t read the previous book, there is nothing to worry about as each plot stands completely alone, and there cannot be much character development when your main character is already as perfect(ly awful) as DCI Dover. Dover is a textbook reluctant hero who steadfastly refuses to even contemplate ‘coming good’, but somehow seems to muddle through his cases anyway.
The cases follow traditional mystery patterns, with a small pool of suspects and plenty of obscure clues and twists to the reader expectations. This particular case has the fascinating hook of the victim possibly being murdered twice, which really puts Porter’s odd investigative pair through their paces. Keen young MacGregor with his fancy ‘actual police knowledge’ and ‘logical thought processes’ is the perfect foil for his lazy, grumpy, greedy, arrogant, and sadly rather stupid superior.
I am thoroughly enjoying this murder mystery series and look forward to continuing in Dover’s morose foot-reprints for as far as he can be bothered to plod!
Chief Inspector Dover wasn’t very optimistic about his chances of solving the case after all this time. Most of his cases he never solved anyhow, but he belligerently attributed this to the fact that the sticky ones were always, unfairly, shoved onto him. There may have been a faint whiff of truth in this because the Assistant Commissioner (Crime) couldn’t stand the sight of him (this feeling was mutual) and ruthlessly pushed him out on cases which were located in the remote provinces, whenever he got the chance.
– Joyce Porter, Dover Two
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
June 18, 2019
DOVER TWO, Joyce Porter, 1965
Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is a fat man, and every cliché known to be used to describe a man of large girth can be used to describe Dover: he is a slob, crude in every sense of the word, a bully, bad-tempered and given to taking out his temper on anyone around him (usually his poor Sergeant, Charles MacGregor), lazy, and absolutely the worst Detective in Scotland Yard. He is also insanely jealous of a fellow Scotland Yard detective named Roderick, who is famous for catching Bigamous Bertie, and any mention of the man sends Dover off-temper right quick. His superiors all detest him, so when a case comes up where a young woman who was shot eight months previously is murdered in her hospital bed, they find it an opportune time to get rid of him for awhile and so send Dover and MacGregor to investigate. After so long a time, there are few clues to advance the case, and the small village is totally divided by religious leanings, Catholics versus Protestants versus C of E. So witnesses are happy to point fingers at folks of different religions as the obvious culprit, but few have anything helpful to relate. The three people who were close at the time of the original shooting are the most likely suspects, and Dover is quick to try to pin it on any one of them he can, and does, each of them in turn.
Porter is a very good writer, and her plotting is superb. The reader is supposed to find Dover nearly intolerable, I think, and this reader certainly did. Despite his many shortcomings, Dover isn't stupid, just lazy, and somehow he has a flash of insight which solves the case in a way that I didn't see coming. There are 14 books in the series, plus a book of short stories, so Dover must have been fairly popular in his day. I will certainly read more of them, should I run across them, but I couldn't read more than one at a time. Dover is far too annoying for that!
Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is a fat man, and every cliché known to be used to describe a man of large girth can be used to describe Dover: he is a slob, crude in every sense of the word, a bully, bad-tempered and given to taking out his temper on anyone around him (usually his poor Sergeant, Charles MacGregor), lazy, and absolutely the worst Detective in Scotland Yard. He is also insanely jealous of a fellow Scotland Yard detective named Roderick, who is famous for catching Bigamous Bertie, and any mention of the man sends Dover off-temper right quick. His superiors all detest him, so when a case comes up where a young woman who was shot eight months previously is murdered in her hospital bed, they find it an opportune time to get rid of him for awhile and so send Dover and MacGregor to investigate. After so long a time, there are few clues to advance the case, and the small village is totally divided by religious leanings, Catholics versus Protestants versus C of E. So witnesses are happy to point fingers at folks of different religions as the obvious culprit, but few have anything helpful to relate. The three people who were close at the time of the original shooting are the most likely suspects, and Dover is quick to try to pin it on any one of them he can, and does, each of them in turn.
Porter is a very good writer, and her plotting is superb. The reader is supposed to find Dover nearly intolerable, I think, and this reader certainly did. Despite his many shortcomings, Dover isn't stupid, just lazy, and somehow he has a flash of insight which solves the case in a way that I didn't see coming. There are 14 books in the series, plus a book of short stories, so Dover must have been fairly popular in his day. I will certainly read more of them, should I run across them, but I couldn't read more than one at a time. Dover is far too annoying for that!
