Quentin, Patrick - Puzzle for Fiends (1946) aka Love is a Deadly Weapon

Peter Duluth sees Iris off at the airport to entertain the troops overseas. On the way home he is waylaid and concussed. He recovers consciousness to find himself in bed in a strange house, his arm and leg in plaster, with no memory of his past or his identity. Is he Gordy Friend, the rich prodigal son of Mimsey Friend, brother to the beautiful Marny and husband of the sultry Serena? The role has its attractions...

Things begin to resolve themselves. Trapped and helpless, Duluth has to use his wits to try and piece together what has happened to him, and why. Is he just a temporary stand-in or do the Friends have a more sinister long-term plan for him? Are they working as closely as they appear to, or is one of them a Fiend, pulling the strings for them all?

The climax is a little melodramatic, and a sceptical reader will have guessed it well in advance, but Quentin manages to sustain the story well until then. Duluth recovers his memory, of course, and is reunited with his beloved Iris; but life for the Friends will never be the same.

Jon.