Paul Temple And The Lawrence Affair

By: Francis Durbridge

Narrated by: Full Cast, Marjorie Westbury, Peter Coke

For thirty years the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist wife Steve, solved case after case in one of BBC Radio's most popular series. They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case. Whilst she and Paul are staying in the fishing village of Downburgh, Steve gets the uneasy feeling that she is being watched by a man at Fisherman's Point. A pleasant boat trip turns into a nightmare when their craft gets shot at - and the boatman himself is later discovered drowned at sea. Back in London, the daughter of the head of CI5 has disappeared, and Sir Graham brings the matter to Paul's attention. Could there be a connection between this and the events in Downburgh?© and (P)2003 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

RADIO DRAMA

During my early childhood TV was just getting started. I remember listening to my favorite shows on radio. These days radio seems mostly to be music and strdent, opionated talk shows.

It was a nice surprise to discover the Paul Temple series. It was produced in England and aired for many years there.

The plots are complex with many "red herrings." Somehow, Paul and his wife Steve always figure them out.

If you are looking for reality and angst, this show will disappoint you. If you want to escape to an earlier, more genteel time, I believe you will enjoy spending a few hours with Paul and Steve Temple.

This is the second show I've purchased and I intend to buy more of them.

Entertaining and well-produced.

This is the 4th Paul Temple dramatization I've listened to. They are all enjoyable, although so far I haven't given any a top rating. Two have been too bloody (body counts that Quentin Tarantino would envy), and two, including this one, develop a little too slowly with vague clues, but they are still enjoyable to listen to as I take my dog for a leisurely suburban walk. For all the laughing and clanking of cocktail glasses, there really is no wit or humor to these, so these are definitely not Nick and Nora. There's not much of a clue trail in these, it's more guesswork. And, Steve (Mrs. Paul Temple) is always in the backseat in terms of taking any action, thinking things through, and reacting to a bad situation (she'll scream and Paul will figure things out). With all that said, the acting is really good, the production and sound effects are excellent, and the characters, other than the leads, are all nicely shady and suspicious.

In ".. the Lawrence Affair" there are suspicious deaths in a seaside village where Paul Temple has gone to work on his next novel, but instead he gets caught up in the mystery. The setting bounces back and forth from the village to London. It's not as bloody as some, but not as fast-paced either, but overall it was enjoyable to listen to.