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Bat out of hell
ex library reading copy acceptable book in good dw 1st Ian Henry edition 1981 hardcover not large print In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
189 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
About the author
Francis Durbridge
342 books34 followersFrancis 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 9, 2018
When I came across this compact little gem of just over two-hundred pages I was unsure what to expect despite being familiar with Durbridge’s reputation and his successful Paul Temple series. It was only on investigation that I discovered Durbridge was also behind the screenplays for several standalone thrillers and that this ingenious and hugely entertaining romp actually started life as a TV serialisation (aired on BBC in 1966 and starring John Thaw and Sylvia Syms). The novelisation only appeared in 1972 and evidence that this was previously a screenplay is apparent from the cliffhanger endings to every chapter and the brisk pace which ensures the action is never in short supply. This fiendishly complicated investigation accounts for three dead, reveals a quiet market town to be a thriving hotbed of criminal activity and all within the space of 220 pages.
In the southern market town of Alunbury a crime is in the offing and the wealthy rural enclave is about to have its peaceful middle-class atmosphere shattered... Thankfully the mercilessly observant, saturnine and much underestimated character of fifty-something DI John Clay has recently made a fresh start in the Chiltern Constabulary. Six-months into his tenure and his abject loneliness has resulted in his unstinting dedication to his job. But plotting his deception are the ruthlessly determined Diana Stewart and her younger lover, Mark Paxton, who together have devised a scheme to murder the man who is both Diana’s husband and Mark’s employer: the irascible and domineering estate agent, Geoffrey Stewart.
When Mark shoots Geoffrey and stows his body in the back of his car planning to deposit his corpse in a gravel pit due to be filled the next morning, and Diana reports her husband missing, the plan seems to be falling into place leaving DI Clay perturbed. When Mark returns to offload the body of Geoffrey and finds his corpse has vanished from a locked tailgate in a padlocked and bolted garage the first complications start to arise. The cracks in the relationship of Mark and Diana emerge soon after when Diana receives a phone call from her husband (who she claims is very much alive), instructing her that he is in trouble and to confirm his identity when the police summon her to a crime scene. Misidentifying a body as Geoffrey’s is just the first in a series of bizarre occurrences which make abundantly clear the fact that someone is pulling the wool over the eyes of Diana and Mark. Could someone have cottoned on to a scheme that would see Diana inherit Geoffrey’s fortune and business and allow the lovers to elope? Matters take another arresting turn when the scrupulous DI Clay discovers that the previously identified body is in fact not that of Geoffrey, but a man whom neither of the duplicitous lovers claim to know.. As question after question begin to stack up and leave Diana and Mark equally baffled, the race is on to uncover the mastermind pulling everyone’s strings..
A small cast of secondary characters add to the intrigue with Diana’s larger than life best friend, Thelma Bowen, storming into the drama with her nosy and diminutive husband in tow. Local ladies man and proprietor of a plush garage and showroom, Ned Tallboys, is all too eager to be on hand to attend to Diana with a meddlesome sweet-shop owner/busybody, a loyal housekeeper and Geoffrey Stewart’s personal solicitor completing the line-up. As the savvy DI Clay ruffles feathers with some uncannily accurate parting shots to his probing enquiries he guides the plodding Sergeant Booth (and readers) through the course of an elaborate scheme that takes several deft turns.
Wonderfully engaging, fast-moving and easily consumed in a single sitting, the novelisation of this well-received TV serialisation of 1966 shows little sign of having dated and will leave even the shrewdest amateur sleuth scratching their head until Detective Inspector Clay points the way and reveals Diana and Mark aren’t the only fall guys in a very devious plot. Compact, humorous and guaranteed to raise a smile in admiration Bat Out of Hell is a fine example of an “inverted” crime story whereby the culprit is known from the off and suspense comes through seeing whether they get caught! Highly recommended.