October 25, 2019
Dover Two is the second in a mystery series from the Sixties that is being republished for a new generation of readers. DCI Dover does not represent the best of Scotland Yard. Dover is played for laughs, a fat, lazy, and filthy detective who hates to walk and hates to work. However, he does have a few intuitive flashes that help bring the intricate plot to a resolution, though sometimes as much by accident as by detection.
When the woman known as the Sleeping Beauty is smothered after nearly a year in a coma after being shot in the head, Dover is dispatched to Curdley to solve the case. Curdley is a very sectarian village about half and half Catholic and Protestant. The victim was Protestant and her sister is convinced the Catholic police did not do their best to solve the case…and that may be true. Dover and his long-suffering Sergeant MacGregor quickly made discoveries that should have been made long before.
I enjoyed Dover Two quite a bit, especially as leavening from more serious books I have been reading. It’s a light mystery. While the shooting happens on a public street, there is an element of the locked-room mystery here. There are witnesses to the left, right, and center, so how did the shooter escape unseen? Or is one of the witnesses the shooter? Dover has an uncanny pleasure in accusing everyone and hoping they will confess. How well that works is a matter of good and bad luck.
Dover is an enjoyable detective, not just due to the humor of this unappealing and lazy DCI and his poor sergeant, but also thanks to the few flashes of intuition and real problem-solving he accomplishes. Those moments of competence balance him enough to make the story worthy.
I received an e-galley of Dover Two from the publisher through NetGalley.
Dover Two at Farrago Books | Duckworth Books Group
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
When the woman known as the Sleeping Beauty is smothered after nearly a year in a coma after being shot in the head, Dover is dispatched to Curdley to solve the case. Curdley is a very sectarian village about half and half Catholic and Protestant. The victim was Protestant and her sister is convinced the Catholic police did not do their best to solve the case…and that may be true. Dover and his long-suffering Sergeant MacGregor quickly made discoveries that should have been made long before.
I enjoyed Dover Two quite a bit, especially as leavening from more serious books I have been reading. It’s a light mystery. While the shooting happens on a public street, there is an element of the locked-room mystery here. There are witnesses to the left, right, and center, so how did the shooter escape unseen? Or is one of the witnesses the shooter? Dover has an uncanny pleasure in accusing everyone and hoping they will confess. How well that works is a matter of good and bad luck.
Dover is an enjoyable detective, not just due to the humor of this unappealing and lazy DCI and his poor sergeant, but also thanks to the few flashes of intuition and real problem-solving he accomplishes. Those moments of competence balance him enough to make the story worthy.
I received an e-galley of Dover Two from the publisher through NetGalley.
Dover Two at Farrago Books | Duckworth Books Group
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September 29, 2018
This mystery novel from 1965 features an anti-hero detective. Inspector Dover is lazy, petty, cheap and gluttonous. When he's dispatched to a provincial town to figure out the suffocation of a young woman who had been in a coma since an attempted murder by gunshots several months ago, he eagerly pins the crime on the first suspect who comes to hand... until that person can produce an alibi. So he blunders in with accusations against the second suspect... who can also prove his innocence. Purely by blundering where he's not wanted, and with the help of his long-suffering Sergeant MacGregor, Dover uncovers a couple of guilty secrets that the respectable citizens have been keeping under wraps for decades.
Apart from its qualities as a mystery novel, I found the book funny, and enlightening on two points. Although it was published in 1965, there was nothing "Swinging Sixties" about it. The Northern town where it takes place is a dreary place of grey houses, social conventions and "what will people think?". The second point is that the town is the scene of a lively, sometimes violent rivalry, between the Catholics and the Protestants. This is not Ireland we're talking about, folks, but a fictional town. Were things really like that in the UK in the early 1960s? With both sides blaming each other for everything that went wrong ? I couldn't figure out whether this was the author's exaggeration for comic effect, or whether that was really how some communities functioned in those days.
