Paul Temple und der Fall Z

Paul Temple #3

by Francis Durbridge

Eigentlich will Paul Temple nur mit seiner Frau in Schottland Urlaub machen, aber dann übergibt ihm ein junger Mann einen geheimnissvollen Brief, in dem von einem Spionagering und einer mörderischen Erfindung die Rede ist. Wenig später wird der Mann tot aufgefunden, und Temple selbst gerät in höchste Gefahr.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Crime, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author born in Hull. In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple.

A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions.

Francis Durbridge also had a successful career as a writer for the stage and screen. His most successful play, Suddenly at Home, ran in London’s West End for over a year.

Reviews

[Gerry]

Paul Temple has a new play in preparation and Iris Archer is engaged as his leading lady. But even before rehearsals she pulls out without explanation. Paul Temple and his wife Steve plan a holiday in Scotland but just before they leave Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard calls on them and when asked what the Yard are currently up to he tells Temple, somewhat jokingly, '[W]e are up against one of the greatest criminal organisations ...'. Temple laughs and informs Forbes that they are on their way to Scotland for a relaxing holiday to which Forbes remarks, '[K]eep out of mischief.'

Well that is exactly what Temple does not do for mischief follows him wherever he goes ... and so does Forbes because he, too, ends up in Scotland investigating a major case of espionage. And there is a diverse cast of characters who could be involved, with the top person in the criminal organisation being known as Z4. But nobody knows who this mysterious mastermind is or whether he is male or female.

And, ironically, the hub of the organisation seems to be in Scotland so Temple is there to give a helping hand once Forbes arrives on the scene. Thereafter it is intrigue and action all the way, with suspects coming in and out of the picture but still without any definite identification of Z4.

But Paul Temple is too clever for all that and eventually, at great hardships to himself and Steve and one or two narrow escapes, he unravels what is rather a more convoluted mystery than Francis Durbridge usually presents us with but nevertheless it is an entertaining and at times exciting read.

[Tommy Verhaegen]

Paul Vlaanderen en Ina gaan op vakantie naar Schotland. Enkele van hun vrienden waarvan ze verwachten dat die naar Frankrijk zouden gaan, duiken ook op in hun vakantieplaatsje. Daar is wat geheimzinnigs aan de hand.
De lezer krijgt daar sneller van Vlaanderen (ten gerieve van de spanning en variatie in het hoorspel) gegevens in verband met de tegenpartij. Dit is de bende van Z. We maken kennis met Z.02 en al snel blijkt dat er een Z.04 op de achtergrond bestaat. Een meestercrimineel die misdaden plant maar ook meedogenloos kan straffen als er wat misgaat.
De cover is grappig en goed gevonden, een ouderwetse detectivhoed schalks boven een bloedrode letter Z. De essentie van het verhaal en toch compleet nietszeggend, er wordt geen enkel detail van het eigenlijke verhaal weggegeven.
De beklemmende sfeer van het vakantiedorpje, de gevaarlijke wegen, chauffeurs die veel te snel rijden, vliegen dat nog een gevaarlijk avontuur vormt vormen een prachtig decor. Durbridge laat natuurlijk iemand vermoorden, mensen worden gevangen genomen en opgesloten, anderen verongelukken (al dan niet "geholpen") en gevangenen proberen te ontsnappen. Al bekopen ze dat soms met de dood.
Een typische Vlaanderen, spannend, veel aktie, speurwerk geholpen door enkele toevalsteffers en een verrassende onknoping. Absoluut de moeite waard en een must voor de liefhebber van het genre.

