Product Description

A dramatization of one of the adventures of the sophisticated Paul Temple and his wife, where Sir Graham Forbes of Scotland Yard sends for Paul when the going gets tricky. This case takes Paul to Bavaria to help find Betty Conrad. But their only clue is a cocktail stick found in her bedroom.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #328019 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-05
• Released on: 1999-07-05
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Customer Reviews

What radio drama was all about.
Absolutely brilliant. This is what radio drama was all about. Paul Temple is the assuredly smooth novelist/detective ably assisted by his wife Steve as they investigate the disappearance of Betty Conrad, a young girl who has mysteriously disappeared from a Bavarian finishing shool. Paul is asked to help, but should really work on his next novel. As he learns more about the case he becomes intrigued and the search for the truth begins. But who, if anyone, can be trusted? There's over three hours worth of 'edge of the seat' entertainment that goes by at a gallop. With dead-ends and double-crosses you'll be kept guessing until the final tension-filled episode. And just what is the significance of the cocktail stirrers?

Careering and Cocktails.
This is the case of the missing girl enrolled at a "finishing school" in Bavaria. Thanks to Francis Durbridge's tight plotting and the magic of BBC radio, after the disappearance has been explained to Paul Temple and his wife Steve, within 5 minutes we are sharing cocktails with them on the terrace of a country hotel, then 5 minutes later we are with them when they stumble on a body in a deserted house, and after another 5 minutes we have flown with them to Munich and are approaching the prestigious "finishing school" in a hired car.

The pace is even hotter when they return to London six episodes later. Steve barely has time to utter, "Oh, Paul, I'm exhausted. I've never known such..." before the chase continues through hotels, nightclubs and cars with time bombs in them.

A meticulous production and highly-skilled actors ensure that this piece of 1950s escapism can still entertain and enthrall. It can bewilder, too. After repeated hearings I still cannot always understand who caused what to happen where. Is that the way of good mysteries?

Probably the best of the Temple mysteries...
I heard these as a child on the radio when they were either new and certainly repeated though some of the dust jackets say otherwise?!?

Paul Coke and Margorie Westbury are the ideal voices for Paul & Steve (a strange name for a girl even in the 50's & 60's whats it short for?). As is the Coronation Scot the ideal theme tune. Curiously this one doesn't use a train but aeroplanes, and cars. It was very modern!

Also as another reviewer notes it requires you to concentrate otherwise you will miss vitual clues.

Perhaps why I like this most is the fact that I have been to Garmisch in Germany and that adds extra flavour to the suspense as it seems very lifelike. The suspense is excellent and the pace very turboprop if not jet age! But frankly compare this to a modern radio thriller - I recently heard A Tokyo Murder and you'll hear the diference. This is proper drama adapted to the medium of radio with comsumate skill where as Tokyo Murder was written to suit the medium of radio and whilst good lacks the repeat playablity of this and most of the other Temple mysteries. But that was Durbridges secret including that the BBC only meant these to be heard once! Imagine and thats why some of them weren't that well crafted - this one is though, hence 5 stars!

I love these for the car when I am on early and late shifts - keeps the mind awake...