The Case of the City Clerk

Mr. Roberts has had no adventure in his life. He’s a 48 year old clerk at a well known firm in London and married with two children, but it’s been dull. Parker Pyne sums up his unhappiness, and his desire in one sentence, “You want to live gloriously for ten minutes.” Mr. Pyne arranges for the mild-mannered clerk with a passion for suspense novels to do some real-life spy work. But fact can sometimes be stranger than fiction. Librarian’s note: this entry relates to the short story, “The Case of the City Clerk.” Collections and the other stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The Parker Pyne series includes 14 short stories. Entries for the stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: “a Parker Pyne Short Story.” Librarian’s note #2: the story was published in the print anthologies, “Parker Pyne Investigates” and ‘Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective.” It first appeared in ‘Cosmopolitan’ and in ‘Strand Magazine’ in 1932.