Apart from its qualities as a mystery novel, I found the book funny, and enlightening on two points. Although it was published in 1965, there was nothing "Swinging Sixties" about it. The Northern town where it takes place is a dreary place of grey houses, social conventions and "what will people think?". The second point is that the town is the scene of a lively, sometimes violent rivalry, between the Catholics and the Protestants. This is not Ireland we're talking about, folks, but a fictional town. Were things really like that in the UK in the early 1960s? With both sides blaming each other for everything that went wrong ? I couldn't figure out whether this was the author's exaggeration for comic effect, or whether that was really how some communities functioned in those days.
October 6, 2019
Chief Inspector Dover Is Jumping To Conclusions Again
A young woman is shot in the head but she doesn’t die. No, she languishes in the hospital for eight months in a coma. The man she named as her fiancé was the last person to visit her and after he left the staff found her dead. But not from natural causes. Scotland Yard is called in and the indomitable Inspector Dover is sent to investigate. Accompanied by his young Sergeant, Charles MacGregor, Dover almost immediately concludes that the man who visited her last must be the assailant. So in his usual lazy, self-assured but bumbling manner, Dover decides the fiancé is responsible and sets out to prove it. The pieces just won’t fit together, though, and he proceeds to systematically suspect each of the people he questioned about the original assault all to no avail. The pieces just won’t fit together.
Dover continues his slovenly, bullying way of doing things as he questions everyone involved again and sends MacGregor out to do the routine but necessary work while he sips tea, eats, and bums cigarettes, all at MacGregor’s expense. With all of his faults, it’s hard not to like Dover, though, there is a certain predictability about his actions and he is relentless when it comes to solving the crime. And sometimes he gets it right when he decides to jump to conclusions.
Thank You, Farrago and Net Galley for offering me a free advance copy of this novel for my honest review.
A young woman is shot in the head but she doesn’t die. No, she languishes in the hospital for eight months in a coma. The man she named as her fiancé was the last person to visit her and after he left the staff found her dead. But not from natural causes. Scotland Yard is called in and the indomitable Inspector Dover is sent to investigate. Accompanied by his young Sergeant, Charles MacGregor, Dover almost immediately concludes that the man who visited her last must be the assailant. So in his usual lazy, self-assured but bumbling manner, Dover decides the fiancé is responsible and sets out to prove it. The pieces just won’t fit together, though, and he proceeds to systematically suspect each of the people he questioned about the original assault all to no avail. The pieces just won’t fit together.
Dover continues his slovenly, bullying way of doing things as he questions everyone involved again and sends MacGregor out to do the routine but necessary work while he sips tea, eats, and bums cigarettes, all at MacGregor’s expense. With all of his faults, it’s hard not to like Dover, though, there is a certain predictability about his actions and he is relentless when it comes to solving the crime. And sometimes he gets it right when he decides to jump to conclusions.
Thank You, Farrago and Net Galley for offering me a free advance copy of this novel for my honest review.
October 11, 2019
The next in the DCI Wilfred Dover series - and just as good as the first.
Once again, Dover is sent out into the sticks to solve a seemingly unsolvable crime by the Ass. Commission, whom Dover suspects (quite rightly) dislikes him. Considering these little outings are far beneath his position within Scotland yard, Dover is on the look out to solve the crime quite quickly and head back home.
But solving the "Sleeping Beauty" mystery is not going to be that easy as Dover and his trusty Sergeant MacGregor find themselves in a town segregated along religious lines, with a fair bit of tit-for-tat going on. And Sleeping Beauty is just one incident amid many. But someone has it in for the comatose girl, who is murdered, resulting in Dover being sent.
Dover blusters about in his usual manner, throwing round accusations alike breadcrumbs to birds, raising the hackles of all whom he comes into contact with, whilst poor old MacGregor is once again assigned all the leg work so that Dover can spend the majority of his day, sitting idly by, filling his belly and getting his daily nap. And again, as usual, and always in the absence of trusty MacGregor, Dover claims the kudos for himself.
I am loving this series - Dover is despicable whilst we cannot but have a soft spot for MacGregor, who hopes that one day, someone will hears his pleas and re-assign him to another DCI.
Once again, Dover is sent out into the sticks to solve a seemingly unsolvable crime by the Ass. Commission, whom Dover suspects (quite rightly) dislikes him. Considering these little outings are far beneath his position within Scotland yard, Dover is on the look out to solve the crime quite quickly and head back home.