In the southern market town of Alunbury a crime is in the offing and the wealthy rural enclave is about to have its peaceful middle-class atmosphere shattered... Thankfully the mercilessly observant, saturnine and much underestimated character of fifty-something DI John Clay has recently made a fresh start in the Chiltern Constabulary. Six-months into his tenure and his abject loneliness has resulted in his unstinting dedication to his job. But plotting his deception are the ruthlessly determined Diana Stewart and her younger lover, Mark Paxton, who together have devised a scheme to murder the man who is both Diana’s husband and Mark’s employer: the irascible and domineering estate agent, Geoffrey Stewart.
When Mark shoots Geoffrey and stows his body in the back of his car planning to deposit his corpse in a gravel pit due to be filled the next morning, and Diana reports her husband missing, the plan seems to be falling into place leaving DI Clay perturbed. When Mark returns to offload the body of Geoffrey and finds his corpse has vanished from a locked tailgate in a padlocked and bolted garage the first complications start to arise. The cracks in the relationship of Mark and Diana emerge soon after when Diana receives a phone call from her husband (who she claims is very much alive), instructing her that he is in trouble and to confirm his identity when the police summon her to a crime scene. Misidentifying a body as Geoffrey’s is just the first in a series of bizarre occurrences which make abundantly clear the fact that someone is pulling the wool over the eyes of Diana and Mark. Could someone have cottoned on to a scheme that would see Diana inherit Geoffrey’s fortune and business and allow the lovers to elope? Matters take another arresting turn when the scrupulous DI Clay discovers that the previously identified body is in fact not that of Geoffrey, but a man whom neither of the duplicitous lovers claim to know.. As question after question begin to stack up and leave Diana and Mark equally baffled, the race is on to uncover the mastermind pulling everyone’s strings..
A small cast of secondary characters add to the intrigue with Diana’s larger than life best friend, Thelma Bowen, storming into the drama with her nosy and diminutive husband in tow. Local ladies man and proprietor of a plush garage and showroom, Ned Tallboys, is all too eager to be on hand to attend to Diana with a meddlesome sweet-shop owner/busybody, a loyal housekeeper and Geoffrey Stewart’s personal solicitor completing the line-up. As the savvy DI Clay ruffles feathers with some uncannily accurate parting shots to his probing enquiries he guides the plodding Sergeant Booth (and readers) through the course of an elaborate scheme that takes several deft turns.
Wonderfully engaging, fast-moving and easily consumed in a single sitting, the novelisation of this well-received TV serialisation of 1966 shows little sign of having dated and will leave even the shrewdest amateur sleuth scratching their head until Detective Inspector Clay points the way and reveals Diana and Mark aren’t the only fall guys in a very devious plot. Compact, humorous and guaranteed to raise a smile in admiration Bat Out of Hell is a fine example of an “inverted” crime story whereby the culprit is known from the off and suspense comes through seeing whether they get caught! Highly recommended.
October 28, 2021
Not a bad story but not great either. The plot itself is quite interesting with plenty of clues and it wasn't difficult to workout who did what but I thought the writing style was rather pedestrian and Inspector Clay was a bit bland.
October 27, 2014
This was such an enjoyable book! One has a feeling after reading it similar to having watched a good Humphrey Bogart movie like The Big Sleep: you know it's not a masterpiece, but it is the kind of entertainment that knows its limits, knows its audience, and does an excellent job in delivering a satisfying story.
Inspector Clay is no genius; he's not the most deductive sleuth in English crime fiction. He's rather like the reader, and that's what makes it so entertaining.
This was a one day book. Couldn't wait to get home from weekly grocery shopping today to finish it!
Inspector Clay is no genius; he's not the most deductive sleuth in English crime fiction. He's rather like the reader, and that's what makes it so entertaining.
This was a one day book. Couldn't wait to get home from weekly grocery shopping today to finish it!
September 9, 2015
Brilliant and very engrossing.... really leaves you on tenterhooks with its lethal plot of menace, and one of those understated but perspicacious policemen who seem to know much more than they let on...
