When Farrar drives down to join a house party at Midwood, the country home of the Wellington Burnet, the only other guest he is acquainted with is Philip Tolefree, the insurance broker and clandestine detective. In fact, it is Burnet's sudden decision to marrry and move to the country that has brought Farrar and Tolefree together in the first place, the latter taking Burnet's place as Farrar's main clubland companion. And Burnet is about to bring the two men together again - for when the e...

The Second World War has begun, and England is under constant bombardment. Whilst working as a fire-watcher, Farrar receives a message from one Blenkinsop, who claims to have news for Farrar from the captain of the S.S. Brdigend, who went down with his torpedoed ship. Coincidentally, Philip Tolefree is also on the way to see Blenkinsop, having received a letter intimating that he will discover important information on a matter of national security. Heading to the seaside town of Westport t...

“We’ve got a rare batch of suspects, don’t you think?”In the immediate aftermath of the second world war, Philip Dolby invites Tolefree to swap the confines of bombed-out London for the idyllic Devon coastal town of Porthgover. But Dolby has an ulterior motive. He wishes Tolefree to turn his professional eye on the situation at Govercomeb House, where he is convinced that Frederick Trivett, the husband of an old flame of Dolby’s, is up to no good. Why is Trivett so interested in th...

No one saw William Tolliver die. So when his body is found shot in a shallow section of the river near his home, a revolver on the bank nearby, the verdict of suicide is inevitable. Refusing to accept that her brother would take his own life, Louise Tolliver sends for the insurance broker and clandestine private detective, Philip Tolefree. Travelling down to Polventor in Cornwall with his friend Farrar, Tolefree agrees to investigate. Soon, the shocking truth comes gradually to light - and...

“Listen to me, Trelawny. I mean it. I think it’s quite possible a crime will be committed in Netherminster before long.”Philip Tolefree and his friend Inspector Pierce are just coming to the end of a delightful fishing holiday in Pierce's native village of Netherminster. As their vacation draws to a close, Trelawny, Netherminster's Chief Constable, invites the pair to a dinner with the Hawkers at Ashcott House. Whilst there they are surprised to hear Hawker predict that a murder wi...

Kenneth Bycraft – a crook and swindler, whose speciality is selling spurious investments in worked-out mines.Grant Gleeson – a young Australian and the latest victim of Bycraft’s nefarious activities.Gleeson’s friend Arthur Norden has appealed to the lawyer Bill Bland for help in extricating Gleeson, and Bland in turn calls in Tolefree, who travels to Grindel House in the West Country to see what can be done. Before long, however, a body is discovered in Bunter’s Pond – and...

Ronald Hudson, travel writer and adventurer, visits Philip Tolefree with an anonymous letter written in cypher, which he hopes the sleuth can decode. But Tolefree is uneasy. What are Hudson's motives? Is his writer-persona a facade for espionage - or something even more nefarious? When a chance telephone call links Hudson's visit with the murder of a scientist during a country house party Tolefree's worst suspicions seem confirmed. But what is the secret of Old Hallerden?Originally...

Lord Greenwood is most perturbed when his son Bill Chance strikes up a relationship with the actress Millicent Vane. When the troubled peer commissions Philip Tolefree to provide him with proof that Miss Vane is a woman with a scandalous past, Tolefree worries that this savours too much of the sordid intrigue of the divorce court. But when a hunch leads Tolefree and his associate Farrar to pay a late night visit to the rich playboy Howard Killick, the case takes an altogether more interest...

“What I’m going to tell you, Tolefree, is complicated..."Philip Tolefree is invited to Wolborough Castle, ancestral seat of the Meriden family, by Stratton, a mutual friend of Tolefree's associate Farrar. Staying at the Castle whilst brokering a deal to sell a valuable triptych, Stratton suspects that some sort of sinister conspiracy is being played out. First, his room is ransacked, apparently in an attempt to steal the money he has brought with him to pay the antique painting. Se...

“If you happen to be on the Paybury Road to-morrow afternoon, the 28th, between four and five... Look out for an unmistakably blue car—and keep your eye on it.”So runs the anonymous communication sent to Philip Tolefree, insurance broker and clandestine private detective. Setting off at the advertised time with his loyal friend Farrar, the pair engage in an exciting moonlit chase across the Downs in pursuit of the mysterious blue car, which appears before them just as the letter su...

Anna Minching had been the unrequited love of Philip Tolefree's life, ever since she appeared one day at his office in the City to seek his help in an insurance matter. So when Miss Minching dies and her young cousin passes on the dead woman's request that Tolefree journey to the town of Farchester to attend the funeral, he can hardly refuse. But it is just as well for Farchester that Tolefree is present. For not long after the funeral, Miss Minching's solicitor Spink is found murdered - a...

“An F.R.S.—a Coroner in doubt about his own verdict—Cox and Bland. A big case, sir. You can’t keep out.”Limpenny, keen archaeologist, is found dead at his cottage on Dartmoor, apparently by suicide. But the coroner, Mr. Rose, is not so sure. Although a jury has found in favour of suicide, Rose decides to call in a third party to consider the case from a new angle. Enter Philip Tolefree, insurance agent and clandestine private detective....Originally published in 1938, this ...