Stories
Parker Pyne Investigates
Mr. Parker Pyne states quite clearly that he is not a detective but 'a heart specialist'. Deception, accomplices and manipulation are all part of his method of operation and he works to cure unhappiness more frequently than to investigate crime.
The short story collection was published in 1934 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and as Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York in 1934. Two of the stories, The Case Of The Middle-Aged Wife and The Discontented Soldier, were adapted for television in 1982 by Thames Television in England.
The first six stories take place in England and focus on Parker Pyne as a 'detective of the heart'. The remaining six stories occur in foreign settings where Parker Pyne is on holiday and unwilling to deal with clients. In these stories he is confronted with crimes, and must serve as an advisor to individuals in distress.
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Related Stories:
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Death on the Nile : Murder Mystery Detective
Parker Pyne is on a ship sailing up the Nile from Assouan to Cairo. Among his fellow passengers are a group of wealthy British travellers and their companions. One of them, Lady Grayle, soon lets Pyne know someone is trying to poison her. All the evidence points to her husband ...
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Have You Got Everything You Want? : Thriller Detective
Elsie Jeffries, married for eighteen months to successful businessman Edward, meets Parker Pyne by chance on the Simplon-Orient Express. She has seen Pyne’s advertisements and feels he may be able to help her. She tells Pyne she has seen a fragment of a letter left on Edward’s blotting pad, which ...
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The Case of the City Clerk : Thriller
With his wife and children on holiday, the conventional Mr Roberts goes to Parker Pyne seeking excitement to inject into his drab life. Pyne decides Mr Roberts is just the man to travel to Geneva with secret plans and Roberts finds more romance and intrigue than he’d bargained for! In ...
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The Case of the Discontented Husband : Romance
Reginald Wade goes to Parker Pyne when he learns his wife has decided to leave him for another man. Reggie’s only hope is that his wife has declared a six-month grace period. If she still feels the same at the end, she wants a divorce. Pyne decides that dark, glamorous ...
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The Case of the Discontented Soldier : Thriller
The recently retired Major Wilbraham is bored and unhappy so he answers Parker Pyne’s newspaper ad. Before long the Major finds himself rescuing Freda Clegg from two burly attackers; with Freda in tow, he embarks on a daring adventure to find treasure in the wilds of Africa! Ariadne Oliver appears ...