May 11, 2021
the original teleplay can be viewed on youtube https://youtu.be/OrR4OQErQYU the pacing, editing, soundtrack, location shooting, of course the actors lend so much ambience to this mysterious series of murders in a quaint village.
I bought this after watching the 5-part 1966 series twice, because I wanted more Durbridge. this novelization is perhaps by the author himself, and fills in some nomenclature I missed on youtube.
Durbridge was primarily a dramatic author, writing many radio mysteries for the BBC, some of whose plots morphed into TV series or films. later, he wrote stage plays.
Durbridge excels at the mystery of human agency and relationship, betrayal, the power of the lie, the possibilities of the situation, and he doesn't mind spinning variations on a sturdy trope such as blackmail. British actors bring out all the nuance of social strata and personality quirks.
there's another 3-part from 1974, Melissa, which is quite brilliant. https://youtu.be/Fv6w37EDW8E
I bought this after watching the 5-part 1966 series twice, because I wanted more Durbridge. this novelization is perhaps by the author himself, and fills in some nomenclature I missed on youtube.
Durbridge was primarily a dramatic author, writing many radio mysteries for the BBC, some of whose plots morphed into TV series or films. later, he wrote stage plays.
Durbridge excels at the mystery of human agency and relationship, betrayal, the power of the lie, the possibilities of the situation, and he doesn't mind spinning variations on a sturdy trope such as blackmail. British actors bring out all the nuance of social strata and personality quirks.
there's another 3-part from 1974, Melissa, which is quite brilliant. https://youtu.be/Fv6w37EDW8E
May 18, 2026
I'm calling this one historical, because 1972 feels so very far away when you read the book. Everyone but everyone smokes a pipe or cigarette and carries lighters around and stubs ash into a Venetian glass ashtray. Cars have to be a Bentley or Rover or Jaguar E-type. Fingerprints are a distinct afterthought for villains and a tape recorder is the height of technology. A mink coat is acceptable.
Women are all conniving or fleshy or greedy or sultry, usually a combination. Men are in responsible positions requiring training, but have affairs, and men solve crimes. Women are kept wives, small shopkeepers or housekeepers. The main economy seems to run on blackmail, and a police officer arriving in a new post at a handsome suburb can feel the rotten undercurrent in the air.
Readers of the day might have liked the story, I was not impressed. I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
Women are all conniving or fleshy or greedy or sultry, usually a combination. Men are in responsible positions requiring training, but have affairs, and men solve crimes. Women are kept wives, small shopkeepers or housekeepers. The main economy seems to run on blackmail, and a police officer arriving in a new post at a handsome suburb can feel the rotten undercurrent in the air.
Readers of the day might have liked the story, I was not impressed. I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
December 13, 2020
3.5 stars.
Its a non stop page turner but its not really a whodunnit as such.
It starts with a murder , there is a detective , there are lots of twists and turns and there is pleasure to be had in this one if you are looking for light entertainment.
Its a non stop page turner but its not really a whodunnit as such.
It starts with a murder , there is a detective , there are lots of twists and turns and there is pleasure to be had in this one if you are looking for light entertainment.
December 31, 2023
Needed far more editing before print
July 24, 2019
The book blurb says it preceded the TV serial, but if it did it was clearly a teleplay in disguise. An unusually cynical depiction of Home Counties England, this reminded me of the early seasons of The Avengers with its eerie crimes of disappearing victims and malice behind polite facades.
October 4, 2015
I picked this book up purely based on the title and fond memories of meatlof songs playing in the car on long journeys. Inspector Clay is a joy to read about his calm and quiet manner lets the reader try to work out what has gone on and how much he knows allowing the final outcome to remain uncertain until the very end. A well written story full of suspense and like any good detective mystery makes the outlandish seem plausible. I llok forward to reading more of Inspector Clays adventures.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews