Order of Richard & Frances Lockridge Books

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

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

Publication Order of Captain Heimrich Books

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

Publication Order of Bernard Simmons Books

Squire of Death	(1965)
Plate of Red Herrings	(1968)
Twice Retired	(1971)
Something Up a Sleeve	(1972)
Death on the Hour	(1974)

Publication Order of Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro Books

Murder for Art's Sake	(1967)
Die Laughing	(1969)
Preach No More	(1970)
Write Murder Down	(1972)
Or Was He Pushed	(1975)
A Streak of Light	(1976)
The Old Die Young	(1980)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Death in the mind	(1945)
A matter of taste	(1949)
The Faceless Adversary / Case of the Murdered Redhead	(1956)
The Tangled Cord	(1957)
Catch as Catch Can	(1958)
The Innocent House	(1959)
And Left for Dead	(1961)
The Drill Is Death	(1961)
Night of Shadows	(1962)
The Ticking Clock	(1962)
The Devious Ones / Four Hours to Fear	(1964)
Quest of the Bogeyman	(1965)
One Lady, Two Cats	(1967)
Murder in false face	(1969)
Death in a sunny place	(1971)
Troubled Journey	(1971)

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Darling of Misfortune: Edwin Booth 1833-1893

(1972)

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

• Patricia Wentworth
• Ellery Queen
• Charlotte MacLeod

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.