Philip Franks

It's the 1950's and Sidney "Pop" Larkin has managed to avoid paying taxes for practically his entire working life. He embarks on a number of ill-fated entrepreneurial ventures and his daughter causes more than one head to turn with her flirtatious ways. But the flamboyant Larkins are thoroughly devoted to each other in good times and bad.

A stolen maypole, romantic con artists, and the case of a missing child. The villagers are quite a handful, from the rogue that is Claude Jeremiah Greengrass and his wily dog, Alfred, to the mysterious spinster Adelaide Bowes. Even some of the newcomers seem to be a little odd. But thankfully for Constable Nick, they are mostly law-abiding characters. But when old conflicts between villages flare up, it's Constable Nick who has to sort things out....

Modern life catches up with the village bobby Constable Nick's beat is modernized, with his police bike replaced by a minivan. He gets more than he bargained for as his work draws him into closer contact with villagers, in more ways than one! There are compromising positions aplenty in this next charming installment of Aidensfield life. Nick finds himself lost in heavy fog and runs across a couple of illicit lovers trapped in their car. He advises...

Britain's most popular bobby gets back on the beat. Constable Nick proves once again that a policeman's lot on the windswept heather-clad moors of North Yorkshire was a very happy one. In this delightful collection of tales of Daffodil Duty and Sheep Worrying, his duties are as varied and humorous as ever. Young Nick joins Albert Potter for a drink and discovers his homemade moorland wines are a headache in every sense of the word. When a farmer...

Rural life has plenty of surprises for Constable Nick. Constable Nick has come to know and love the host of characters who live and work on the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors. The amiable constable handles every encounter with his characteristic humor and professionalism, whether he's investigating a plot to scare away a troublesome suitor or helping a neighbor return his late wife's ashes to her beloved moors. Not to mention the insurance agent...

Dirty tricks at the best-kept village competition Constable Nick patrols his rural Yorkshire beat on foot or on his trusty Francis Barnett motorcycle. But as beautiful as the villages are, they conceal real human drama. Nick is on hand to help out when Aidensfield decides to enter the Best Kept Village competition and finds itself the victim of a dirty tricks campaign by its rivals. Then there is the mystery of the spontaneously combusting hen-house,...

There is a crime wave in the village. A hay barn is set on fire at Low Dale Farm. It seems that an arsonist is targeting isolated barns. Arnold Merryweather's ancient bus helps catch a car thief. And when Nick arrests not only a pig thief but also the expectant pig, the police station cleaner is not very pleased. But it's not all crime. A glider crashes into a romance in a thatched cottage, and then Constable Nick is involved in a plot to force...

In this third sequel to The Darling Buds of May, Charley and Mariette decide to get baby Blenheim christened, leading to a wholesale christening of all seven of the Larkin children. Chaos abounds as the vicar Mr. Candy is run ragged by the naughty twins Zinnia and Petunia, and finds himself the object of desire for Pop's second eldest, Primrose. To top it all off, Pop buys a fairground on a whim, and Mlle DuPont arrives to discover that Pop is not...

A year has passed and in this third novel of the Pop Larkin series, Pop Larkin is preparing to build the bungalow he promised Charley and Mariette upon their engagement. He buys a country home slated for demolition, intending to convert it for the two, but it is not long before a London couple persuade him to sell it. Pop, ever the trickster, sells it for an extortionate price as the two social climbers know little about country life. Party-throwing...