Francis Durbridge
Personal Information
Description
> Francis Henry Durbridge was born in Hull, Yorkshire, in 1912 and was educated at Bradford Grammar School. He was encouraged at an early age to write by his English teacher and went on to read English at Birmingham University. Whilst an undergraduate he started to develop the radio play format for which he first became known. At the age of twenty one he sold a play to the BBC and continued to write following his graduation whilst working as a stockbroker's clerk. >In 1938, by this time writing full time, he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist and later his wife, Temple solved numerous crimes. >Durbridge's style was very much in the mode of the earlier 'Golden Age' middle class amateur detectives. The first book, Send for Paul Temple, was written with John Thewes as the novelisation of a radio serial. Many others followed and they were hugely successful until the last of the series was completed in 1968. In 1969, the Paul Temple series was adapted for television and four of the adventures, prior to this, had been adapted for cinema. He also invented a new character, Tim Frazer, an undercover agent who appeared in both novels and as a TV series. >Francis Durbridge also wrote for the stage and continued doing so up until 1991, when Sweet Revenge was completed. Additionally, he wrote over twenty other well received novels, most of which were on the general subject of crime. The last, Fatal Encounter, was published after his death in 1998.
Books
Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery
>The bank robbers were caught straight away, but in the bag there was a 'Concise Oxford Dictionary' instead of money. Moreover, in Paul Temple's garage was the body of one of the robbers. >So commences one of the strangest cases of Paul temple's career. Before it is done he comes face to face with deeply hidden underworld figures, including the 'Master Mind'.
The Other Man
The houseboat murder of Paul Rocello, in town only two weeks before he was the unfortunate recipient of deadly head blows, rocked the town of Medwell. But what was his connection with the mysteriously absent owner of the boat, James Cooper? What on earth was David Henderson, reputable local schoolmaster, doing at the scene of the murder just before the body was discovered? And why was he less than candid with the police? In a classic investigation into deceit and deadly secrets, Inspector Ford must delve beneath the virtuous façade of respectability to discover the sinister truth.
News of Paul Temple
> Paul Temple agrees to write a play for actress Iris Archer. However, shortly before the play is due to open, she pulls out. Then after telling everyone she is off to France, she turns up at the Temples' Scottish holiday hotel. >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. Could this be Doctor Steiner and just who is he? It is all up to Temple ....
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
> Expensive coats with a maker's label that reads "Margo". A North-country industrialist worried about the company his daughter is keeping. An extremely frightened pop star. A formidable psychiatrist with an unlikely secretary. A suddenly prosperous garage owner. A mysterious warning from a fairground. For Paul Temple and Steve these seemingly separate threads weave together into an intriguing, yet terrifying chain of events.
Nightcap
Sean O'Sullivan's claims that his family's landmark bar is the victim of City Hall shenanigans only means more work for Cleo Hollings, the mayor's number one mover and shaker. Since Sean's got her busy, she decides she'll keep Mr. Testosterone busy, too...but between the sheets.Yet sleeping with the hunky O'Sullivan isn't that simple. Everyone said Sean would be inexhaustible--even unforgettable. Nobody warned her he was lovable, too. Now other clubs' drinks taste like dust. Nothing measures up to a nightcap--with a chaser of O'Sullivan stud!
Bat out of hell
Inspired by the debut album from legendary rock star Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell is a stellar collection of mysteries from some of the best writers in the genre. The fourth installment in the Music and Murder Mystery series, edited by Don Bruns, Bat Out of Hell is a nonstop thrill ride of engrossing mysteries from some of the best authors in the business. An anthology unlike any other, this collection includes a brand-new Jack Reacher story from Andrew Child, a never-before-seen Pignon Scorbion prequel from Rick Bleiweiss, as well as exciting new mysteries from Heather Graham, John Gilstrap, Dave Bruns, C. J. Kudlacz, and Charles Todd. Whether you are familiar with the series or encountering it for the first time, Bat Out of Hell has something for everyone.
The Geneva Mystery
> Publisher Carl Milbourne was supposedly killed in a car crash in Switzerland, but a number of people are convinced that he is still alive and Paul Temple is engaged to find out the truth. In an investigation that switches between the back streets of Kilburn and the sophisticated city of Geneva, Paul Temple and Steve dodge sudden death when someone tries to stop their enquiries dead!
The World of Tim Frazer
What links a secret formula for a new alloy, a short-sighted maker of model ships, international bargaining, a secret agent dying in an hotel and a Russian ship wrecked off the Yorkshire coast? Welcome to the world of Tim Frazer, the easygoing structural engineer who gets involved with a secret government department and, to his surprise, finds himself recruited as an undercover agent.
The Tyler Mystery
>From 1938 to 1969 crime novelist and detective Paul Temple and his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular serials. They inhabit a sophisticated, well-dressed world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women are chic and the men still wear cravats. And where Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard always needs Paul's help with a tricky case. >Paul and Steve are on the case again when a police patrol car finds an abandoned Jaguar, with the strangled body of a young girl jammed into the boot. Her name was Betty Tyler, and she had been strangled with her own scarf. Three more murders are committed before the sleuthing couple can produce the answer for Sir Graham Forbes...