Richard and Frances Lockridge were an American novel writing duo. The couple were best known for their successful series of books. Mr. and Mrs. North, a popular mystery series.

Richard Lockridge grew up in Missouri and then went to school at the University. He would ten go on to serve in the United States Navy before returning home and getting a job at the Kansas City Star as a reporter. It was there that he would meet his future wife, Frances Louise Davis. After marrying the two moved to New York. It was here that Richard published his first book, but it was actually Frances’ idea that hatched Mr. and Mrs. North. She came up with the plot and Richard used some characters he had created earlier in his career. This spawned a 26-book series with numerous adaptations.

Publication Order of Mr. and Mrs. North Books

Mr. and Mrs. North (By: Richard Lockridge) (1936)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Mr. and Mrs. North (By: Richard Lockridge) (1936)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Norths Meet Murder (1940)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Out of Turn (1941)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Pinch of Poison (1941)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death on the Aisle (1942)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Hanged for a Sheep (1942)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death Takes a Bow (1943)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Killing the Goose (1944)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Payoff for the Banker (1945)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death of a Tall Man (1946)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Within Murder (1946)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Untidy Murder (1947)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Is Served (1948)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Dishonest Murderer (1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder in a Hurry (1950)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Comes First (1951)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dead as a Dinosaur (1952)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death Has a Small Voice (1952)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Curtain for a Jester (1953)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Key to Death (1954)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death of an Angel / Mr. & Mrs. North and the Poisoned Playboy (1955)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder, Murder, Murder: The Norths Meet Murder / Murder Out of Turn / A Pinch of Poison (By: Richard Lockridge) (1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder, Murder, Murder: The Norths Meet Murder / Murder Out of Turn / A Pinch of Poison (By: Richard Lockridge) (1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder, Murder, Murder: The Norths Meet Murder / Murder Out of Turn / A Pinch of Poison (By: Richard Lockridge) (1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Voyage Into Violence (1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Long Skeleton (1958)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Suggested / Murder is Suggested (1959)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Judge is Reversed (1960)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Has Its Points (1961)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A North Quartet: The Long Skeleton / Murder is Suggested / Murder has its Points / Murder by the Book (By: Richard Lockridge) (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder by the Book (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Captain Heimrich Books

(with Richard Lockridge)

Think of Death (1947)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
I Want to Go Home (1948)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spin Your Web, Lady (By: Richard Lockridge) (1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spin Your Web, Lady (By: Richard Lockridge) (1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Spin Your Web, Lady! (1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Foggy, Foggy Death (By: Richard Lockridge) (1950)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Client is Cancelled (By: Richard Lockridge) (1951)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death by Association / Trial by Terror (By: Richard Lockridge) (1952)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Stand Up And Die (With: Richard Lockridge) (1953)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death and the Gentle Bull / Killer in the Straw (1954)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Burnt Offering (By: Richard Lockridge) (1955)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Let Dead Enough Alone (With: Richard Lockridge) (1955)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Practise to Deceive (By: Richard Lockridge) (1957)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Practise to Deceive (By: Richard Lockridge) (1957)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Practice to Deceive (1957)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Accent on Murder (By: Richard Lockridge) (1958)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Show Red For Danger (With: Richard Lockridge) (1960)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
With One Stone / No Dignity in Death (By: Richard Lockridge) (1961)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Distant Clue (By: Richard Lockridge) (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
First Come, First Kill (With: Richard Lockridge) (1963)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Can't Wait (With: Richard Lockridge) (1964)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder Roundabout (With: Richard Lockridge) (1966)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
With Option to Die (With: Richard Lockridge) (1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Risky Way to Kill (With: Richard Lockridge) (1970)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Inspector's Holiday (With: Richard Lockridge) (1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Not I Said The Sparrow (With: Richard Lockridge) (1973)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dead Run (1976)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Tenth Life (With: Richard Lockridge) (1977)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Dead Run (By: Richard Lockridge) (2018)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Bernard Simmons Books

Squire of Death (1965)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Plate of Red Herrings (With: Richard Lockridge) (1968)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Twice Retired (1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Something Up a Sleeve (With: Richard Lockridge) (1972)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death on the Hour (With: Richard Lockridge) (1974)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Series written by Richard Lockridge.

Publication Order of Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro Books

The Faceless Adversary / Case of the Murdered Redhead (With: Richard Lockridge) (1956)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder and Blueberry Pie / Call It Coincidence (With: Richard Lockridge) (1959)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Drill is Death (With: Richard Lockridge) (1961)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder for Art's Sake (By: Richard Lockridge) (1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Die Laughing (By: Richard Lockridge) (1969)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Preach No More (By: Richard Lockridge) (1970)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Write Murder Down (With: Richard Lockridge) (1972)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Or Was He Pushed? (By: Richard Lockridge) (1975)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Streak of Light (By: Richard Lockridge) (1976)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Old Die Young (By: Richard Lockridge) (1980)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Death in the Mind (By: Richard Lockridge,G.H. Estabrooks) (1945)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
A Matter of Taste (By: Richard Lockridge) (1949)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Tangled Cord (1957)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Catch as Catch Can (With: Richard Lockridge) (1958)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Innocent House (1959)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
And Left for Dead (With: Richard Lockridge) (1961)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Night of Shadows (1962)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Ticking Clock (1962)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
The Devious Ones / Four Hours to Fear (1964)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Quest of the Bogeyman (1965)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
One Lady, Two Cats (By: Richard Lockridge) (1967)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Murder in False Face (By: Richard Lockridge) (1969)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Death in a Sunny Place (By: Richard Lockridge) (1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Troubled Journey (By: Richard Lockridge) (1971)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Cats and People (With: Richard Lockridge) (1950)Description / Buy at Amazon.com
Darling of Misfortune: Edwin Booth 1833-1893 (By: Richard Lockridge) (1972)Description / Buy at Amazon.com

If You Like Richard & Frances Lockridge Books, You’ll Love…

The Norths Meet Murder is the first book in the series. The book sees Jerry and Pamela North, a sophisticated Greenwich Village couple, with an upstairs apartment that has been as empty as long as they can remember. They are living the life in 1930s Greenwhich Village with cocktail parties galore so one day they decide to throw one in the empty upstairs apartment. As things get going they make a startling revelation, there is a dead man in the bathtub. The couple know that they should leave this one to the authorities, but they can’t help trying to find out which neighbor was rude enough to leave a body in their upstairs tub.

Another good book in this series is called A Pinch of Poison. The book sees David McIntosh taking out the young beauty Lois Winston to dinner atop the Ritz-Plaza Hotel. The two share a couple of drinks before dinner, but Lois’ second drink doesn’t sit so right and she falls dead to the floor. Lt. Weigand is on the investigation and he calls in two friends to help solve the case: Pamela and Jerry North.

Order of Books » Authors » Order of Richard & Frances Lockridge Books

Leave a Reply