What: Peter Lovesey's humorous crime novel The False Inspector Dew earned him a Gold Dagger award and a spot on all sorts of best-of lists. ("Dagger of Daggers shortlist"? Did you even know that was a thing? I did not.)
Our titular antihero is, of all things, a dentist. A dentist plotting his wife's murder. A dentist plotting his wife's murder who assumes the identity of a famous detective during a transatlantic voyage. (As you do.)
Things do not go as planned.
Opening lines: "Sixty years have passed and no one has explained the mystery of the false Inspector Dew. It was confidently thought that the only scrap of evidence had been destroyed, shredded on the orders of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. But Scotland Yard was unaware of the existence of another file."
Representative quote: "At some stage of the night there crept into her mind a possible solution. It was extravagant and dangerous, a last resort. Surely in the morning it would seem outrageous. But while she gave it thought, and plotted stage by stage, it seemed to gain in plausibility."
You might not like it if: You don't like boats.
How to get it: It's in print and Kindle-able.
Connections to previous Wreckage: Peter Lovesey also wrote The Reaper (Rec. #21) and The Headhunters (Rec. #222). Also, one of the other titles on the Dagger of Daggers shortlist was Val McDermid's The Mermaids Singing (Rec. #210).
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