The False Inspector Dew

The False Inspector Dew
Cover of the 1st US edition
Author	Peter Lovesey
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	crime novel
Publisher	Macmillan
Publication date	11 March 1982
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	256 p.
ISBN	0-333-32748-9
OCLC	10173771

The False Inspector Dew is a humorous crime novel by Peter Lovesey. It won the Gold Dagger award by the Crime Writers' Association in 1982 and has featured on many "Best of" lists since.

Plot introduction

It is 1921, and Alma Webster, a reader of romances, is passionately in love with her dentist, Walter Baranov. There is only one foreseeable outcome: the murder of his wife. Inspired by the real-life Dr Crippen case, they plot the perfect murder while aboard the ocean liner, Mauretania. The dentist takes on the identity of Inspector Walter Dew, Crippen’s nemesis, but when a murder occurs aboard the ship the captain invites "Inspector Dew" to investigate.

Literary significance and reception

The novel is highly praised by many crime fiction critics and writers. Julian Symons in his book Bloody Murder referred to it as “one of the cleverest crime comedies of the past few years.” Famous crime writer Ruth Rendell said in a review: “A masterpiece. I defy anyone to foresee the outcome.”

Awards

CWA Gold Dagger Award, 1982
Listed in Crime & Mystery: the 100 Best Books
Listed in Hatchards 100 Top Crime Novels
Listed in The Times 100 Best Crime Novels of the Twentieth Century
Dagger of Daggers shortlist, 2006

Publication history

1982, UK, London, Macmillan, ISBN 0-333-32748-9, Hardback
1982, USA, Pantheon, ISBN 0-394-52294-X, Hardback
1983, UK, Arrow Books, ISBN 0-333-32748-9, Paperback
1983, USA, Pantheon, ISBN 0-394-71338-9, Paperback

Gold Dagger Award

1955–1959	The Little Walls by Winston Graham (1955) The Second Man by Edward Grierson (1956) The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons (1957) Someone from the Past by Margot Bennett (1958) Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler (1959)

1960–1969	The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson (1960) The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly (1961) When I Grow Rich by Joan Fleming (1962) The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré (1963) The Perfect Murder by H. R. F. Keating (1964) The Far Side of the Dollar by Ross Macdonald (1965) A Long Way to Shiloh by Lionel Davidson (1966) Murder Against the Grain by Emma Lathen (1967) Skin Deep by Peter Dickinson (1968) A Pride of Heroes by Peter Dickinson (1969)

1970–1979	Young Man I Think You're Dying by Joan Fleming (1970) The Steam Pig by James H. McClure (1971) The Levanter by Eric Ambler (1972) The Defection of A. J. Lewinter by Robert Littell (1973) Other Paths to Glory by Anthony Price (1974) The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer (1975) A Demon in My View by Ruth Rendell (1976) The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré (1977) The Chelsea Murders by Lionel Davidson (1978) Whip Hand by Dick Francis (1979)

1980–1989	The Murder of the Maharaja by H. R. F. Keating (1980) Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (1981) The False Inspector Dew by Peter Lovesey (1982) Accidental Crimes by John Hutton (1983) The Twelfth Juror by B. M. Gill (1984) Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling (1985) Live Flesh by Ruth Rendell (1986) A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine (1987) Ratking by Michael Dibdin (1988) The Wench Is Dead by Colin Dexter (1989)

1990–1999	Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill (1990) King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine (1991) The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter (1992) Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (1993) The Scold's Bridle by Minette Walters (1994) The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid (1995) Popcorn by Ben Elton (1996) Black & Blue by Ian Rankin (1997) Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke (1998) A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson (1999)

2000–2009	Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem (2000) Sidetracked by Henning Mankell (2001) The Athenian Murders by José Carlos Somoza (2002) Fox Evil by Minette Walters (2003) Blacklist by Sara Paretsky (2004) Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indriðason (2005) Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (2006) The Broken Shore by Peter Temple (2007) Blood from Stone by Frances Fyfield (2008) A Whispered Name by William Brodrick (2009)

2010–present	Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (2010) Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (2011) The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (2012) Dead Lions by Mick Herron (2013) This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash (2014)

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