Who killed Melissa and why? And who telephoned Guy Foster impersonating his dead wife at least an hour after she was strangled? The mystery deepens when another victim is found murdered in Guy's cottage after Guy receives another urgent, whispered phone call by someone sounding like Melissa. In the novelisation of his television series, Francis Durbridge keeps the reader guessing until the last page.

The day he got involved with Selby Brooks was a day Mike Hilton wishes hadn't happened. She was sleek and delectable and he, on the rebound from a shaky marriage, succumbed all too easily to her allure. The trouble was that Selby was a blackmailer, and blackmailers have no friends, only nasty enemies. Her nastiest enemy of all was the notorious 'Mr King'. He had already exercised a royal prerogative by killing a troublesome stripper, and then he struck again – with Mike Hilton as the fall guy. With an alibi as elusive as the murderer himself, Mike knew he had been suckered, and what had started as an innocent affair looked like landing him on a murder charge. 'Europe's most popular thriller playwright . . . a new Durbridge thriller is an event' Daily Telegraph

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.

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 newspaper columnist to throw in his lot with the police. Johnny, an American 'gentleman of leisure' who has settled at a quiet country house in Kent to enjoy the fishing, soon finds himself involved with the mysterious Horatio Quince, a retired schoolmaster who is on the trail of the gang's unscrupulous leader, the elusive 'Grey Moose'. Best known for creating Paul Temple for BBC radio in 1938, Francis Durbridge's prolific output of crime and mystery stories, encompassing plays, radio,...

Set in London, A Game of Murder features a young Scotland Yard CIT officer who is on leave when his father dies in a golfing accident. But Harry Dawson won't let the mystery go, for mystery it is. Who is the young man seen on the golf links? Why is everyone so interested in a dog collar? What is the connection with the man in the pet shop? Is it really possible that the housekeeper's nephew can be inept as he seems? And where is the housekeeper? Francis Durbridge's twisting, turning plot drips suspense on every page, quickening into a flood of action and mystery that keeps the reader guessing till the very end.

After a series of robberies, Scotland Yard are mystified. In the latest, a night watchman is attacked and in his last breath he manages to gasp out, 'The Green Finger.' This is not the first time the phrase has come to the attention of the Yard; it was also said by a man who was wanted in connection with another robbery, as he died from drowning. Who or what is the 'Green Finger'? The public are alarmed and the press demand that the Yard 'send for Paul Temple!' Aided by a young, pretty reporter, Paul is faced with solving a deepening and widening mystery.

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.

Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, often needs the help usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case. Myron Harwood, an American, is found dead in a country lane. Further celebrity murders follow. A common factor is that a note is left with each victim on a small piece of cardboard. On it is the inscription: 'The Marquis'. A private investigator named Rita Cartwright who is investigating the murders also ends up as a victim. It is time for Paul Temple to intervene after requests from both Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, and the Home Secretary. But what can he do?

Paul and Steve are back to solve the latest hard-hitting case of robbery and murder. After a heist goes down at Harkdale bank, a gang of thieves flee and a car chase ensues. As police close in on them, the thieves come to a screeching dead end. All the police have to do is retrieve the money ... but the only thing the thieves have on them is an Oxford Dictionary! And when Paul Temple returns home, he finds the dead body of one of the robbers...

Sam Portland is on board a luxury trans-Atlantic liner, as are Paul Temple and Steve. An innocent introduction involves the Temples in a case in which murder, blackmail and terror feature as the pace quickens, taking the story to an English mansion house, Amsterdam, and a houseboat on the River Thames. The secret is what happened to Sam Portland's lost years. But who is Madison?

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 at his own home, with a personal message: 'With the compliments of Mr Rossiter'. In Design for Murder, Francis Durbridge adapted his longest Paul Temple serial, Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair, into a full-length novel. All the obligatory elements from the thrilling radio episodes were present, but in a new twist, he renamed the principal characters: Paul and Steve Temple became Lionel and Sally Wyatt, and 'Mr Rossiter' replaced the villainous Gregory. Reprinted for the first time in...

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 unknown identity of the killer to put an end to Curzon's reign of terror.

A woman is found dead on a train, and the name "Rex" is written - this is the third in a mysterious string of murders and Scotland Yard are baffled. They send for Paul Temple again. An investigator, who is now a mystery novelist, Temple and his wife Steve become involved in this latest mystery. Meeting the Yard's Sir Graham Forbes at a nightclub, they witness one of the performers die in the middle of her act before they have a chance to speak to her. Can Temple unmask 'Rex' before he (or she) strikes again?

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 Steve – the duo discover that this is not the first victim to warn of the dangerous and elusive 'Green Finger'... who or what is it? The pair must work together to solve the deepening mystery. Paul Temple and the Front Page Men: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 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 attempt to stall their search – anonymous gunmen, exploding cars, ransom demands, and a mysterious rendezvous that may prove to be the end of Paul and Steve...