Books in the A Dover Mystery series

When a young pregnant girl known to no one turns up murdered, Dover eagerly comes up with more totally plausible suspects, persuasive motives, and airtight solutions than the sharp mind of his assistant Sergeant MacGregor, can process. If you've ever wondered when or how MacGregor would reach his breaking point, this is the book to read.

Detective Chief Inspector Wilfred Dover is the most idle and avaricious hero in all of crime fiction. Why should he even be bothered to solve the case?The naked, burned and mutilated body of a middle-aged man has been found at the Muncaster Municipal Dump. When the autopsy reveals a peculiar clue, DCI Dover and his ever-unwilling assistant MacGregor set off on a trail that leads them to a squalid seaside resort. A mysterious organization, they learn, had convened there recently.Their inquiries bring them smack into the midst of an undercover investigation by Special Branch of a dangerous right-wing secret society. Never before has Dover been in such an equivocal spot. Though a vicious murder cries out to be solved, one doesn’t readily tamper with Dover’s legendary inertia.

Dover is in for more than his usual share of the bother. The town's only hotel is unlicensed and there's not a drop of booze to be had. But almost as alarming are the unmistakable signs that someone is actually out to kill him.

Scotland Yard sends Detective Chief Inspector Dover and his woeful assistant MacGregor off on the Stately Home circuit to look into murder - and the victim couldn't be a drearier sort: "the wettest thing since nappies."