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Inspector Dover #13
Dead Easy for Dover
by Joyce Porter. Hardcover. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1978 FIRST EDITION with "First published in Great Britain by Weidenfeld and Nicolson" on copyright page and no additional printings listed. From the dj "Detective Chief Inspector Dover (the only serving officer in the Metropolitan Police Force with underarm dandruff) finally decides to grant the wishes of everybody except the criminal classes and hang up his boots...he lusts after the position of Chief Security Officer with a large commercial undertaking for that most solemn of reasons---there's more money in it. But first he needs a resounding success with which to dazzle his prospective employers. The murder of an unknown, unimportant girl in Frenchy Botham's poshest purlieu doesn't look very promising..."
- GenresMystery
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
6 people are currently reading
28 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 6, 2023
I really like these, and will be disappointed when they're over.
Rather than pointing out what she does so well, I'm going to complain about what I often don't like in mysteries—and point out that she doesn't make those errors.
1. Infrequent appearances by the detective(s), e.g. Christie's Three Act Tragedy. Not so here, our duo are present throughout.
2. Suspects who are hard to tell apart from one another, so you have to keep flipping back to see "which one was the elderly banker, and which one was the middle-aged banker, and which one was the other middle-aged banker?" Here Porter juggles such characters as a woman leading the charge to ordain women, a dainty but knowing elderly niece, a pedophile, and so on. No problems there.
3. Solutions which hinge upon information withheld from the reader. Well, she didn't quite tell us everything, but by the time of the final revelation I'd figured it out anyway, so that's good. I still didn't know who did it (I knew why, or why-ish), so there were still surprises to come.
4. It's actually funny. Some of the humour has worn off a little over time, but most of it is still fresh, if "fresh" can be used to describe anything related to Dover.
Some of my standard complaints about mysteries don't apply at all here: infrequent appearances by the actual detectives
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
Rather than pointing out what she does so well, I'm going to complain about what I often don't like in mysteries—and point out that she doesn't make those errors.
1. Infrequent appearances by the detective(s), e.g. Christie's Three Act Tragedy. Not so here, our duo are present throughout.
2. Suspects who are hard to tell apart from one another, so you have to keep flipping back to see "which one was the elderly banker, and which one was the middle-aged banker, and which one was the other middle-aged banker?" Here Porter juggles such characters as a woman leading the charge to ordain women, a dainty but knowing elderly niece, a pedophile, and so on. No problems there.
3. Solutions which hinge upon information withheld from the reader. Well, she didn't quite tell us everything, but by the time of the final revelation I'd figured it out anyway, so that's good. I still didn't know who did it (I knew why, or why-ish), so there were still surprises to come.
4. It's actually funny. Some of the humour has worn off a little over time, but most of it is still fresh, if "fresh" can be used to describe anything related to Dover.
Some of my standard complaints about mysteries don't apply at all here: infrequent appearances by the actual detectives
Note: I have written a novel (not yet published), so now I will suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. In my subjective opinion, the stars suggest:
(5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = really enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = actually disappointing, and 1* = hated it. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
November 11, 2017
Tämä olikin viimeinen Dover-kirja, joka e-kirjana löytyi. Muutama tosin jäi puuttumaan, mutta aika pitkältihän nämä toimivat itsenäisinä ja pääasiassa toistavat samaa, toki viihdyttävää kaavaa. Tämäkään ei tarjonnut mitään varsinaisesti uutta, mutta onnistui viihdyttämään. Tunnistamaton nuori nainen löytyy kuolleena pikkukaupungin hienostoalueelta, ja on syytä olettaa, että joku alueen asukkaista on murhaaja. Kaikki asukkaat ovat enemmän tai vähemmän epäilyttäviä, mutta kenelläkään ei ole ilmeistä motiivia. Paikallisen pubin ruoka on sentään hyvää, eikä paikallispoliisin konstaapeli kehtaa kieltäytyä tarjoamasta kierroksia.
Kuten monissa muistakin sarjan kirjoissa, tässä väläytellään kiinnostavia sivujuonteita (kuten pankkiirin ja hänen vaimonsa mahdollinen mustan magian harrastus ja yksin asuvan herrasmiehen huhuttu kiinnostus paikallisiin kuoropoikiin), mutta varsinainen juoni lähtee lopulta yllättäen kulkemaan aivan eri suuntaan. Tarkkaavainen lukija pystyi tällä kertaa jo kirjan loppupuolella päättelemään murhaajan ja pari muutakin yllätyskäännettä ennen päähenkilöitä, mikä on sarjassa ollut melko harvinaista (osittain tapausten kaikkinaisen farssimaisuuden vuoksi), mutta myös onnistuneita hämäyksiä tehdään sitä ennen eri suuntiin.
