Showing results by narrator "Simon Brett" in All Categories

Carole Seddon doesn’t care for the theatre. But her neighbour Jude counts the job of actress among her many and varied past careers. So when Jude attends the closing night of a new play based on a classic TV sitcom, Carole is interested – but only because she suspects the leading man, Drake Purslow, is one of her scandalous friend’s ex-lovers. The night turns out to be more dramatic than either Carole or Jude could have ever predicted. After the performance, Jude makes her way to Drake’s dressing room, only to find him dead.

Having been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library, successful author Burton St Clair invites his old friend Jude to come along. Although they haven't met for 20 years, Jude is not surprised to find that St Clair hasn't changed, with his towering ego and somewhat shaky relationship with the truth. What Jude hadn't been suspecting, however, was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death. More worrying, from Jude's point of view, is the fact that the investigating police officers seem to be convinced that she herself was responsible for the crime. With the evidence stacking up against her, Jude enlists the help of her neighbour Carole.

Having landed a small part in a new West End play, The Habit of Faith, Charles Paris is dismayed to discover that his good fortune has been orchestrated by his bête noire, the now-famous screen actor Justin Grover. But why has Grover become involved in this relatively obscure production - and why has he roped in Charles to star? From the outset the production is fraught with difficulties - and matters become even more complicated when a body is discovered at the foot of the dressing room stairs.

When Jude agrees to lend her vintage chaise longue for the local Amateur Dramatic Society’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple, little does she realise she’ll end up in a starring role. It’s an ambitious play, culminating in a dramatic execution scene: a scene that’s played for real when one of the leading actors is found hanging from the specially constructed stage gallows during rehearsals. A tragic accident - or something more sinister?

When widow Mrs Pargeter decides to have her morning coffee on the patio of her mansion in Chigwell, her intention is to admire her beautiful garden in peace and quiet. Little does she expect one of the patio's paving slabs to crack in two, depositing her on the ground—and revealing a human skull with a neat hole in the middle of its forehead! Not wanting to bother the police just yet, Mrs Pargeter decides to save them some trouble and starts investigating the curious find herself.

Declutterer Ellen Curtis has been working to bring order into the life of Cedric Waites, a recluse in his eighties who hasn't left his house or let anyone inside it since his wife died. On one of her regular visits, Ellen finds the old man dead. It's sad but, given his age, perhaps not unexpected, and nothing to get worked up about...until the police raise the suspicion that Cedric might have been poisoned!

Carole Seddon has never enjoyed holidays much. Nevertheless, she has allowed herself to be persuaded by her friend Jude to accept a fortnight’s free accommodation at a luxurious Turkish villa owned by Jude’s property developer friend Barney Willingdon. But from the outset the holiday is marred by a series of menacing incidents.

As ever, Charles Paris is his own worst enemy, a louche lush who can resist anything except temptation, especially in the form of women and alcohol. His intentions may be good, but somehow the results always go wrong. What makes Charles different from other seedy, middle-aged, down-at-heel actors is that he can't avoid finding himself near trouble, that trouble being murder. He may be an amateur sleuth, but he's patently no Poirot.

Although she hadn’t known Leonard Mallett very well, nor liked him particularly, Carole Seddon feels duty bound to attend her fellow committee member’s funeral. As she suspected, the hymns, readings, and sermon are all very predictable - not unlike Leonard himself. What she couldn’t have predicted was that the deceased’s daughter would use the occasion to publicly accuse her stepmother of murder.

Chaired by Simon Brett (author of the hugely popular Charles Paris series), this intriguing, interactive panel show challenges professional crime novelists to put their experience and expertise to the test as they try to unravel various mind-bending mysteries. Each episode features a death and a denouement - with various red herrings and misdirections along the way. As the murder scenario is described and the clues laid out, our writer-detectives take turns cross-examining the suspects.

For Mrs Pargeter, it is a matter of principle that she should complete any of her late husband's unfinished business. Amongst his many bequests, perhaps the most valuable is his little black book, in which he listed all the people who ever worked for him, with details of their particular skill sets. This means that whenever Mrs P has a crime to solve, she can readily contact someone with the relevant expertise.

When the owner of Polly's Cake Shop announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form an action committee. The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos.

Professional declutterer Ellen Curtis doesn't need to like her clients to help them sort their homes out. Aging TV personality and curmudgeon Humphrey Carter might have a chip on his shoulder the size of England about the decline of his career, but a job's a job. But when Ellen arrives the morning after Humph's eightieth birthday party, primed and ready to tackle his study—no matter his protests—she gets the shock of her life. Humph's dead… and all signs point to him having taken his own life. Did the egotistical chat show host really die by suicide? His wife is adamant he's been murdered.

It is her characteristic generosity rather than her love of animals that finds Mrs Pargeter supporting her friend, Jasmine Angold, at a charity reception for PhiliPussies, whose worthy aim is to rehabilitate stray cats from the Greek island of Atmos into caring English homes. But the evening is to have unexpected consequences. At the event, Mrs P is taken aback to meet a woman who claims to be the sister of her late husband, the much-missed Mr Pargeter.

When Alexandra Richards approaches professional declutterer Ellen Curtis to ask her to help sort out her mother’s chaotic flat, Ellen gets the impression Alexandra doesn’t like her mother very much. So when Ingrid Richards’ body is discovered in her burned-out home, Alexandra’s exasperated words don’t seem like such a joke. Due to the hazardous state of the victim’s over-cluttered residence, the police are inclined to dismiss her death as an unfortunate accident. Ellen’s not so sure. Could Alexandra’s resentment toward her mother have escalated into outright violence?

Carole Seddon's trusty Renault is one of her most treasured possessions. So when it’s vandalized, there's only one person she will entrust with its repair: Bill Shefford, who’s been servicing the vehicles of the good citizens of Fethering for many years. But how could something like this happen in Fethering of all places? Then a note is shoved under Carole's kitchen door: Watch out. The car window was just the start. It appears that she’s been deliberately targeted. But by whom, and why?

Invited to a Private View of the work of controversial artist Denzil Willoughby, the good citizens of Fethering are not quite sure what to expect. And it certainly turns out to be a lively affair, culminating in a confrontation between Willoughby and his ex-lover, followed by a heated argument with the gallery owner and a rival artist. But what no one could have anticipated was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death.

Jude's life has been turned upside-down thanks her new man, Piers Targett, who's keen to get her involved in his hobby – or obsession – of Real Tennis. But when one of Piers' friends dies on the court in suspicious circumstances, Jude finds herself caught up in the police investigation. Meanwhile, Jude's neighbour Carole is trying to identify the human remains known locally as the “Lady in the Lake”.

Having decided to redecorate Woodside Cottage, Jude engages the services of local man Pete, who painted and decorated the homes of Fethering residents for many years. Pete is currently working on Footscrow House, a large Victorian building that is being converted into holiday flats by a local developer.

Ellen Curtis runs her own business helping people who are running out of space. As a declutterer, she is used to encountering all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in the course of her work. What she has never before encountered is a dead body.