Patricia Pakenham-Walsh, also known as Patricia Moyes (19 January 1923 – 2 August 2000) was a British mystery writer. Her mystery novels feature C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, ''Who Saw Her Die'' (''Many Deadly Returns'' in the USA) was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1971. She wrote several juveniles and short stories.

Life and work

"Penny" Moyes was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 19 January 1923, the daughter of Marion ("Molly") Strachan and Ernest Pakenham-Walsh, who had been in the Indian civil service and was a High Court judge in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. She was educated at Overstone Girls' School in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and joined the WAAF in 1939. In 1946

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

hired her as technical assistant on his film '' School for Secrets''. She became his personal assistant for the next eight years. In 1960 she co-wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for the film '' School for Scoundrels'' starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Alastair Sim. During her next job as an Assistant Editor for London '' Vogue'', Moyes also translated Jean Anouilh's 1940 play ''Léocadia'' as ''Time Remembered.'' In London (1955), the major roles were taken by Paul Scofield, Margaret Rutherford, and

Mary Ure Eileen Mary Ure (18 February 1933 – 3 April 1975) was a British stage and film actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress (after Deborah Kerr) to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film ''Sons and Lovers''. Ear ...

. The 1957 Broadway production – starring Richard Burton,

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

, and

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...

— received several Tony awards. The success of ''Time Remembered'' enabled Moyes to leave ''Vogue'' and start writing mysteries.

Personal life

She married photographer John Moyes in 1951; they divorced in 1959. She later married James Haszard, a linguist at the International Monetary Fund in The Hague.

Death

She died at her home on the island of Virgin Gorda ( British Virgin Islands) on 2 August 2000, aged 77, from undisclosed causes.

Bibliography

Inspector Henry Tibbett mysteries

* ''Dead Men Don't Ski'' (1959) * ''The Sunken Sailor'' (1961) - US title: ''Down Among the Dead Men'' * ''Death on the Agenda'' (1962) * ''Murder a la Mode'' (1963) * ''Falling Star'' (1964) * ''Johnny Under Ground'' (1965) * ''Murder Fantastical'' (1967) * ''Death and the Dutch Uncle'' (1968) * ''Who Saw Her Die?'' (1970) - US title: ''Many Deadly Returns'' * ''Season of Snows and Sins'' (1971) * ''The Curious Affair of the Third Dog'' (1973) * ''Black Widower'' (1975) * ''To Kill a Coconut'' (1977) - US title: ''The Coconut Killings'' * ''Who Is Simon Warwick?'' (1978) * ''Angel Death'' (1980) * ''A Six-Letter Word for Death'' (1983) * ''Night Ferry to Death'' (1985) * ''Black Girl, White Girl'' (1989) * ''Twice in a Blue Moon'' (1993)

Other books