Dover Beats the Band - Hardcover

The last of the Chief Inspector Dover novels, published posthumously, finds the curmudgeon mucking about in the Muncaster Municipal dump, where the charred remains of a Mr. Knapper lie. By following the trail of the blue bead in Knapper's tummy (the form of payment at the Rankin Holiday Ranch at Bowerville-by-the-sea), the slothful, dyspeptic Dover and his long-suffering assistant MacGregor uncover a right-wing terrorist group, masquerading as a harmless stamp club, that deemed Knapper a traitor and killed him. Before Dover belches his way to a wildly improbable conclusion, an infiltrator from Special Branch almost blows the Inspector's cover; the Official Secrets Act impedes the investigation; and Dover, as usual, antagonizes the innocent and guilty alike. Not nearly as funny or inventive as Dover and the Claret Tappers, but an appropriately testy memorial to ``the most unwanted man'' at Scotland Yard. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Chief inspector Wilfred Dover ( Dover and the Claret Tappers ) of Scotland Yard continues to wreak havoc in this hilarious mystery. The immolated body of a middle-aged man discovered in a Muncaster garbage dump propels the inspector and his whipping boy, detective sergeant MacGregor, on a lurching investigation. A blue bead found in the stomach of the deceased leads the duo to Rankin's Holiday Ranch at Bowerville-by-the-sea, where the dead man took his last supper at a conference held by the Steel Band, a terrorist group of which the victim was a member. Just when Dover and MacGregor find the link between the killing and the organization, the Special Branch squelches the case. Ever watchful for a chance to advance himself, Dover (who, despite evidence to the contrary, has a good brain) forges ahead to solve the case. Broad wit, sharp insight and a thrilling denouement give this comedy real punch.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.