| The False Inspector Dew | |
| Author: | Peter Lovesey |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | crime novel |
| Publisher: | Macmillan |
| Pub 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.
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.
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.”