Hilpeimmäksi lukemistani Dovereista jää lopulta ensimmäinen kirja, jossa eksentrisiin sivuhahmoihin maltetaan keskittyä perinpohjaisimmin, mutta hyvinhän nämä kaikki kirjat toimivat kevyenä mökkilukemisena, ja tarjoavathan ne myös hauskaa ajankuvaa 60-70 -lukujen Englannista.
Kuten monissa muistakin sarjan kirjoissa, tässä väläytellään kiinnostavia sivujuonteita (kuten pankkiirin ja hänen vaimonsa mahdollinen mustan magian harrastus ja yksin asuvan herrasmiehen huhuttu kiinnostus paikallisiin kuoropoikiin), mutta varsinainen juoni lähtee lopulta yllättäen kulkemaan aivan eri suuntaan. Tarkkaavainen lukija pystyi tällä kertaa jo kirjan loppupuolella päättelemään murhaajan ja pari muutakin yllätyskäännettä ennen päähenkilöitä, mikä on sarjassa ollut melko harvinaista (osittain tapausten kaikkinaisen farssimaisuuden vuoksi), mutta myös onnistuneita hämäyksiä tehdään sitä ennen eri suuntiin.
Hilpeimmäksi lukemistani Dovereista jää lopulta ensimmäinen kirja, jossa eksentrisiin sivuhahmoihin maltetaan keskittyä perinpohjaisimmin, mutta hyvinhän nämä kaikki kirjat toimivat kevyenä mökkilukemisena, ja tarjoavathan ne myös hauskaa ajankuvaa 60-70 -lukujen Englannista.
August 4, 2022
This was my first Joyce Porter Inspector Dover novel, but it will not be my last. Her prose is delightful. It had a nice balance of Humor and Story. It may not be for everyone, but I quite enjoyed it.
July 27, 2018
I enjoy all the Dover books and this one was no exception. Joyce Porter is quite the storyteller.
August 4, 2022
Joyce Porter's off-beat mysteries featuring Inspector Wilf Dover (the "Shame of Scotland Yard") are treasures. Porter was a craftsman-like writer with a genius for creating characters that are bizarre, but believable - starting, of course, with Inspector Dover himself. We would like to believe that such a lazy, unscrupulous (not to mention unhygienic) slob wouldn't last a minute on any police force, especially the world famous Metropolitan Police, and yet....
In this book, Old Wilf is beginning to wonder (as he periodically does) if his talents aren't wasted in the Civil Service. A position as Chief Security Officer of a large, prosperous corporation has been advertised and the Inspector has made up his mind to apply. All he needs is to bring his latest case to a brilliant conclusion (preferably with lots of press and television coverage) and the job is surely his.
Unfortunately, the case involves the body of a young woman found in an exclusive residential area and even the victim's identity isn't known. Given that the case is complicated and that the possible suspects are the kind of people who know their legal rights, the local police have been happy to turn it over to Scotland Yard. They weren't counting on getting landed with Dover, of course. How could they have known?
Porter may have written for laughs, but she also plotted damned good mysteries. The fact that they are inexplicably solved by the world's worst detective is neither here nor there. She was also a shrewd observer of human nature. Nothing that any on her characters does is out of character. Outrageous, maybe. Hilarious, frequently. But she knew people and how they act and react.
I'm delighted that this series is now available as ebooks. They deserve a wider audience.
In this book, Old Wilf is beginning to wonder (as he periodically does) if his talents aren't wasted in the Civil Service. A position as Chief Security Officer of a large, prosperous corporation has been advertised and the Inspector has made up his mind to apply. All he needs is to bring his latest case to a brilliant conclusion (preferably with lots of press and television coverage) and the job is surely his.
Unfortunately, the case involves the body of a young woman found in an exclusive residential area and even the victim's identity isn't known. Given that the case is complicated and that the possible suspects are the kind of people who know their legal rights, the local police have been happy to turn it over to Scotland Yard. They weren't counting on getting landed with Dover, of course. How could they have known?
Porter may have written for laughs, but she also plotted damned good mysteries. The fact that they are inexplicably solved by the world's worst detective is neither here nor there. She was also a shrewd observer of human nature. Nothing that any on her characters does is out of character. Outrageous, maybe. Hilarious, frequently. But she knew people and how they act and react.
I'm delighted that this series is now available as ebooks. They deserve a wider audience.
October 5, 2013
When a young girl's body is found among some upscale housing, the Chief Constable calls in Scotland Yard, not knowing that he's going to get Britain's worst detective, Dover. On his good behavior for a while because of a plan to get a high-powered job in private industry by solving the case, Dover nonetheless horrifies everyone he meets/interviews. Only the intervention of Sgt. MacGregor, who keeps him approximately on the right track, results in an arrest. Dover is so horrible it's funny--rather the point of this series--and at least one of his outings should be on your list.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews