Thriller Books > Simon Brett Thriller Books

Sicken and so Die And poor Charles so nearly does

Advantages: Easy, light and undemanding reading, with a bit of culture thrown in.
Disadvantages: Not the most uplifting of the Charles Paris series.

For once fans of Charles Paris find the loveable alcoholic actor in something of a pink patch as not only has the regularly unemployed performer managed to secure himself secure and steady work for at least the next five months, he's also managed to get himself a nice plum role and one he's always wanted to play. Appearing as Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is probably about as good as it gets for an actor of Charles' maturing years. ...
...his dingy Hereford Road bed-sitter Charles is currently moved in with on/off wife Frances and for once their relationship seems to be ticking along nicely, you do have to wonder if the only way is down from this unprecedented high. Still for all "long suffering" readers of Charles' exploits will know all too well that the only way is down and when the director of the production falls ill after eating a seemingly innocent mushroom tartlet Charles ...

etala 30.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Sicken and so Die - Simon Brett

Death on the Downs - Typical English Murder!

Advantages: Typical light frothy Simon Brett
Disadvantages: Don't expect anything too serious

My usual staple reading diet is a steady supply of intriguing thrillers or criminal detective stories but every now and then after reading about half a dozen of this "heavier" type of novel I feel myself in need of refreshment which I satisfy by reading something lighter and a lot less demanding and in this sense Simon Brett's novels are a perfect fit. "Death on the Downs" is the second book in Mr Brett's latest series of mild comic murder mysteries ...
...certain age namely retired home office civil servant Carole Seddon and 50-something free spirited hippy Jude. When Carole's faithful Labrador, Gulliver, cuts his paw on a tin can whilst running on the beach, she decides to change her usual daily walk route now that she's not tied to just walking the dog. She goes to a local village that backs onto the Sussex Downs and whilst her walk begins a little muddy but still enjoyable that all changes when ...

etala 30.07.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Death on the Downs - Simon Brett

Not SEX On The Beach - But DEATH!

Advantages: Entertaining, witty, great observations
Disadvantages: Not the longest book

...on to read and enjoy the book reviewed. On the latest occasion, it was a review by sunmeilan of a Simon Brett novel. It sounded a really good read, so I found out which was the first one in the series - The Body on the Beach - and borrowed it from the library. Simon Brett writes several different kinds of books, including three series - The Fethering Mysteries, the Mrs. Pargeter novels and the Charles Paris novels. The Body on the Beach is the first ...
...mysteries which take place in the fictional place of Fethering, which is on the South Coast of England. The novels are very English and I loved this book for it. The characters definitely reminded me of people I knew or had met, while managing not to fall into stereotypical caricatures. You laugh at their small-town mentality or their barely-disguised prejudices or their immovable daily routines - but these make the characters real and endearing. ...

KarenUK 06.10.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The Body on the Beach - Simon Brett

Another dawn, another death.

Advantages: easy to read
Disadvantages: ending was a bit disappointing

...over 20 books, then there's the plays he's scripted and his collection of childrens stories as well. This is the third book of his which I have read and so far I can see as to why he is quite popular. When Jude helps out her friend, ex-superstar model Suzy Longthorne, in her hotel at a private function for male society The Pillars of Sussex things don't go according to plan. Despite a young solicitor being happy and elated after talking to her, the ...
...was a definate suicide, despite the fact that a seemingly threatening note has disappeared which had been found in the young mans room. It's down to Jude to try and persuade people that this has to be murder and with the help of an old friend they set out trying to investigate what actually happened. Not that anybody will listen as it becomes increasingly coincidental that everybody seems to have a cast iron alibi and are able to back up other peoples ...

crezzie 13.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Hanging in the Hotel - Simon Brett

Small town malice

Advantages: Entertaining, a light read
Disadvantages: Too many coincidences, slightly disappointing ending

...are consistent; I know from the start that I'm not reading a great work of literature, but that I will have an enjoyable, light-hearted read. I've recently had to do a lot of overtime at work and so something complicated was the last thing I wanted, making this the perfect choice. This book is one of the Fethering Mysteries, although Simon Brett has written two other series of detective books, as well as a radio show. Carole and Jude, both in their ...
...and then working out who the murderer was. In this case, the body was found in a box in the corner of a cellar into which some friends of Jude had just moved. The body, or torso, because the arms and legs had been chopped up, had obviously been there for quite some time before being discovered. A few days after the gruesome discovery, the police have a name for the murdered woman - an aristocratic lady called Virginia Hargreaves who married a local ...

sunmeilan 21.02.2007 · Read full review
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Review of The Torso in the Town - Simon Brett