[Reuben]

Thrilling! Great detective story, even quite humorous

[Alan]

Rating 2.5

Another PT novel that was okay but didn’t really hit the mark with me. I still really enjoy the radio serials when I listen to them, and some of the tv/movie adaptations however the more novels I have read the more I think FD was better at radio than prose.
As with the first two novels in the series, the dead and injured count is quite high again and yet neither PT or Sir Graham seem that bothered about it. Even with the unintentional suicidal of the scientist towards the end of the story, they didn’t seem to care.
The actual plot was initially interesting but then the coincidences and inconsistencies started piling up and removed the enjoyment for me. The idea that an intelligence gathering group would go to the trouble of buying a hotel in the middle of Scotland and recruiting locals as agents was too far fetched for me. This story works as a radio series listened to over a number of weeks/episodes as any issues over plotting are ignored due to the pacing of the story, unfortunately in prose they cannot be hidden for me at least.
As with the majority of PT novels the story moves along at a quick pace, but the investigatory techniques used by PT were even more vague than usual I thought, how he and Steve are still breathing at the end stretches credibility too far for me. Most detective/thrillers have some suspension of disbelief but I did find this one too much by the end. Also as with the majority of PT novels the plot moves along nicely until around page 140 (or so) and then suddenly ends - as if the author hit a word or page count and therefore had to end the book. So overall poorly paced I thought.

Possibly I am being a bit harsh, but having read a number of PT novels in the last couple of months, mainly to remove them from my tbr after so long, and after also relistening to one of the radio serials which I still enjoy- I find the novels very disappointing

[Lynne]

Returning to his original profession, writing, Temple has penned a play designed to showcase leading lady Iris Archer who mysteriously withdraws from the production before rehearsals commence. With time on his hands, Temple and the intrepid Steve decide on a motoring holiday in Scotland (shades of the 39 Steps and Robert Donat - sighs) and encounter a strange young man who insists they hand a letter to a fellow guest at their hotel. Not only does the guest turn out to be their friend, Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard (staying under a pseudonym) but an acquaintance (and evident red herring) from their recent transatlantic crossing and Iris Archer, also turn up! Yes, the plot is silly and greatly borrowed from the 39 Steps in that it encompasses espionage, secret weapons and lots of double crossing, but like all the Temples, remains frothy fun.

[Wilde Sky]

A writer gets involved in a mystery.

This was an old-fashioned murder / spy mystery – think of the old black and white films on TV. Some of the characters were a bit clichéd but overall I enjoyed the writing style / story.

[Nicky Warwick]

A witty GA romp with Paul Temple & the ever glamorous Steve as they return from America & decide to spend a few days in Scotland.
They become involved in routing out the head of an international spy ring who has kidnapped an inventor of a screen that could be a useful wartime weapon

[Kati]

It started really well and seemed very intriguing. But somewhere around the middle everyone started behaving as if they left their brain at home. From Paul and Steve walking right into the dungeons and letting themselves be captured to the policeman allowing Iris to escape, it irked me to no end.

[Dave]

A good romp with plenty of the usual suspense and mystery.

[Bill Suits]

I did not like this book. After I have heard some of the BBC broadcast I thought I'd give it a try. Did not enjoy it.

[Helen Meads]

I missed out pp59-155 because it seemed so slow and corny, even for 1940, when it was first published. It’s very old fashioned without any redeeming features.

[David Highton]

A 1930s espionage thriller - a bit dated but rips along and our hero solves the mystery after quite a few dead bodies along the way.

[Rosie 😀📚]

Love this book, never saw the end twist coming!! Love Paul Temple and Steve 😀

[Moe]

I read the book version. Way too many murders. Standard plot.

[Laura]

Barely a 3 stars tbh

[Angela]

Listened to this in the car. First time I'd heard any Paul Temple, and it being read by Anthony Head helped. The plot is multi-layered and is about a spy ring who kill people. The fun is working out ho's involved and which are the read herrings. It is of its time, so some words and phrases do sound odd.

[Muphyn]

Enjoyable but the straight-forward audiobooks, ie not dramatised, are simply not as good. You miss out on all the car screechings and crashes, high pitched 'HELP' yellings, the stern "By Timothy!!" exclamations, bombs going off, door bells ringing, glasses clinking, etc.

[Matt]

This was slightly more complicated than your average Paul Temple; it seemed like more thought had gone into the plot. Maybe it should get 3.5 stars then, but I don't think a Paul Temple could ever get 4 stars from me. They're all too cliché.

Still, an enjoyable listen.

[Steven]

Lightweight classic mystery that suits being confined more or less to bed for an extended period. Made rather more enjoyable by Anthony Head's gentle, measured reading.