But solving the "Sleeping Beauty" mystery is not going to be that easy as Dover and his trusty Sergeant MacGregor find themselves in a town segregated along religious lines, with a fair bit of tit-for-tat going on. And Sleeping Beauty is just one incident amid many. But someone has it in for the comatose girl, who is murdered, resulting in Dover being sent.
Dover blusters about in his usual manner, throwing round accusations alike breadcrumbs to birds, raising the hackles of all whom he comes into contact with, whilst poor old MacGregor is once again assigned all the leg work so that Dover can spend the majority of his day, sitting idly by, filling his belly and getting his daily nap. And again, as usual, and always in the absence of trusty MacGregor, Dover claims the kudos for himself.
I am loving this series - Dover is despicable whilst we cannot but have a soft spot for MacGregor, who hopes that one day, someone will hears his pleas and re-assign him to another DCI.
February 5, 2021
The best Dover books (1,2 & 'the unkindest cut') are tightly designed & can be read as 'whodunnits' but they are always much more. Porter writes with a beautiful ease & wit & has created a truly memorable anti-hero in the obese, indolent, unhygienic, Inspector Wilfred Dover. Dover is set against his long-suffering Sergeant Charles MacGregor who is clean, keen, efficient & ambitious. As the plot develops Porter allows the reader to see that Dover is not such a dolt, nor MacGregor such a star, as we first assume.
In this case the murder is set against a dreary Lancastrian town riven by sectarian hatred. Porter is very sharp & perceptive on religion &, even more, on the way class always divides any English environment. MacGregor's sheer horror & disgust when Dover goes into a fish 'n' chip shop is hilarious, as is Dover's combination of shock & awe when offered chilled white wine.
These are books of the highest quality & I sometimes wonder why Joyce Porter isn't better known. I can only think because there are some things that age the book. One of which involves the death penalty & is a crucially important clue.
In this case the murder is set against a dreary Lancastrian town riven by sectarian hatred. Porter is very sharp & perceptive on religion &, even more, on the way class always divides any English environment. MacGregor's sheer horror & disgust when Dover goes into a fish 'n' chip shop is hilarious, as is Dover's combination of shock & awe when offered chilled white wine.
These are books of the highest quality & I sometimes wonder why Joyce Porter isn't better known. I can only think because there are some things that age the book. One of which involves the death penalty & is a crucially important clue.
January 28, 2014
This is kind of a typical English mystery, with one very big twist. Dover, the police detective assigned the case, is a incompetent, lazy slob with absolutely no redeeming characteristics. He fails to solve most of his cases, we are told, but he does manage to solve this one with the help of his sergeant (though he makes sure to take all the credit.)
You have to admire Porter for taking on such a formidably repulsive protagonist. In fact, none of the characters are likeable. She handles the nuances required for this foolish policeman to come up with a solution very well, considering what a tough task that is.
Otherwise it's a pretty mediocre mystery, with the usual contrivances. The writing is pretty ordinary, and some of the dialog and characterizations a little clumsy.
But if you're really into mysteries as a genre, you should definitely check out Porter's Dover.
You have to admire Porter for taking on such a formidably repulsive protagonist. In fact, none of the characters are likeable. She handles the nuances required for this foolish policeman to come up with a solution very well, considering what a tough task that is.
Otherwise it's a pretty mediocre mystery, with the usual contrivances. The writing is pretty ordinary, and some of the dialog and characterizations a little clumsy.
But if you're really into mysteries as a genre, you should definitely check out Porter's Dover.
October 10, 2019
Dover is unique in the annals of British detection. He is beyond caricature and redemption. Lazy and brutish as well as habitually and universally unpleasant of speech and habit, he nevertheless bumbles his way to a successful conclusion. Sometimes, as here, because there is virtually no one else left to subject to his outrageous accusations.
Here we have the death of a young woman several months after she was shot outside the Anglican vicarage in a town riven with religious rivalry. Dover and MacGregor work their way through the suspects with a spirit of mutual antipathy. The humour is not subtle, but neither is it crude.
Thank you to NetGalley and Duckworth Books for the digital review copy.
Here we have the death of a young woman several months after she was shot outside the Anglican vicarage in a town riven with religious rivalry. Dover and MacGregor work their way through the suspects with a spirit of mutual antipathy. The humour is not subtle, but neither is it crude.
