Francis Durbridge

Paul and Steve are called upon to crack a case involving Carl Milbourne, the brother-in-law of wealthy financier Maurice Lonsdale. After the news that Carl has perished in a fatal car accident, rumours begin to stir that despite all odds, Carl is alive and well.When Maurice’s widowed Sister Margaret pleads for the crime-fighting duos help, Paul and Steve find themselves on a trail of deception stretching from London to Switzerland. Their lives are in grave danger as everything is done in an...

The detective novel ‘The Front Page Men’ is a resounding success, but its author Andrea Fortune keeps herself hidden from the public. When a series of robberies are committed, a calling card is left bearing the legend of ‘The Front Page Men’.Then the murders begin.Paul and his wife Steve assist Scotland Yard in finding the murderers, but Steve is in grave danger and the clock is ticking.

An aeroplane crash sends billows of fire down the cliffs of Dulworth Bay and two boys from a public school go missing, what connects these two events? Paul Temple is called onto the scene and there’s one name that’s causing a stir, Curzon.The mysterious name appears etched on a cricket bat that belongs to one of the missing Baxter boys, but family members and village folk have never even heard of it. As another boy vanishes followed by a devastating murder, Paul has to act swiftly and determine...

The first three books in the hugely popular Paul Temple series follows crime fighting duo Paul and his wife Steve.Send for Paul Temple:In the dead of night, a watchman is brutally attacked and with his dying breath cries out, “The Green Finger!” It is the latest in a series of robberies to take place that have left Scotland Yard mystified, and with no other choice but to call upon the expertise of Detective Paul Temple.Aided by the beautiful journalist Louise Harvey – affectionately known as...

As detective Paul Temple turns his hand to playwright, his leading lady Iris Archer pulls out shortly before the play is due to open and declares that she is heading for France.However, shortly after her disappearance Paul Temple receives a guest at his Scottish holiday home – none other than that of Iris Archer.The mystery deepens as Temple is asked by a young man to act as postmaster in delivering a letter. Meanwhile someone acting under the codename of Z4 seems to have control of events....

Never before published in paperback, and back in print for the first time since 1951, this long-lost novelisation reworks the nail-biting radio serial ‘Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair’ with new and original characters.The Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard visits retired Detective Lionel Wyatt with the chilling news that an old adversary they never caught has struck again, strangling an innocent girl. Wyatt is reluctant to return to police work, but then another body is found – this time...

This novelisation of the radio serial Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery also includes a Paul Temple short story, ‘The Ventriloquist’s Doll’. Photographer and amateur detective Philip Holt is asked to investigate the unexplained murder of an American student at an English university. With a postcard signed ‘Christopher’ and the boy’s father’s missing signet ring as his only leads, Holt’s investigation soon snowballs into forgery, blackmail, smuggling … and more murder. Dead to the...

Republished for the first time since 1951, Beware of Johnny Washington is Francis Durbridge’s clever reworking of the very first Paul Temple radio serial using his new characters, the amiable Johnny Washington and newspaper columnist Verity Glyn. Includes as a bonus the first Paul Temple short story, ‘A Present for Paul’.When a gang of desperate criminals begins leaving calling cards inscribed ‘With the Compliments of Johnny Washington’, the real Johnny Washington is encouraged by an attractive...

Never published in paperback, and back in print for the first time since 1950, Back Room Girl was the first original novel by Francis Durbridge.Retiring to No Man’s Cove in Cornwall to write his memoirs, crime reporter Roy Benton discovers that a disused tin mine has become a research station for a secret weapons project. Karen Silvers, in charge of operations, reluctantly accepts that Benton’s experience could help her fight a sinister organisation intent on stealing their plans.Having adapted...

This novelisation of the radio serial Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case also includes a bonus short story, ‘Paul Temple and the Nightingale’.It was an open-and-shut case: Lucy Staines was murdered by her hot-headed fiancé Harold Weldon. But something about it is troubling ex-Fleet Street crime reporter Mike Baxter – why was one of Lucy’s shoes missing from the crime scene? When an identical murder occurs while Weldon is safely behind bars, the whole case is re-opened – and everything revolves...

Two short stories featuring Francis Durbridge’s famous detective, Paul Temple.The perfect winter read, these two short stories follow Paul and Steve through a blustery Christmas and New Year’s Eve to solve two compelling crimes. Also featuring an introduction from Francis Durbridge on how he created his famous detective.