Thu 13 Oct 2011
Reviewed by Allen J. Hubin: JOYCE PORTER – Dover and the Claret Tappers.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[8] Comments
Allen J. Hubin
JOYCE PORTER – Dover and the Claret Tappers. Foul Play Press, US, hardcover, 1989. W. W. Norton, US, paperback, 1992. Originally published in the UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, hardcover, 1976 (shown).
Foul Play Press has been reissuing Joyce Porter’s mysteries about England’s most stupid, lazy and unmannered copper, Inspector Wilfred Dover. They’ve come now to a 1976 title not previously published here, Dover and the Claret Tappers.
I read a few of the Dover novels earlier and recall enjoying them, but Dover’s endless incompetencies, preoccupations with stuffing his face and rushing off to lavatories when not otherwise sleeping on the job, here just get tiresome.
The caper begins when a gang calling themselves the Claret Tappers kidnaps Dover for ransom. Scotland Yard, and especially the long-suffering Sgt. MacGregor, is delighted to have him gone and refuses to pay a ha’penny.
So Dover is dumped, unharmed, and since he’s made hardly a useful observation while held, the case eventually goes to the back burner. But not for good, because the Tappers aren’t done yet…
Vol. 12, No. 4, Fall 1990.
Editorial Comment: If you are thinking what I think you’re thing, that that’s one ugly cover, I agree with you 100 percent. It’s no wonder that it wasn’t used in the US edition. But the latter was barely more than plain text on the front. Boring!
October 13th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
I am a fan of the Dover series in general, but not this title!
October 13th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
My Dover ratings:
Dover One 1964 *****
Dover Two 1965 **** half
Dover Three 1965 ****
Dover and the Unkindest Cut as All (1967) ** This is Robert Barnard’s favorite, but it’s rather a one-joke story
Dover Goes to Pott 1968 ***half
Dover Strikes Again 1970 ****
It’s Murder with Dover 1973 ****
Dover and the Claret Tappers 1976 *
Dead Easy for Dover 1978 ****
Dover Beats the Band *
Dover: The Collected Short Stories 1995 ****half
A really good collection of detective shorts.
Dover is deliberately repulsive but with only a couple exceptions the books offer first rate detection plots.
October 13th, 2011 at 7:13 pm
Concerning your last line, Curt, that’s always been my impression of the Dover books. Dover’s pretty much a useless slob, but the plots are really clever.
I’ve yet to read one of his books, though. Maybe I started one once, but no more than that.
Thanks for the rundown of the Dover books. (Dover Beats the Band was a 1980 book, just for completeness.) Looks like starting with the first one wouldn’t be a bad idea.
October 14th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
I like her ‘Hon Con’ and Eddie Brown books as well. I also enjoyed Dover and The Claret Tappers. I agree, the short stories are particularly good and having Dover in a smaller dose is, I think, in some ways better for the character.
October 14th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Claret Tappers and Cut and Band were the three I really didn’t like, but maybe I should tap Tappers again!
I agree Dover gets tiresome. It’s too bad, because Porter could be quite humorous without him. Of course, he’s a fun idea because he really does represent the end of the Great Detective tradition. Porter obviously took Lord Peter, Campion and Alleyn and turned them inside out. but the irony is that most of the book have very good puzzle plots.
I agree with Jamie, most of the stories are absolutely first-rate. It’s one of my favorite mystery short story collections.
October 14th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
I’ll give Dover One a try, but I can imagine that the good man gets on ones nerves in the longer run.
The Doc
October 14th, 2011 at 5:51 pm
I thought it was Oliver Hardy….
October 14th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Kind of a malevolent Oliver Hardy, but yes, I see what you mean.