Francis Duncan

Francis Duncan was the pen name of William Underhill (1918–1988), a British writer who published over twenty works of detective fiction between 1938 and 1959. Later in his career he also wrote five historical romances (as Hilary West) and children's fiction (as Robert Preston). Underhill's detective works follow the conventions of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, and mostly feature one of two detective characters – Peter Justice or Mordecai Tremaine. Largely neglected after his death in 1988, the success of a reprint of his 1949 novel Murder for Christmas in 2015 has led to further works being brought back into print. Underhill began writing in his spare time to supplement his income as a debt collector for Bristol City Council.

Peter Justice series The Hand of Justice (1936) The League of Justice (1937) The Sword of Justice (1937) Justice Returns (1940) Justice Limited (1941)

Mordecai Tremaine series They'll Never Find Out (1944) Murder Has a Motive (1947) Murderer's Bluff (1948) Murder for Christmas (1949) So Pretty a Problem (1950) In at the Death (1952) Behold a Fair Woman (1954)

Standalone novels Tigers Fight Alone (1938) Dangerous Mr. X (1939) Murder in Man (1940) Night Without End (1943) Fear Holds the Key (1945) Ministers Too Are Mortal (1951) Murder But Gently (1953) A Question of Time (1959)