Author:Francis Durbridge,Peggy Hassard,Bernard Braden,Full Cast
Bernard Braden stars in an original 1940 full-cast production of the very first Paul Temple adventure
Between 1938 and 1968 the exploits of amateur detective Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, enthralled generations of BBC radio listeners. Theirs was an exciting world of violence and glamour - car bombs and cocktail parties.
In Paul and Steve’s very first adventure, starring Bernard Braden as Paul with Peggy Hassard as Steve, a spate of jewel robberies in the Midlands has left the police baffled. They are the work of a shadowy criminal mastermind known only as The Knave of Diamonds. But who is the Knave? And can he be stopped?
All but one episode of the original 1938 BBC production of Send for Paul Temple are lost from the archives. However, this complete recording of a 1940 production - made for Canadian radio and based on the original BBC radio scripts - was recently rediscovered in the national Library and Archives of Canada. Digitally restored, all six episodes are now available for the very first time. Two bonus features are also included: the sole surviving sixth episode of the original 1938 production, starring the original Paul Temple, Hugh Morton, and an unbroadcast interview with the longest-running Paul Temple actor, Peter Coke.
Stunning
—— Ruth RendellExhilarating...addictive...fascinating
—— IndependentA master storyteller
—— Sunday TelegraphCaptures sinister atmosphere brilliantly
—— SpectatorFor the first time in years, P.D. James has serious competition
—— Philip Oakes , Literary ReviewI raced to finish this story of a couple caught in the fall-out of their best friends' split. Beautifully written and peppered with moments of stunning observation, it's a superb read.
—— Amanda JenningsReading Tamar Cohen's THE BROKEN is like sitting down with your most eloquent, quick-witted friend. She sees every side of the story. She's always one step ahead of you, full of empathy and insight. This is a story of the implicit social pacts of marriage, a fresh examination of human nature. And also, let's just say it. It's downright, utter, nasty, page-turning, delicious fun.
—— Caroline Kepnes, author of YOUFabulous. I was drawn in from the very first page. Tamar is very skilled at creating characters that seem so real, almost as if we're their best friends too, yet beneath their exteriors, you just know there's so much more simmering away. The tension grew with every page turn, until it was almost unbearable, yet I couldn't stop reading! I literally gasped out loud, so shocked by the very unexpected ending. This brilliant book will be on my mind for a long time.
—— Samantha Hayes, author of UNTIL YOU'RE MINECompulsive reading ... the tension racks up and the book switches from domestic drama into full-blown, chilling thriller
—— Essentials, Book of the MonthEveryone's talking about this ... A gripping cocktail of betrayal and revenge
—— Prima MagazineDramatic, sad and tense, it's essential you get your hands on this thriller. (Five stars)
—— CloserA chillingly brilliant thriller
—— Red MagazineA sustained work of near genius that takes a very familiar theme - man leaves wife for younger model - and not only brilliantly dissects the breakdown of the marriage but also teh consequences for the couple's close circle of friends ...Cohen's first foray into psychological suspense is a triumph.
—— Daily MailTaut, tense and addictive
—— Good HousekeepingCohen’s marital drama morphs into a psychological thriller, and a last-minute twist set into motion much earlier in the narrative is brilliant.
—— Publishers Weekly USA war novel like no other…“Dark desires sizzle” and explode with a furious climax. Ellroy is not only back in form – he’s raised the stakes.
—— Kirkus Review (starred review)One of the most original and daring writers alive.
—— Independent on SundayIt’s an epic 687-page undertaking that is at times disturbingly violent – a must for noir fans.
—— StylistEllroy, writing in his signature telegraphic style, strives to depict reality, every dark aspect of it: there’s murder, apparent ritual suicides, hate crimes and a world of characters that you just cannot root for. Ellroy successfully establishes his four main characters, alongside a wealth of fully developed, clever and sophisticated secondary characters, within his own creation of a microcosm of a community challenged by politics and an unavoidable history.
—— Culture FlyJames Ellroy is the best crime writer in the world.
—— Irish TimesA brash, two-fisted tour-de-force of spleen and invective which holds up a cracked and tarnished mirror to a turbulent period of American history … powerful in scope, theme and character … for blood and guts, he could give Beowulf a run for its money … it is impossible to deny the power and energy that has gone into Perfidia, which is more than a crime novel whilst showing, at the same time, what the crime novel is capable of.
—— SHOTSThe prose is as tight and fast moving as ever … If you are in pursuit of vintage Ellroy, this book is for you.
—— The RegisterA sprawling, uncompromising epic of crime and depravity.
—— Publishers WeeklyAs unflinching and sharp as ever, even more so . . . Perfidia might be his [Ellroy’s] finest novel yet . . . Its story is full of tectonic movements, fascinating and dangerous characters with ambiguous morality, and events bigger than life itself. It’s brilliant in its complexity and vastness.
—— Upcoming4.meAs abrasive and compelling as always.
—— Me and My Big Mouth