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2000s: The first in the Devon murder mystery series
2000s: The first in the Devon murder mystery series
Gerald Hennessey – silver screen star and much-loved heart-throb – never quite makes it to Temple Regis, the quaint Devonshire seaside town on the English Riviera. Murdered on the 4.30 from Paddington, the loss of this great man throws Temple Regis’ community into disarray.
Not least Miss Judy Dimont –corkscrew-haired reporter for the local rag, The Riviera Express. Investigating Gerald’s death, she’s soon called to the scene of a second murder, and, setting off on her trusty moped, Herbert, finds Arthur Shrimsley in an apparent suicide on the clifftops above the town beach.
Miss Dimont must prevail – for why was a man like Gerald coming to Temple Regis anyway? What is the connection between him and Arthur? And just how will she get any answers whilst under the watchful and mocking eyes of her infamously cantankerous Editor, Rudyard Rhys?
Sadly this village is fictional but it’s very close to Teignmouth, and Torquay (about halfway in between according to the sketch in the book) There’s some lovely street names however that would be lovely to wander down such as Tuppenny Row where the elegant terrace of Regency cottages with brickwork is “pale pink with the passage of time.”
The town is described in glowing terms in The Riviera Express:
“Devon’s prettiest town, Temple Regis took itself very seriously. Its beaches, giving out onto the turquoise and indigo waters which inspired some wily publicist to coin the phrase ‘England’s Riviera’, were white and pristine. Broad lawns encircling the bandstand and flowing down towards the pier were scrupulously shaved, immaculately edged. Out in the estuary, the water was an impossible shade of aquamarine, its colour a magical invention of the gods – and since everyone in Temple agreed their little town was the sunniest spot in England, it really was very beautiful.
It was fat too nice a place to be murdered.”
Destination: “Temple Regis” Devon, English Riviera Author/guide: TP Fielden Departure: 2000s
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