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Inspector Pel #15
Pel & The Missing Persons
A masked gang rob a supermarket at Talant, a home-made bomb is found at the local airport, and the body of an old man is found on the motorway near Mailly-les-Temps, and what is the connection between a fearful lawyer and the fatal stabbing of a Scottish tourist. On top of all this, Daniel Darcy, trusted deputy to Chief Inspector Pel has been suspended on suspicion of taking bribes.
- GenresMystery
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1990
10 people want to read
About the author
Mark Hebden
49 books6 followersMark Hebden is the pseudonymn of John Harris, who is well-known for a series of best-selling adventure stories. He wrote 35 books under his own name, 27 under the name of Mark Hebden and a further 10, mostly of a military nature, under the pseudonymn of Max Hennessy.
He was born in Yorkshire in 1916 to Mr and Mrs E J Harris who had The Stag Inn at Herringthorpe. He attended Rotherham Grammar School and after leaving there became a reporter on the Rotherham Advertiser before moving on to the Sheffield Telegraph. He also did some freelance work with a colleage in Cornwall and at various times worked as a cartoonist, travel courier and history teacher.
In World War II he served as a corporal in the RAF and was seconded to the South African Air Force. Indeed, it was said that he served two navies and two air forces during the course of the war!
He returned to the Sheffield Telegraph after the war where he as a political and comedy cartoonist and he remained with the paper until the mid-1950s.
On 31 January 1947 he married Betty Wragg at St Michael & All Angels Church, Northfield, Rotherham. The couple had a son, Max, in 1950 and a daughter, Juliet, in 1950.
He had his first novel, 'The Lonely Voyage' published in 1951 but it was in 1954 that he really came to the fore when his 1953 novel 'The Sea Shall Not Have Them' was made into a successful film. Thereafter he turned full-time to writing novels.
He wrote his first novel under the pseudonymn Mark Hebden, 'What Changed Charlie Farthing', in 1965 and his first novel featuring his French detective Chief Inspector Pel, 'Pel and the Faceless Corpse', was published in 1979. His daughter Juliet was to continue the Pel series after his death under the pen-name Juliet Hebden.
The family moved to West Wittering, near Chichester in Sussex in 1955 and he continued to write his novels from there.
He died on 7 March 1991 with his last book, 'Pel and the Sepulchre Job' being published posthumously in 1992.
The protrait accompanying this article is a cartoon self-portrait.
He was born in Yorkshire in 1916 to Mr and Mrs E J Harris who had The Stag Inn at Herringthorpe. He attended Rotherham Grammar School and after leaving there became a reporter on the Rotherham Advertiser before moving on to the Sheffield Telegraph. He also did some freelance work with a colleage in Cornwall and at various times worked as a cartoonist, travel courier and history teacher.
In World War II he served as a corporal in the RAF and was seconded to the South African Air Force. Indeed, it was said that he served two navies and two air forces during the course of the war!
He returned to the Sheffield Telegraph after the war where he as a political and comedy cartoonist and he remained with the paper until the mid-1950s.
On 31 January 1947 he married Betty Wragg at St Michael & All Angels Church, Northfield, Rotherham. The couple had a son, Max, in 1950 and a daughter, Juliet, in 1950.
He had his first novel, 'The Lonely Voyage' published in 1951 but it was in 1954 that he really came to the fore when his 1953 novel 'The Sea Shall Not Have Them' was made into a successful film. Thereafter he turned full-time to writing novels.
He wrote his first novel under the pseudonymn Mark Hebden, 'What Changed Charlie Farthing', in 1965 and his first novel featuring his French detective Chief Inspector Pel, 'Pel and the Faceless Corpse', was published in 1979. His daughter Juliet was to continue the Pel series after his death under the pen-name Juliet Hebden.
The family moved to West Wittering, near Chichester in Sussex in 1955 and he continued to write his novels from there.
He died on 7 March 1991 with his last book, 'Pel and the Sepulchre Job' being published posthumously in 1992.
The protrait accompanying this article is a cartoon self-portrait.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 18, 2024
The third in a series (I believe). I got this from a LFL.
There's a bit of explication, which would be repetitious for those who have followed this character from the beginning of the series. One thing I really enjoyed about this - in contrast to most mystery novels, which have one case to be followed, there are several crimes to be dealt with. A bomb at the local airport, a string of armed robberies, a dead man with no ID. This feels more realistic. There's also office politics and just the right amount of personal life issues.
There's a bit of explication, which would be repetitious for those who have followed this character from the beginning of the series. One thing I really enjoyed about this - in contrast to most mystery novels, which have one case to be followed, there are several crimes to be dealt with. A bomb at the local airport, a string of armed robberies, a dead man with no ID. This feels more realistic. There's also office politics and just the right amount of personal life issues.
October 11, 2024
🍷🍷
Another wonderful visit with Chief Inspector Pel and all his crew at the Hotel de Police. The 15th in this series, which means I’ve only two more before I will have read them all - quelle dommage! Like a fine wine, I waited a while before cracking open this one, and I was rewarded with another excellent story; so too, shall I wait a bit before I begin the next.
Another wonderful visit with Chief Inspector Pel and all his crew at the Hotel de Police. The 15th in this series, which means I’ve only two more before I will have read them all - quelle dommage! Like a fine wine, I waited a while before cracking open this one, and I was rewarded with another excellent story; so too, shall I wait a bit before I begin the next.
July 30, 2018
Linda, Elkton patron, July 2018, 5 stars:
This was a different type of mystery. This is a new author for me and I loved it. The main character is a trip.
This was a different type of mystery. This is a new author for me and I loved it. The main character is a trip.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews