The False Inspector Dew

Rating:
Summary: Sails along and then sinks
Review: I have read my fellow reviewers' comments and wonder that no one mentions the peculiar and vague ending. Set aboard a trans-Atlantic liner in the late '20s, the mystery is all snappy sailing -- full of fun characters and deft twists. And just when you know that you will get the answer to whodunnit you are left floundering and asking a dozen questions about why the plot took such an unlikely turn. I am not alone in this; a friend who read the book as well asked me to explain the uncertain ending. An amusing read if you don't mind the lack of a finale.

Rating:
Summary: Starring Peter Sellers as Walter
Review: Lovesey often gives the sense his tongue is firmly in his cheek. The False Inspector Dew reads as though it were written in the 40s: the characters are drawn as wry twists on old cliches, sailing along (literally) in their frothy, and quietly funny, quest for love and bungled adventure. The False Inspector is not what he seems (like many of the characters). Like Chance in Being There, Walter is imbued by everyone else with characteristics he just doesn't have. Lovesey pokes fun at romance (particularly with the wistful and foolish heroine), detection (the ship's officer whom the false inspector displaces is equally as bad a dectective as our hero) and finally with plot, which he twists to suit his neat but far fetched needs. The cast springs from the Victorian parlors: the shipboard Johnny, the nearly harumphing captain, the well heeled family trying to marry off their daughter, the light fingered and lovely shill, and the aw-darn, I-really-liked-him murderer. This is not a slap your knee comedy, but your leg is consistently pulled in a dry English humor sort of way. There seems to be a real, honest to God, genuine mistake in the book, where one character refers to a character by the true name which hasn't yet been revealed. I re-read that part, thinking that Lovesey was having another go at my leg, but no, I think it really slipped through. This is a book best read where you can sit smiling to yourself without anyone asking you what the joke is. I had the sense that Lovesey has read all the old detective novels, and seen all the black and white movies and is having his way with them and us.

Rating:
Summary: Wickedly entertaining
Review: Lovesey's works have a wonderful tone, and I can picture the authorial glint in his eye as he puts his cast through their paces in this novel. The characters inspire both sympathy and laughter, and following "Inspector Dew" as he stumbles his way through the investigation is hilarous and suspenseful. The characters are deftly outlined, the plotlines neatly woven together, and the ironic narration is a pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: a fun romp
Review: The False Inspector Dew is a fun quick read. The characters are wonderfully drawn and while it is true that the plot is not quite as intricate or complex as some reviewers claim, Lovesy tells an interesting story-one you will be able to devour easily in one or two sittings.

The False Inspector Dew focuses on a series of characters-Alma who has fallen madly in love with her dentist and who has persuaded him to kill his rapacious wife; the dentist, Walter Baranov, who is swept up by Alma's passion and agrees to kill his wife at Alma's behest; Jack Gordon, a card shark who has located his mark and intends to fleece him on a boat trip across the Atlantic; Barbara, a wealthy girl whose mother is scheming to marry her off; and a millionaire's son who is conveniently both single and interested in cards. All of these characters come together when they decide to cross the Atlantic on the Mauritania in 1921. When a murder occurs, Walter Baranov (who is traveling under a false name so that he can more easily kill his own wife) is called upon to solve the murder. In the character of Inspector Dew (the man who arrested Dr. Crippen), Baranov acts out the fantasy of every murder mystery lover-he becomes a detective and sets out to solve a real crime.

Rating:
Summary: a fun romp
Review: The False Inspector Dew is a fun quick read. The characters are wonderfully drawn and while it is true that the plot is not quite as intricate or complex as some reviewers claim, Lovesy tells an interesting story-one you will be able to devour easily in one or two sittings.

The False Inspector Dew focuses on a series of characters-Alma who has fallen madly in love with her dentist and who has persuaded him to kill his rapacious wife; the dentist, Walter Baranov, who is swept up by Alma's passion and agrees to kill his wife at Alma's behest; Jack Gordon, a card shark who has located his mark and intends to fleece him on a boat trip across the Atlantic; Barbara, a wealthy girl whose mother is scheming to marry her off; and a millionaire's son who is conveniently both single and interested in cards. All of these characters come together when they decide to cross the Atlantic on the Mauritania in 1921. When a murder occurs, Walter Baranov (who is traveling under a false name so that he can more easily kill his own wife) is called upon to solve the murder. In the character of Inspector Dew (the man who arrested Dr. Crippen), Baranov acts out the fantasy of every murder mystery lover-he becomes a detective and sets out to solve a real crime.