Thank you to NetGalley and Duckworth Books for the digital review copy.
October 17, 2019
I thought I would give this series another try. This book is slightly better than the first book as the storyline is more interesting. Dover makes an extremely unlikeable anti-hero. I think that that is what throws me off the entire series. Two strikes in the series is out for me. Although the writing is good and the author tries very hard with her characterization to make it work, I just can't get into the story. I find myself flipping through it too quickly to get it to finish.
I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I would like to thank the author/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
October 28, 2019
Another investigation during the life of the obnoxious Chief Inspector Dove. He solves his murders purely by accident with lots of mistakes along he way. It is compulsive reading to find out what he will come up with next. I sympathise with poor Detective Sergeant who never gets credit for anything and it costs him dear.
Merged review:
Another investigation during the life of the obnoxious Chief Inspector Dove. He solves his murders purely by accident with lots of mistakes along he way. It is compulsive reading to find out what he will come up with next. I sympathise with poor Detective Sergeant who never gets credit for anything and it costs him dear.
Merged review:
Another investigation during the life of the obnoxious Chief Inspector Dove. He solves his murders purely by accident with lots of mistakes along he way. It is compulsive reading to find out what he will come up with next. I sympathise with poor Detective Sergeant who never gets credit for anything and it costs him dear.
October 12, 2019
I enjoyed this second story even more than the first! Chief Inspector Dover is still a glutton, lazy and wants the spotlight. What makes this series so enjoyable is watching the development of Detective Sergeant MacGregor who is unfortunate enough to work with Dover. MacGregor does not want to work with Dover as it will impede his advancement within Scotland Yard. He knows Dover does not like to give credit where credit is due. Simply a delightful series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
June 6, 2014
Isabel Slatcher has been in a coma since she was shot eight months ago. When she dies in the hospital, Inspector Dover and his hapless sergeant are sent to discover who killed her. Unfortunately, her little town has been rent by religious schism for centuries, and the local police have proved totally incompetent. But you haven't seen incompetent until you've seen Dover, who manages to accuse three different people of the murder.
August 27, 2017
Viihdyttävää luettavaa tämäkin. Juoni on kaikkine käänteineen ihan nokkela, katolisten ja protestanttien välisestä vihanpidosta revitään mustaa huumoria ja komisario Dover itse on yhtä rakastettava ilkimys kuin ensimmäisessäkin kirjassa (ja toisaalta saa sopivan antisankarillisesti myös nenilleen ajoittain), mutta muu henkilökaarti ei ole kovin värikästä ja muutenkin kirja jää vähän perusdekkariksi. Toisaalta sävy on ajoittain jopa melko synkkä, mikä tuo Doverin hahmoon uusia ulottuvuuksia.
July 16, 2019
Another great Dover. This one finds Dover in backwater up country town investigating the death of a local spinster. She was shot outside the church, left for dead and then finally killed 12 months later in the hospital (in a coma) by... someone close to her. Dover resolves on multiple candidates for the killing going all out trying to browbeat out of them before gracelessly retreating and starting over.
October 18, 2019
This is good, and better than Dover One. Written in the 60s, the main character pretty unlikable, which is unusual for a fictional inspector. But he is a "character" and we get to know him a little more here. The author has a pretty good writing style, which helps things along.
I really appreciate the copy for review!!
I really appreciate the copy for review!!
November 13, 2019
If you liked the first one, this is better.
If you haven't read the first one - you're missing out.
Our hero growls and blusters his way through a murder investigation, accompanied by his long suffering and eyerolling sidekick.
This is a fun ,clever whodunnit with plenty of laughs and twists along the way.
I'm starting to have a bit of a soft spot for our awful anti-hero!
If you haven't read the first one - you're missing out.
Our hero growls and blusters his way through a murder investigation, accompanied by his long suffering and eyerolling sidekick.
This is a fun ,clever whodunnit with plenty of laughs and twists along the way.
I'm starting to have a bit of a soft spot for our awful anti-hero!
October 11, 2020
Cute book but in the ene not all that great. The "who did" it in the end left some loose ends (what was the vicar going to say that made the murder step forward and confess? Never explained and there was no real reason for the murder to step forward as far as I could see.) I won't bother with another.
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